Pearpop is the co-founder and CEO of collaboration platform Cole Mason .
I believe we are on the cusp of a major shift in the world of influencer marketing, and TikTok “non-influencers” like Mikayla Nogueira may have inadvertently accelerated this shift in ways no one could have anticipated.
The beauty influencer recently posted a video reviewing the new L'Oreal Telescopic Lift Mascara. She gushed about the product, saying, "I'm not sure anyone can rival this mascara." Comments poured in immediately, suggesting that the false eyelashes were added to the "after" shot. Many fans were excited. TikTok users like @heyalexfriedman made a bet, calling it "the end of influencer marketing as we know it."
This isn't the first time the credibility of influencers has been questioned, but I've seen the discussion reach a fever pitch. It's important to remember that influencer marketing has grown in popularity in particular because it has promoted credibility in ways that marketers and advertisers have never seen before. Social media stars introduced themselves and their followers turned to them for honest advice and real-life inspiration.
Influencers are like celebrities
As companies invest more in the influencer marketing space, which is estimated to reach $15 billion by 2022, the notion of authenticity is starting to change. Now that six-figure branding deals are commonplace for some creatives, today's influencers look a lot more like celebrities than regular people. This begs the question, what does the new world order of influencer marketing look like?
While acknowledging that in many cases mega influencers are young A-list celebrities, I think brands should naturally think of these high-profile creative collaborations in the same way we think of traditional advertising messages. Not to create the illusion of authenticity, but to build brand awareness, reach or cache.
Audiences can no longer reasonably expect a top influencer to enthusiastically use the product in real life, but may be surprised and motivated to interact with talent the brand admires.
While this time viewers were surprised that Mikayla Nogueira's opinion wasn't right, moving forward, viewers couldn't even wait.
In search of originality
For brands looking for originality in influencer marketing, I think the big shift in 2023 will be towards creatives in the medium and long term. These are the maker classes I wrote about earlier. These creators have smaller, tighter networks of followers who share similar values, lifestyles, and interests. They may be mutual friends, go to the same school, or work in the same industry as many of their followers in the real world.
Because they feel they really know their followers as individuals, I think their recommendations carry more weight and attention than recommendations from celebrities or A-listers. Rather than trying to sell the perfect, level most successful image-their true identity-creators, bugs and all.
And as far as brand marketers go, they need to change the lines a bit, too.
Rather than simply asking for great reviews and curated product demos, I encourage brands to feel comfortable and give creators the freedom to be honest, original, and unfiltered. I'm all letting your brand ambassadors do what they do best: create authentic social media content with the light hand of your brand's marketing team.
Round the value
It is important for brands to work with creators and foster relationships that align with their values, beliefs, lifestyle, etc.
I see brands trying to maintain the perfect image created through traditional marketing gimmicks or big influencers just reading text and getting paid for their positive comments. Partnerships between brands and creators must be seen as legitimate in order to be effective, because in today's world consumers see unoriginal content.
Instead of trying to control creators' content, brands can have more control and discretion over who they collaborate with. Instead of partnering with content creators based on follower count, I think brands should spend more time finding the right influencers who have similar preferences and align with what the company stands for, because content naturally makes sense. .
In general, if the partnership is strong, you don't have to worry about creative control. In this case, creators gain the trust of their followers and their brands to build credibility at the same time.
In 2023, I predict that more brands will use their budgets to hire dozens, hundreds, even thousands of long-tail, mid-tail creators, and less successful deals than single giant creators. It will always be a chore for A-list stars, but for brands looking to scale true social content with creators, I see the future in long-tail power.
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