Influence marketing an efficient strategy during covid 19, but with its limits
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MSc Data Mgmt–EXAMS 2020- 2021 Course: Digital Marketing Professor : H. BUSSY SOCRATE

Essay topic Influence marketing an efficient strategy during COVID-19, but with its limits

Word limit: 1,000 Duration: 15 days

Students are expected to frame a specific research question relied to the topic above. After introducing the question and some definitions, students present the structure of the essay. Students are strongly advised to illustrate their thoughts using one concrete example of a company, an industry, or a group of influencers specialized. It is expected that candidates analyze their question with additional research. Students are free to access any document, including lecture notes, course material, and any sort of information available from the internet to respond to the questions below, including, of course, academic studies. Please note that the APA style of reference is appreciated. On a more general level, the overall presentation of the essay (spelling or grammatical errors, pagination, references), critical thinking (convincing, detailed, explicit and referenced developments to address the question), contextualization (analysis of influential interactions with the questions and digital business issues) are all used to assess the quality of the students’ responses. Students respond to the essay topic in (British or American) English.

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Appendix 1: Sherwin-Williams, influencer marketing and UGC trends: Why consumers were left shaken but not stirred

By James Bourne | 24th November 2020 | TechForge Media http://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/

Categories: Branding, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing,

James is editor in chief of TechForge Media, with a passion for how technologies influence business and several Mobile World Congress events under his belt. James has interviewed a variety of leading figures in his career, from former Mafia boss Michael Franzese, to Steve Wozniak, and Jean Michel Jarre. James can be found tweeting at @James_T_Bourne.

The story of a Sherwin-Williams employee who was fired after the company saw his viral TikTok channel focused on paint mixing has led to plenty of reaction around the decision, as well as discussion around wider influencer marketing and user-generated content (UGC) strategies.

Tony Piloseno, who worked part-time at a Sherwin-Williams store in Ohio, had built a 1.2 million- strong TikTok audience for his channel which showcased paint mixing. As reported by BuzzFeed, Piloseno was terminated for gross misconduct, ‘wasting properties [and] facilities’ and ‘seriously embarrass[ing] the company or its products’.

Piloseno denied the charges, saying he purchased cans of paint with his employee discount. He added that he had reached out to Sherwin-Williams’ marketing department – and even prepared a deck – pointing to his account as an example of viral engagement to a Gen Z audience, but to no avail. One video in particular, where Piloseno added blueberries to white paint, was cited by Sherwin-Williams as an issue because the company was dealing with a large volume of inquiries as a result.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many methods of marketing, enhancing some while casting others aside. Could this be seen as an eschewing of a legitimate marketing channel amid uncertain times? Two separate reports, from SocialPubli and HypeAuditor, explore the rationale for influencer marketing right now.

SocialPubli and HypeAuditor studies offer ideas on influencer best practice

SocialPubli’s 2020 Influencer Marketing Report: A Marketer’s Perspective, polled 200 marketing professionals from 15 countries earlier this month. The reason was simple: changes in the influencer industry were being felt as soon as Covid-19 began, yet influencer marketing spend continued to rise this year. So what is behind the headlines?

Overall, the report found influencer marketing continues to generate solid returns for organisations. 89% of marketers polled said they believed IM was effective, with two in five (42%) saying it was their top ROI-generating strategy. Yet a third of respondents (32.8%) said they had ‘major changes’ in influencer marketing spend.

Instagram was cited by an overwhelming 96% of respondents as the primary medium for influencer partnerships, with TikTok considered as a preferred platform for one third of those polled. This chimes with a report from Tribe Dynamics last month, where more than three quarters (78%) of brands used Instagram Stories to ‘very significantly’ impact their influencer content. Since then Twitter has launched Fleets, whose resemblance to Stories, as well as Snapchat, has been widely noted.

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In terms of influencers themselves, 88% of marketers said they preferred to work with influencers who had a following of less than 100,000. The preference ‘correlates with the evolution of influencer marketing overall, as marketers shift their goals from reach to engagement’, SocialPubli added.

Going further into this, another study, Socialbakers’ State of Influencer Marketing report in June, noted the importance of micro-influencers. ‘Nano-influencers’, whose audience does not exceed 10,000, were also noted, representing one third of all Instagram influencer brand collaborations in April according to the report. Ismael El-Qudsi, CEO of SocialPubli, told MarketingTech this time last year about the importance of micro-influencers and managing ideas and expectations.

Quality control is also key. Almost three quarters (72%) of those polled by SocialPubli said they preferred influencers to create 100% original content using their own creativity and insights. Influencer marketing, El-Qudsi said, “continues to experience tremendous growth across a wide range of niches because it builds authentic relationships that lead to meaningful engagement in a time when content is everywhere, but attention is scarce.”

A separate study from HypeAuditor, a provider of software which aims to create transparency for influencer campaigns, found influencers and brands had seen an uptake since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Of the almost 1,000 social media influencers and brands polled, 59% of influencers said they had seen an increase in brands working with them, while 50% of brands had allocated more budget to IM since the pandemic began.

The need for reducing fraudulent followers, of which HypeAuditor’s platform emphasises, was also noted in the SocialPubli research. More than half (54%) of marketers polled there said the industry’s main challenge was ensuring the authenticity of influencers’ followers. Elsewhere, two in three influencers (66%) said they felt added pressure to create content, with many citing new kids on the block as a primary reason.

Alex Frolov, CEO and co-founder of HypeAuditor, said the ‘stakes were high’ as a result. “It is more important than ever before for brands to wise up and make their influencer marketing strategies as authentic and transparent as possible,” said Frolov.

Analysis: Sherwin-Williams and the ‘great ideas from frontline employees that die in middle management’

Going back to the Sherwin-Williams story, a glance of LinkedIn, from various comms professionals and marketers who discussed the story, shows only one flow of opinion. One choice quote notes that the story is “a reminder of the many great ideas from frontline employees that die in middle management.”

So what can be learned from this based on the stats coming out of influencer marketing reports? Piloseno’s base, of 1.2m, is higher than many marketers’ recommended amounts. Their authenticity – or rather, their likelihood of actually buying Sherwin-Williams’ product – could also be questioned, although some Twitter users have said they will boycott the company as a result. The content, however, was 100% original and creative, which arguably caused an existential problem in itself.

User-generated content (UGC) promoting your brand, whether it is from customers or employees, needs to be handled correctly. One of the more interesting perspectives came from Kenneth To, marketing analyst and co-founder of augmented reality studio Foundry Six.

To wrote of the importance of learning from social media ‘anti-patterns.’ Another example cited was of Nintendo shutting down a fan-run tournament involving one of its games. Whether it’s

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encouraging employees to share enthusiasm about their job on social media during work, or allowing fans to create content without sending legal complaints, To noted that of his research logging successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns, ‘the combination of reference points to both [leads] to a significantly higher ideation and creativity.’

One other point needs to be noted here. According to data from Ipsos Canada and the Ad Nation 2020 report, a clear gap remains between what marketers think consumers do as opposed to what they actually do. Divergence from marketers’ estimates on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok use ranged from 116%, to 196%, to 331% respectively. While influencer marketing remains a significant tool with ROI gradually being proved, it it also important to keep a sense of perspective.

Appendix 2: How TikTok’s uncertain future and COVID-19 are transforming influencer marketing

Source : https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-tiktoks-uncertain-future-and-covid-19-are- transforming-influencer-mark/585658/

AUTHOR Natalie Koltun@natalie_koltun

PUBLISHED Sept. 21, 2020

As the TikTok shakeup continues, competitors are wooing influencers and becoming more accessible with new video tools while content evolves to be more frank.

Since July, influencers have prepared for a potential ban of TikTok in the U.S., with some testing rival platforms like Triller and Instagram Reels. Though there likely won’t be a mass exodus of creators from the popular social video app amid the ongoing saga related to its ownership, competitors are using this opportunity to woo big-name influencers and position themselves as a safety net should the Oracle-Walmart bid for TikTok fall through, sources interviewed for this story say.

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-tiktoks-uncertain-future-and-covid-19-are-transforming-influencer-mark/585658/
https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-tiktoks-uncertain-future-and-covid-19-are-transforming-influencer-mark/585658/
https://www.marketingdive.com/editors/nkoltun/
https://www.marketingdive.com/editors/nkoltun/
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Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s most popular creator with 87 million followers, announced last week she’s joining Triller. She’s not fully cutting bait on TikTok, but the deal suggests the app’s uncertain future may be having an impact on the evolution of influencer marketing.

“As for the ability to create the same quality content, competitors like Reels are getting there with their offerings in terms of creative capabilities, audience engagement and content recommendations, but replacing TikTok’s algorithm and creator base alone will require a lot of work,” said TJ Leonard, CEO of stock media service Storyblocks.

In early 2020, apps like Instagram and Snapchat began to dabble with features popularized on TikTok to capture some of its meteoric growth and lure creators back to their established platforms. Brands tuned in, leaning further into bite-sized video that younger audiences craved through hashtag challenges or influencer deals. The coronavirus pandemic hit just months later, escalating the “TikTok-ification” of social platforms and paving the way for brands to consider influencers as critical to strategy rather than extensions of existing campaigns.

Coupled with the pandemic’s impact on society, uncertainty and confusion around TikTok’s future may fast-track the shift in influencer strategy for brands.

“COVID has changed the type of content that’s being created. We crave connection online because the real-life kind has been taken away from us,” Leonard said. “DIY creativity is at an all-time high. People, brands and everyone are so starving for human interaction that the content we’re seeing now is a little more honest, a little more direct, a little more personal and human.”

Values backed with action

Some of the content resonating on social media these days includes frank conversations about racial justice. Regular users and influencers used features like Instagram’s Carousel format as a teaching tool to spread awareness of social issues. This trend of activism slideshows has continued and may suggest how creators are maturing beyond delivering escapist content, according to Natalie Silverstein, SVP and head of innovation at influencer marketing agency Collectively.

“It’s become much more about getting to know the world better and learning about different ways of understanding what’s happening,” she said. “We’re seeing brands that think they can’t tell those stories through their organization’s voice align themselves with influencers who share those values, or creators who are pushing the boundaries and are outspoken in ways brands might not think they have permission to be.”

This links back to the pandemic’s early days where many brands retooled their messaging strategy away from product and toward expressing values.

“We’re in a moment when you cannot be silent on the point of view you have on the world,” Silverstein said. “It’s really important to convey your values as a brand and to back those up with action.”

Values-based partnerships will only gain importance as influencers become more deeply integrated into campaigns — especially as election season and the holidays approach, Silverstein predicts.

“Brands will continue to use influencers to translate and expand the story of what they believe in the world,” she said.

Democratizing content creation

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/15/21438111/charli-damelio-tiktok-triller-app-rival-dixie-marc-heidi
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21359098/social-justice-slideshows-instagram-activism
https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/you-mr-jones-buys-influencer-marketing-agency-collectively/583101/
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Countless brands have parlayed creators’ large followings into a springboard for hashtag challenges that aim to extend a campaign’s reach. Adobe, for example, teamed with the United Nations last month to raise awareness about climate change and pollution. The software maker created app lenses and selected influencers to urge followers to share their digital creations with the hashtags #OceanLeague and #GlowingGone.

Popular during the pandemic for their affordability, hashtag challenges encourage consumers to engage with a brand by sharing user-generated content (UGC). However, they’ve shown to have limited appeal, with 75% of surveyed Americans saying they’re unlikely to share a hashtag from a company’s social media post. Asking influencers to lead the hashtag charge is one way for brands to jumpstart participation and inspire UGC, Storyblocks’ Leonard said.

“As we consume more and more content, many people are wading into the waters of actually creating it.”

Social platforms, where these hashtag challenges live, are responding to consumers’ creation cravings and adding app tools to make short-form content easier to produce than ever. TikTok has an easy-to-use interface with built-in recording, editing and sound effects for simple storytelling. Instagram in August rolled out Reels — a feature that closely resembles TikTok — to boost favor with younger audiences that prefer short-form, music-centered videos that ByteDance’s rival service helped popularize.

Winning platforms will be the ones that offer a shallow learning curve, making content creation more accessible to the average consumer, according to Leonard.

“That’s the real magic of TikTok,” he said.

“People, brands and everyone are so starving for human interaction that the content we’re seeing now is a little more honest, a little more direct, a little more personal and human.”

TJ Leonard

Storyblocks, CEO

At the same time, democratizing content creation isn’t a silver bullet for platforms. Those that make concerted efforts to help brands create and measure campaign impact will likely win out over rivals. TikTok is keeping an eye on the money with a marketing program announced this month that includes a measurement suite powered by Kantar. This is the latest expansion for TikTok’s ad platform, which launched in June, and represents how the social video app is doubling down on tracking tech to keep marketers in its ecosystem.

Setting up safety nets

Despite its meteoric ascent, the ByteDance-owned platform faces an uncertain future as the governments of China and the U.S. spar over who should control TikTok’s rich trove of consumer data, forcing brands and influencers in the U.S. to prepare for the unknown. The handful of brands pioneering Reels in its first month are mostly repurposing UGC and influencer content from TikTok, according to Joe Caporoso, EVP of digital content company Team Whistle. These early days allow brands to position themselves as innovative and set up safety nets for a quick pivot should TikTok shutter or majorly change.

https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/75-of-people-unlikely-to-use-branded-hashtags-survey-finds/584549/
https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/instagram-looks-to-steal-tiktoks-thunder-with-worldwide-expansion-of-reels/583017/
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/introducing-tiktok-marketing-partner-program-for-advertisers
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“At this stage, it’s about showing that you’re active with it and thinking creatively,” Caporoso said. “Part of being in this industry is being nimble and adaptable and migrating content when it’s right.”

Brands should test different types of influencer content on all relevant social channels to experiment with what delivers the greatest engagement or return on investment, he recommends.

“Until one of the platforms gives a more proactive push or popularizes a style of content or campaign that takes hold on one platform, we’ll still see a lot of replicated content,” Caporoso said.

This duplicated content from influencers and brands on TikTok isn’t the worst news for Reels at the moment. The nascent platform can dip into its established user base on Instagram and allow creators to dabble while the ByteDance-owned company’s future crystallizes. For Reels’ launch, Instagram reportedly offered TikTok creators up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to exclusively sign on its rival service. That aggressive swipe may intensify as top influencers like D’Amelio start to investigate other apps.

“Instagram is not going to shy away from TikTok’s success from the past few years,” Leonard said. “If [TikTok] disappears, we’ll immediately see other platforms try to fill that void and replace lost earnings to bridge the gap before another platform pops up and replaces it. There would be a mad rush from big platforms to get top creators.”

Will big brands warm up to newcomers?

Monetization is a key factor that could sway influencers and brands to one platform versus another. As the holiday season approaches, brands may look to deeper partnerships with a select few creators in order to maximize efficiencies and stimulate connections with consumers.

Leonard predicts more consistent influencer-powered campaigns and fewer one-off commissioned content deals in the coming weeks as TikTok’s saga shakes up the influencer space. Beyond the holidays, it’ll depend on how big brands warm up to newcomers like Reels and Triller and whether they show promising staying power, he said.

“Like anything, once large brands start pumping money into these platforms, things change considerably. But these are also places where major brands have a lot less control over how they’re represented by an influencer,” Leonard said. “The import and influence of influencers across platforms is undeniable for 2021. Will that be enough to pull in major brands who have always been tepid around these user-generated, emerging platforms because they have to give up control?”

https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/wsj-instagram-lures-tiktok-creators-to-drum-up-buzz-for-reels-launch/582427/
Appendix 1: Sherwin-Williams, influencer marketing and UGC trends: Why consumers were left shaken but not stirred
Appendix 2: How TikTok’s uncertain future and COVID-19 are transforming influencer marketing