“Don’t trust strangers”. It is an admonition that we have been indoctrinated with in various forms since childhood. We therefore thought to look more closely at what makes influencer marketing so successful. What makes us more receptive to advertising messages when our role models are the sender?
The underlying cause of our inherited pending approach is also one of the foundations of a democratic society: critical thinking.
Therefore, it will be extra interesting to place it in stark contrast to influencer marketing, which is the fastest growing method of brand building and acquiring customers online.
Influencer marketing is about moving the focus of marketing to ally with specific individuals who influence others. As a marketer, you can create a wide spread by using known influencers with many followers. You can also choose niche influencers with limited reach, but which in turn has a greater influence on the target group. However, the common denominator is the same and crucial for influencer marketing as a concept:
What I will think about when it comes to celebrity is that it is a kind of measure of success.
We look up to individuals who have succeeded in what they have done. This is one reason why celebrities are advertising that “goes into” people’s consciousness with vigor.
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Celebrity worship is our new religion
Celebrities in advertising have been around since the 19th century, and in recent years have undergone an attitude change where the public person has become more positively attuned to advertising.
What was previously seen as something ugly has instead become an opportunity. Collaboration with a particular brand can form the basis for valuable PR and an opportunity to build their own brand.
As society becomes more secularized, celebrity worship replaces the role that religion previously had in existence.
With that in mind, it may not be strange that today we hang our noses in our mobiles to find inspiration and wonder, in the same way that we have historically sought meaning and context in religion.
Influencers have a unique position of power. Whether they are hanging out with their followers in podcasts, on Instagram or Youtube, they are constantly present.
We hang out with them on the bus, on the break between the two most boring lessons of the week, on the toilet, in bed. We get to know them, can have a dialogue with them via the comments field and shout out our applause in the form of likes.
The halo effect – when content and housing economy become a religious experience
We are tired of advertising, especially young people. At the same time, celebrities are more important than ever.
Celebrities in advertising have been around since the 19th century, and in recent years have undergone an attitude change where the public person has become more positively attuned to advertising. What was previously seen as something ugly has instead become an opportunity. Collaboration with a particular brand can form the basis for valuable PR and an opportunity to build their own brand.
In an article on Wikipedia Wikipedia, consumer analyst Tobias Rasmusson points to a contemporary phenomenon that explains our craze for celebrity: As society becomes more secularized, celebrity worship replaces the role that religion previously had in existence.
With that in mind, it may not be strange that today we hang our noses in our mobiles to find inspiration and wonder, in the same way that we have historically sought meaning and context in religion.
Do not lose credibility along the way
Finally, we can also observe that influencer marketing follows the spirit of time and marketing: Advertising is increasingly on the recipient’s terms. As long as we as communications agencies, media houses and influencers are 100% transparent with what is sponsored content, then we have taken another step in the right direction.
But we have to watch out, there is a fine boundary where even influencers are considered wandering advertising pillars.
Then neither the number of followers, likes nor money matters. In the new world, credibility is the real hard currency. We must be afraid of that.
