Millennials are making purchasing decisions. They have been for awhile, but now even the youngest of the generation are just about hitting legal age. For the past few years, brands have been flocking to social media and, more recently, to influencer marketing in a bid to reach them.
Two main reasons: millennials are obsessed with social media, and they value authenticity.
Firstly, their eyeballs are on their smartphones – and the social media apps on them. According to this Forbes article, millennials are more likely to stream entertainment from smartphones, tablets, computers or gaming devices than they are to watch television. On top of that, roughly 50% text or use social media while watching television.
The second staple in any “Facts About Millennial Consumers” you’re likely to find on a trendy infographic is that they’re skeptical. They don’t like feeling sold to, and so traditional advertising (think billboards and TV ads) are less effective. They want brands to talk back to them from the convenience of, yes, their smartphones.
Influencer marketing has plenty of things going for it. It can help your brand reach a new audience, make potential customers more receptive to your products and create superfans or brand ambassadors.
A study published in eMarketer showed that nearly 85% of marketing and communications professionals worldwide expected to launch at least one campaign involving an influencer in the next 12 months.
That said, I recently came across this article in which Stacie Brockman of Metier Creative warns that influencer marketing is heading for a crash. And to be honest, this intrigued me more than it surprised me. Like social media itself, there are pros and cons.
Here are 3 honest reasons why brands should be cautious about influencer marketing.
An influencer’s audience may be a mismatch.
Let’s say your company sells drugstore cosmetics for a teenage market, and you find a great teen influencer who does makeup tutorials. She has a strong following and high engagement rates on all of her social channel – plenty of likes and comments to go around.
Pay attention to the content of those comments, and what her fans are saying. It’s one thing if she has a strong following of admirers who are also makeup enthusiasts. It’s quite another if her fans are mostly men who have never set foot in a drugstore makeup aisle.
You may not earn back the money you spend.
As influencer marketing has taken off in popularity, influencers have taken note – and upped their prices. Top influencers are bringing in up to $3 million dollars per year, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by social media stars of every niche and level. The more middle men (agencies and representatives) there are in the mix, the more sticker shock there is.
It’s important to remember that not all influencers work for payment. Some are interested in the potential exposure a brand can offer them, or want to build case studies so that they can craft an impressive media kit for future paid collaborations.
Some conversions will certainly go unaccounted for
You need to be honest about your expectations. There’s a chance people will discover your brand through an influencer post, forget about it, then circle back and make a purchase 6 months later. You’ll never know what drove that purchase, and you have to be okay with that.
Sure, you could use custom landing pages and personalized promo codes, but influencer marketing is about driving awareness as much as it is about boosting sales, especially for a business that’s just starting out.
The solutions, in the meantime? Do your homework, manage your expectations, and prioritize your budget.
Influencer marketing may be something you’re keen to try, but if you’re already generating good results with paid digital ads and don’t have extra cash in your budget, hold off – or at least wait until you’ve found an influencer whose product aligns closely with your own. Call it your brand soulmate, if you want to be poetic about it. Just don’t rush in and risk buyer’s remorse.
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