Why influencer marketing needs to be seen as its own media channel
Fabulate’s Ben Gunn argues the days of influencer marketing being seen as a support channel for other paid media are over.
It wasn’t all that long ago that we knew exactly where influencer marketing stood within the marketing mix for a major brand campaign.
The influencer component of the campaign, if there even was one, would be there to help amplify the other paid media channels. Often running alongside any paid public relations strategy aimed at earned media.
If we’re honest, it was a relatively small component of the wider budget. Often, it was there to create ‘noise’ on social media while complementing the channels such as TV, radio, print and outdoor that were doing the so-called “heavy lifting” and driving the brand’s return on investment.
But as we all begin 2024, let’s be honest with ourselves about the major change that has occurred in the past decade and what that means for our marketing mix.
Traditional channels that once held sway, such as television, are in serious decline amid double-digit audience declines. The landscape of video consumption has expanded but also fragmented dramatically, with a myriad of studio-produced options (Netflix, Stan, Prime, Binge, Samsung Ads, the list goes on), and the ascendance is firmly in the hands of creator-led platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Just last week, one of the global experts on these trends, Professor Scott Galloway, predicted that 2024 may well be the year where the streamers and TikTok themselves do battle in terms of consumer attention with creator led content platforms potentially taking share from the professional studios.
Galloway isn’t alone in highlighting the growing dominance of creator-led platforms.
A recent IAB study in the US from December found that 39% of consumers are watching more creator content compared to just 22% tuning into studio content. The average time spent watching creator content is now a substantial 94 minutes per day.
As audiences flock to these creator-led platforms, reaching your desired audience now demands more than just a notional presence on these platforms. Moreover, platforms like TikTok and Instagram make traditional studio-produced content appear out of place.
Add to that the fact that 81% of consumers prefer content from creators over brands, and the case for creator-led content gets even stronger.
The US IAB findings, which are likely to be mirrored among Australian consumers, also indicate that creator content significantly influences the consumer research and consideration phases of the purchase funnel, with creator ads having a 1.4 times greater impact on building brand loyalty and a 1.3 times greater impact on inspiring brand advocacy.
Another fascinating insight from the study is that creator content can turbocharge the purchase funnel, swiftly navigating awareness, interest, and consideration stages. Notably, creator content prompts action – viewers are more likely to seek additional content and interact by liking, commenting, or subscribing. This is further amplified by the platform’s nature, encouraging users to delve deeper into topics of interest.
It’s also interesting to know that while consumers may have different attitudes to creator versus studio content, almost 90% of advertisers use the same KPI metrics for both forms of content, with 86% expressing confidence in measuring the effectiveness of creator content campaigns.
For marketers, now is the time to reassess the marketing mix and ensure your brand’s marketing mix reflects the media landscape in 2024. Not 2014. Any media channel plan should have influencer marketing, not just a support medium but rather a central media channel in its own right, ideally with a strategy tailored for the specific creator platforms.
If we’re accepting that creator-led platforms are both highly effective, measurable and in the ascendancy when it comes to consumer attention and eyeballs, then it makes sense to give them a central place at the table when it comes to allocating spending.
Marketers are rightly not just placing their bets on creator content; the results they’re witnessing underscore the pivotal role in media budgets it will have for years to come.
Ben Gunn is the Chief Revenue Officer of social and content marketing workflow platform Fabulate.
