#5TipsToRecognisePaidPosts
Written by: Lucia Luzzi
“I’ve never been under so much pressure as now to prove myself not as a blogger or beauty expert but as a salesperson.” Jane Dunningham, writer of British Beauty Blogger (Fashion and Beauty Monitor, 2015)
Zoella. A name the whole social media world knows. The British blogger Zoe Sugg, known under ‘Zoella’, started her stunning success story by posting videos and tutorials about beauty, fashion and life on YouTube (Zoella, n.d.). Since the beginning in 2009, she gained over 11 million subscribers and 664 million views (Jones, 2016) and almost 10 million followers on Instagram (Zoella, 2016a). Besides that, she published the novel series ‘Online Girl’ and her own beauty line ‘Zoella Beauty’ (Zoella, n.d.).
This is only one example out of hundreds. But, it illustrates perfectly how big a fan community of a Social Media Influencer and how successful Social Media Influencer can nowadays become. No wonder that, according to a report from 2015, 75% of the marketers are using Influencer Marketing as one of their communication tools (Morrison, 2015). A pretty smart move considering the high number of potential customers they can reach. But how exactly are they using and selecting Social Media Influencers? And more important, how does this affect the customers and how can they identify sponsored content?
Social Media, say ‘Hi’ to Influencer Marketing
Let’s start with the roots: Influencer
Marketing is a phenomenon which has been introduced by social media and the change from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. It is nothing different than word-of-mouth marketing taking place in a digital world (Pophal, 2015; Weiss, 2015). As the ‘Nielson Global Trust in Advertising Survey’ revealed, 92% of the consumers worldwide trust word-of-mouth and recommendations more than any other advertising form, such as branded communications (Liu et al., 2015; Pophal, 2015). Accordingly, word-of-mouth is the most trusted source of consumer information (Weiss, 2015).
These are additional facts that sound like reasonable arguments for brands to use Social Media Influencers. But there is one big challenge marketers have to face - which Social Media Influencer is the right fit for my brand?
Be my Friend!
Social Media Influencer are individuals who have the ability to influence the buying intentions or at least the opinion of a specific target group in the social media space (Fashion and Beauty Monitor, 2015; Pophal, 2015). There are different kinds of Social Media Influencers. For example, ‘blogger’ who write reviews for their own website, ‘Instas’ who are mainly known for their posts on the platform Instagram or ‘YouTuber’ who mostly produce videos, such as beauty tutorials or fashion reviews.
During the elective process, the credibility of the Social Media Influencer is a crucial factor for the brand. Thereby, the credibility of the influencer as an endorsed person isn’t the issue. This factor is already given as the consumers only follow or like an influencer if they perceive a certain amount of trust, reliability and credibility. It is necessary that the influencer is credible in relation to the brand. The trick is to find someone who is already naturally passionate about the brand or product (Pophal, 2015). Due to the perceived authentic character and expertise, influencers build real relationships with their audience based on trust and credibility (Wiley & Talamantez, 2016).
Followers see their endorsed influencer as a trustworthy and reliable friend. But, is a Social Media Influencer really a friend? A person who is trustworthy and reliable even though he/she is cooperating with a brand to influence its target audience and their buying decisions?
Turn it around! Learnings from a Theoretical and Practical Per-spective of Influencer Marketing
To say it straight forward: practitioners know and understand the needs of their customers. At the same time, they know the market forces at play and act consequently (Strategic Direction, 2012). These circumstances and facts allow brands to go one step further - to attract their customers even more. Various studies and theories about customer and, especially for social media, user behaviour serve practitioners as a solid basis they can draw on their Influencer Marketing Strategy:
1. Customer Engagement Cycle: To build trust and commitment in long term relationships, customers need to be engaged. A trusted influencer is the perfect way to start the engagement cycle by connecting the brand with the influencer’s social media community. The customers close this cycle with brand engagement crossing the stages satisfaction, commitment and advocacy among others (Strategic Direction, 2012). For brands, the customer’s relationship to the influencer serve as a beneficial way to get in touch with them, but without having barriers like scepticism or bias.
2. Three of the Six P’s of Social Media: Social media users are persons who have the purpose to make beneficial connections with other individuals. An influencer embodies one of these individuals, who can also be seen as another customer a user can connect with. At the same time influencer are seen as upward peers who are perceived to have a better life quality in particular aspects compared to the user. Customers look up to them for inspiration and look forward for their posts. Brands benefit as they cooperate with upward peers, influencers, to create an informational post which doesn’t purport to be an advertisement (Wang, 2012).
3. Customer Influencer Value (CIV): From the brand’s perspective social media has positive effects on customer value creation. One component is CIV, the value of influence that an individual, influencer, exerts on other customers (Hamilton, Kaltcheva & Rohm, 2016; Kumar et al., 2010). And again, practitioners use the impact an influencer has on its community, potential customers, to create value for their brand.
4. Identification Process: This long known and studied process is based on an individual’s desire to be like the endorser (influencer) by imitating the endorser’s behaviour, especially the use and therefore purchase of the endorsed brand or product (Kapitan & Silvera, 2015; Kelman, 1961). Brands target the customer’s craving to imitate their idols and use it for their own end.
These are just a few examples to demonstrate how brands work with Social Media Influencers. Their main intention is to use the trustworthy and reliable relationship between the influencer and its community for their own value: gain new and maintain existing customers. Therefore, it is crucial for the practitioners to find an influencer who is a right and credible fit, especially in relation to its followers who need to consist of potential customers (Fashion and Beauty Monitor, 2015).
For now, there are two known ways how a Social Media Influencer can generate an impact for the brand:
1) organically: influencers support the brand or product of their own accord
2) being paid: influencers get paid to link to or talk about the brand or product (Pophal, 2015).
As the relationship between an influencer and its community is built upon trust andcredibility, customers react negatively if they realise their idol has been paid to talk about a brand (Pophal, 2015). They lose trust and faith in the influencer. Additionally, a study revealed that Overt Marketing of Social Media Influencers (to communicate openly to get sponsored/paid) has a negative effect on customers intentions, such as an interest in the influencer or purchase intentions (Liljander, Gummerus & Söderlund, 2014).
Brands therefore prefer the first option. But, as the first option isn’t controllable by the brand, they hire Social Media Influencers and mostly try to avoid that the posts appear as a sponsored advertisement.
#5TipsToRecognisePaidPosts
For customers, it is getting harder and harder to discern an organic versus a paid review (Pophal, 2015). So, to avoid being blinded by a Social Media Influencer, it is all about finding out if the influencer has been paid for the published review or post.
#1 Use of hashtags of the brand (Instagram):
In Social Media Platforms, mainly in Instagram, influencers use hashtags ‘#’ to express what the photo is about or what they associate it with. This can be a hint if a brand is mentioned after a # and a brand’s product is shown in the photo.
#2 Link of brands in the photo (Instagram):
In Instagram, users have the opportunity to link another profile in their picture. This other profile can be the official Instagram page of a brand and therewith an indicator that the brand sponsored the content.
#3 Link of brands in the text (Blog):
If an influencer has its own blog and dedicate a whole post to a review of a brand or product, it is a good sign of a cooperation with the brand. Mostly, the brand’s name in the text is highlighted and linked to its online shop or a Social Media Platform.
#4 Link of brands in the Bio (Instagram):
Especially in the social media world of fitness and healthy food, it is a common way for brands to have a whole fitness influencer community. They function as brand ambassadors and can even offer discounts of the endorsed brand to their followers. A hint for this collaboration can be found in the Bios, a short profile description, of the influencers profile.
#5 Cooperation/Sponsorship mentioned:
At the end of a blog post or as a hashtag in the description of a photo, a brand can be named with the direct hint that the post was sponsored by the brand: #ad, #advertisement or, very obvious, ‘sponsored by…’.
The mentioned tips function as an assistance to identify a possible cooperation between a Social Media Influencer and a brand. If one of the situations occurs, it doesn’t automatically stand for a paid post or review. Nevertheless, it is a first indicator and definitively worth to have a second thought and look into in order to be able to critically process the message of the content.
#1 British Beauty Blogger’s post of the Dior products (Source: British Beauty Blogger, 2016)
Hint: hashtag of Dior in the description (#diorbeauty, #diorspring2017)
#2 Fashion Blogger Pinkfoxy’s post of flowers from Grace Flowerbox (Source: Pinkfoxy, 2016a)
Hint: official Instagram profile of Grace Flowerbox linked in the photo
#3 Blogger Zoella’s review of Clarins Lipsticks (Source: Zoella, 2015)
Hint: in-text link of ‘Clarins Joli Rouge Lpisticks’
d#4 Fitness Blogger Raspberry_whitechocolate’s Bio in Instagram (Source: Raspberry_whitechocolate, 2016)
Hint: ambassador membership of ‘Team Gymqueen’ and discount stated this
#5 Fashion Blogger Pinkfoxy’s post of a watch from Kapten & Son (Source: Pinkfoxy, 2016b
Hint: sponsorship directly stated in description ‘#ad’
To Sum it up!
First of all, not all posts and reviews are paid and even if Social Media Influencers have been paid, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t honest about their opinion regarding the brand or product. Nevertheless, it is nowadays a common way for brands to pay Social Media Influencers to talk and write about them. After all, many influencers work as bloggers, YouTubers or Instas full time and earn their daily bread with it.
As brands have recognised the high potential of Influencer Marketing and more Social Media Influencer are willing to cooperate with brands, the risk that customers are blinded by the sponsored content increases. Even though influencers need to state if they have been sponsored or paid by a brand due to the Federal Trade Commission’s disclosure policy (Blastmedia, 2015), for customers, this information can still be ‘hidden’ enough. It is always advisable to keep the eyes open. The tips above can be a helpful tool to stay cautious and attentive.
A Social Media Influencer can be a friend, also a trustworthy and reliable one. But, the friendship to an influencer is still only ‘online’ and ‘one-sided’. Additionally, the influencer might have his/her own purpose in mind. It is always worthwhile to ask oneself: Do I really need this dress, protein powder, …? Or am I just admiring it because he/she (influencer) is wearing/ using it?
There is no general rule which allows customers to judge if the influencer’s opinion in a sponsored post is honest or not. It indeed can be honest, but it can also be influenced by the sponsorship.
More and more customers are becoming aware of Influencer Marketing and sponsored contents in the posts of Social Media Influencer. For the future, it is interesting to see how Influencer Marketing in general and the relationship between customers and influencers evolve. Will there be significant effects for the brand or even the Social Media Influencer? Positive or negative?
References:
Journal Articles:
Hamilton, M., Kaltcheva, V. D. & Rohm, A. J. (2016). Social Media and Value Creation: The Role of Interaction Satisfaction and Interaction Immersion, Journal of Interactive Marketing, [e-journal] vol. 36, pp.121–133, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Kapitan, S. & Silvera, D. H. (2015). From Digital Media Influencers to Celebrity Endorsers: Attributions Drive Endorser Effectiveness, Marketing Letters, [e-journal] vol. 27, no. 3, pp.553–567, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Kelman, H. C. (1961). Processes of Opinion Change, Public Opinion Quarterly, [e-journal], Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Kumar, V., Aksoy, L., Donkers, B., Venkatesan, R., Wiesel, T. & Tillmanns, S. (2010). Undervalued or Overvalued Customers: Capturing Total Customer Engagement Value, Journal of Service Research, vol. 13, no. 3, pp.297–310.
Liljander, V., Gummerus, J. & Söderlund, M. (2014). Young Consumers’ Responses to Suspected Covert and Overt Blog Marketing, Internet Research, vol. 25, no. 4, pp.610-632, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Liu, S., Jiang, C., Lin, Z., Ding, Y., Duan, R. & Xu, Z. (2015). Identifying Effective Influencers Based on Trust for Electronic Word-of-Mouth Marketing: A Domain-Aware Approach, Information Sciences, [e-journal] vol. 306, pp.34–52, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Wang, H. (2012). Six P’s of Youth Social Media from a Young Consumer’s Perspective, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, vol. 13, pp.303–317, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Websites/Social Media Platforms:
Blastmedia (2015). Social Media Marketing Influences Consumer Behavior. Available Online: http://www.blastmedia.com/2014/07/30/3-ways-social-media-marketing-influences-consumer-behavior/ [Accessed 27. November 2016]
Fashion and Beauty Monitor. (2015). THE RISE OF INFLUENCERS, Fashion and Beauty Monitor, [e-journal], Available Online: http://images.fashionmonitor.com/Documents/2016/1/fashion-and-beauty-monitor-rise-of-influencers.pdf.
Indvik, L. (2016). The 20 most influential personal style bloggers: 2016 edition. Available Online: http://fashionista.com/2016/03/style-bloggers-2016 [Accessed 26. November 2016]
Jones, J. (2016). Girl Online: What Zoella has taught us about successful influencer marketing. Available Online: http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2016/11/18/girl-online-what-zoella-has-taught-us-about-successful-influencer-marketing [Accessed 26. November 2016]
Morrison, K. (2015). Report: 75% of Marketers Are Using Influencer Marketing. Available Online: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/report-75-of-marketers-are-using-influencer-marketing/62821 [Accessed 26. November 2016]
Strategic Direction (2012). A Customer Engagement Cycle for Web 2.0, Strategic Direction, [e-journal] vol. 28, no. 10, pp.6–8, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 10 November 2016]
Weiss, R. (2015). Influencer Marketing: How Word-of-Mouth Marketing Can Strengthen Your Organization’s Brand, Marketing Insights, [e-journal] vol. 10, no. 1, pp.16–18, Available through: LUSEM Library website: http://www.lusem.lu.se/library [Accessed 9 November 2016]
Wiley, D. & Talamantez, A. (2016). 5 Influencer Marketing Trends That Are Changing the Game - Chiefmarketer, Chiefmarketer.com, [e-journal], Available Online: http://www.chiefmarketer.com/5-influencer-marketing-trends-that-are-changing-the-game/.
Zoella (n.d.). About me. Available Online: https://www.zoella.co.uk/about-me [Accessed 26. November 2016]
Zoella (2016). Zoella [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/zoella/ [Accessed 26. November 2016]
Images:
#1: British Beauty Blogger (2016). Britbeautyblog [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNHQCNpD9Lu/?taken-by=britbeautyblog [Accessed 27. November 2016]
#2: Pinkfoxy (2016a). Pinkfoxy [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMWpn67BA88/?taken-by=pinkfoxy [Accessed 27. November 2016]
#3: Zoella (2015). A Lipstick Lovers Dream, Clarins Joli Rouge, web blog post available at: https://www.zoella.co.uk/2015/10/a-lipstick-lovers-dream-clarins-joli-rouge.html
[Accessed 26. November 2016]
#4: Raspberry_Whitechocolate (2016). Raspberry_Whitechocolate [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/raspberry_whitechocolate/ [Accessed 27. November 2016]
#5: Pinkfoxy (2016b). Pinkfoxy [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDIesgylMQs/?taken-by= [Accessed 27. November 2016]