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An antidote to adblockers – why social media influencers are the way forward in digital marketing

by Vishal Joshi | 14.09.2017
It’s no secret that social media influencers have the world at their feet when it comes to promoting products and services. It’s one of the most envied jobs out there – from being paid to go on a luxury holiday to being sent free products and experiences to review; the possibilities for social media influencers to work with brands are seemingly endless.

A report by Forbes predicts that 84% of marketers’ plan on executing at least one influencer marketing campaign during the next 12 months. Kylie and Kendall Jenner have been up there with the most popular social media influencers and despite the fact they split opinion on their contribution to society, when it comes to their social media outreach, there are few that can rival the sisters.

Once recent example saw Kylie Jenner collaborate with an affordable clothing brand, Fashion Nova, and in an Instagram post she captioned, whilst wearing an item from the brand: “You don’t have to buy designer clothes to look like a superstar. You just need Fashion Nova.” The post received a staggering 2.2 million likes in 5 days.

Kendall may have had her critics after the Pepsi fiasco and probably rightly so. The campaign exploded like a can of Pepsi if shaken too hard. But her social media following is staggering on all leading platforms. Like her sister, Kylie, she too often promotes brands on her Instagram page – a more recent post, for a retail company called Daniel Wellington, generated almost 3 million likes – and the priceless halo of association with the star and access to her fans.

Perhaps one of the most important stats when it comes to influencers is that 47% of internet users have installed an ad blocker program. But this bares no effect to social media influenced posts – how can you stop Kylie Jenner’s promotion of a watch appearing on 83 million Instagram feeds? You can’t – Social media influencers are immune to ad blocking – It’s the sort of benefit that needs the full advantage taken from.

It’s less to do with the exposure a brand gets and more to do with the association alongside the influencer that they are paying for. A Tomson Blog survey suggested that 51% of marketers believe they acquire better customers through influencer marketing. The survey also concluded that influencer marketing was rated as the fastest-growing online customer-acquisition channel, beating organic search, paid search and email marketing. Ask yourself, what is likely to entice you more – seeing a banner advertisement on Facebook for a new line of Adidas trainers or your favourite singer wearing them telling you that they love it?

YouTube along with Instagram are the most popular platforms social media influencers use to promote products and services, as reported by Forbes. According to Google, 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers say they relate to YouTubers more than to traditional celebrities. It comes as no surprise that this is largely understood by companies such as EA and Machinima, who push their new releases of games like FIFA and Call of Duty via famous YouTubers that have made a name for themselves playing these games.

KSI is one many social media influencers that FIFA use to push their latest installments of the football game – with over 17 million YouTube subscribers, 15 million more than EA Sports FIFA themselves, it’s a no-brainer why KSI is the more viable option to help push the game.

It’s native advertising but revamped – you already know the influencer is promoting a product, but you don’t mind it. It’s the reputation that precedes them, which serves as a loyalty factor to their viewers and followers.

It’s also the subtleties in which the best ones do it with, to integrate their branded campaigns into the unique episodes or series without skipping a beat. Therefore, it’s integral you’ve got the right people for the job – the kind of folks that have the contacts to the right influencers, the experience yet the connectivity to the latest trends and an understanding and appreciation for a specific product or service.

Every day the digital industry is changing – internet consumers are wising up with the tools to prevent spamming and distracting advertising. But the marketers are fighting back – with social media influencers who can attract millions of impressions and promote a brand with priceless credibility and authenticity.