Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (Section B) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Lifestyle & Niche Media Blog 3, Question 3 (Feb. 21st)
How are brands and advertisers using
social media influencers to target audiences? What are the plusses and minuses
of using YouTubers and Instagram stars to promote products? Limit: 7 responses
Danial Donnelly Social media is being used for advertisers to promote their advertisers through celebrities as a form of cheap, and easy advertising. With social media being so popular, is no wonder than advertisers turn to social media as an advertising outlet. People with the most followers, the Kim Kardashian’s and the Selena Gomez’s of the world, get money to promote certain products in their tweets or Instagram posts. Selena Gomez can make up to half a million dollars with one post shared across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Case). It may seem like a bit much, but when looking at all of her followers, it may not be as ridiculous as it sounds. Gomez has 150 million followers from just Twitter and Instagram. That alone makes her social media posts so valuable, because it can reach an outstanding amount of people. “The most valuable weapon of any brand or agency is undoubtedly its people. As the social and content landscapes shift, there is demand for a new multifaceted talent pool whose skill sets lie in a unique blend of creative, strategy, data and analytics and storytelling” (Box). Using Instagram stars and YouTubers is a great strategy for advertising because you can get a close to exact number of how many views each post will get, based on the amount of followers the person posting has. Although you can closely estimate how many views each post will get, there still is a flaw in advertising through social media and YouTubers. By going through specific people or channels, you limit yourself to that niche of people. So if you use Selena Gomez for a post, her niche fan base will be the only ones seeing it. For example, I highly doubt that the NBA will use Selena Gomez for their advertisements, because her following is not geared towards the NBA. So while advertising through social media may be effective, you limit yourself to the following of that celebrity or YouTuber. That hinders the brands ability to expand beyond its initial target audience, because only one audience is going to see it. This is different from TV advertisements because everybody sees those ads regardless of if you follow them or not. It also limits you to a certain demographic, as social media is largely utilized by young adults. That makes it so only people online and using social media can see the advertisements.
For the future of advertising, I think social media will be used more and more and eventually make social media seem tired and worn out. It is already getting annoying scrolling through Instagram and Twitter and seeing ads every 5 posts, or trying to watch a minute long YouTube video with a 30 second advertisement. Instagram has upped its ad time to 60 seconds per ad, as compared to Facebook’s 30-second ad time. Instagram says they want their advertisers to use their “creative resources” and to add variety to their ads to reach their business goals. That’s nice and all, but I’m calling bullshit. They are going to make $2.39 billion in advertising revenues, but they just want their businesses to succeed and be creative (O’Malley). I think that if they keep this 60 second advertisement time, and more ads come up on Twitter and YouTube, social media will be less influential and eventually will lose popularity because of the over-advertising. Facebook has been able to stay relevant for a very long time, and I think they are smart to keep their ad time to 30 seconds.
Works Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web.
Case, Laura. "How Much Do Celebrities Get Paid to Tweet?" Wetpaint, Inc. N.p., 20 July 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O'Malley, Gavin. "Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands." MediaPost. 4 Feb. 2016. Web.
There is no denying that social media is one of the top tools to reach out to an audience and promote products. Social media platforms have many defining aspects that draw brands and advertisers to invest. One of the biggest advantages of using social media is the cost; it is free to create an account on virtually every platform to promote your products. Another advantage is how connected society is to technology. Almost everyone has a smart phone and uses some sort of social media platform, so if you are an advertiser looking to reach an audience, there is a good chance your message will be seen by many different types of people on that platform. One of the biggest advantages of promoting products on social media is the ability to connect with a younger audience, which is crucial for growing an audience and maintaining that audience over the years. Given the influx of content across different social media platforms, media consumers have been more connected than ever. This gives advertisers the opportunity to become more connected with consumers and promote products. Celebrities and social influencers carry a large, influential presence on these platforms, so brands and advertisers have been eager to take advantage of this influence and use it to promote (Box). In recent years, I have seen an explosion of advertisers taking advantage of social media influencers to promote a certain product or brand. Companies link up with celebrities, or even regular people with an insane amount of followers to have them promote their product or brand. We see it the most with celebrities because they have millions of followers and a strong influence over their audience. If they pick up a certain brand or product and start posting pictures of them promoting it, they are informing a large audience of that brand who will then be influenced to go out and research it themselves. We see this all the time with people like athletes and the Kardashians.
Other social media influencers are people who have made a huge presence for themselves online by becoming a YouTube or Instagram star. These influencers are especially attractive to advertisers because they typically appeal to a younger audience, which is important especially for start-up companies. On entrepreneur.com, Jake Paul is listed as the #1 social media influencer, and he is only 20 years old. He began by posting videos on Vine, which now span to YouTube and various other platforms, and he has garnered over 17 million social media followers (Toren). Due to his massive online presence and audience, dozens of big brands have reached out to him to promote their products to millennials. Although social media influencers seem like the golden opportunity for brands and advertisers, there is still some risk in forming a business relationship with these stars. PewDewPie has recently been receiving a lot of bad press due to a video that expressed anti-Semitic views. He has 53 million YouTube subscribers and is easily one of the biggest social media influencers today, known for his over the top humor (Main). However, his over the top humor got the best of him and caused many brands to sever ties with him after his ill-received video made headlines. Brands need to recognize that these social media influencers become representatives of their brand, so they need to be careful with whom they form business relationships. Works Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web. Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web. Toren, Adam. "9 Top Social Media Influencers Marketers Need to Follow." Entrepreneur. N.p., 24 Jan. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
New media celebrities, like YouTubers, Instagram Celebs, or Twttier Famous People, all have gained their fame because of the Internet. These new celebrities have niche audiences that advertisers can try to tap into. This can be a win-win situation for both the celebrity and the advertiser. This combination may be happening more, “Studio and network executives say they work with influencers to build brand awareness and buzz in a more intimate way through the friend-like connections consumers feel toward the online personalities they follow,” (Villarreal). The celebrity makes money, and the advertiser gets to pitch their product to an intimate audience they may have not tapped into. It gets difficult when the audience is not receptive to the advertiser or thinks that the celebrity is just in it for the money. It is a fine line between the celebrities being called phony by his or her audience or it is made to seem like an organic relationship.
To be a social media celebrity, you start by gathering an audience with a talent or something you do. Brandon Wardell is a comedian who has gathered an audience on Twitter by putting some of his jokes online. Casey Neistat is a YouTuber who use to daily vlog, but now releases videos on his channel just weekly. The richest of all of them is the YouTuber PewDiePie who plays video games on the Internet. These people are able to make their money because advertisers want to tap into their niche audience. It allows brands to tap into a specific audience that may be attracted to their product.
This works well when a social media influencer seems to organically go to the product. For example, Casey Neistat uses drones to make his videos so he has collaborated with GoPro and DJI, both make drones, to make videos for them. It is a win-win situation because Casey’s audience knows how much he believes in the products, and the companies are tapped into an audience that would be interested in their product. Audiences are craving this kind of collaboration, “With consumers becoming more and more disillusioned with traditional advertising experiences, their desire to form meaningful brand connections will drive marketers to invest and experiment more in innovative content formats,” (Box). If the ads can seem like they go together than it will help both parties involved. It goes wrong when the influencer seems they are endorsing a product superficially and only for the money. This upsets the audience of the influencer and can actually hurt the view of the product in consumer’s eyes. Recently PewDiePie had endorsements from Disney and YouTube pulled after a Wall Street Journal article highlighted racist jokes he had made. The odd thing is he had always made some controversial jokes, and the advertisers should have known that when collaborating with him, “PewDiePie was known for his over-the-top humor, and any brand buying ads against an influencer, or working with them on a campaign, takes a risk of putting themselves into an influencer’s hand” (Main). Sometimes collaborations do not turn out as planned just because the audience of the endorsers and influencers do not work together. As long as the relationship is not about the money, audiences seem to be receptive to this type of advertising.
Works Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek. N.p., 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Villarreal, Yvonne, and Daniel Miller. "Social media stars are helping Hollywood reach younger audiences, for a price." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Angie King Brands and advertisers strategically pair up with social media influencers in order to get their message across in a more organic and authentic way. Advertising agencies needed to find new ways to reach consumers, in attempts to stray from redundant traditional advertising. A meaningful way to advertise is through social media influencers. These influencers already have authentic bonds with their followers, making the message much more meaningful than a traditional ad. Brands and advertisers are getting more creative than simply sticking with celebrity endorsements. They are shifting to micro-celebrities on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. These micro-celebrities serve as endorsements for the brands and products as an attempt to appeal to faithful followers. The marriage between brands and creators is becoming more careful and data-driven, due to its proven success. The company Studio71 analyzes creators and brands to try to make the best pairs between the two. The leader of this group, Matt Seiler, noted that “There wasn’t enough consideration of the matches between brands and creators…we need to be understanding of what’s actually important to creators and to present things with more choicefulness” (Main “This Multichannel Network”). The company uses three main tools to help guide their decision making process. One tool measures something called “social media velocity” which is the rate at which people are talking about subjects on social media. Another tool samples consumers and asks for their feedback in order to make more informed decisions about the perception of brands. The third tool uses the brand’s budget towards whichever platform performs the best. These tools allow brands to get quantitative data on something that seems so abstract. Viktor & Rolf led one successful campaign for their new fragrance with the right match between creators and brands. The VP of marketing for the brand noted that they “carefully select influencers who match [their] consumer and embody [their] brand” (Main “This Fragrance Company”). The company hired professional photographers and a florist to create “flower-scapes” for the social media influencers. In this way, the Instagram posts were visually appealing, creative, and unique to each influencer’s style. The careful consideration of style was important. Social influencers are so powerful because “their fans, or audience, have chosen specifically whose content to pay attention to…influencers understand how important that relationship is, and they don’t want to abuse that trust” (Main “This Fragrance Company”). The fragrance brand presented itself very well on Instagram because of the authentic content that the influencers posted. Brands must be very careful while choosing which influencers they want representing them. They must keep in mind that social media influencers are individuals with their own motives. The CEO of InsightPool noted, “marketers haven’t quite yet evolved their mindset to remember they’re dealing with humans and emotions, and people who follow influencers because of those feelings” (Main “PewDiePie”). Brands are taking a risk when having social media stars represent them. PewDiePie, YouTube’s biggest star, represented some brands poorly through one of his recent posts. He posted a video with anti-Semitic messages and dressed up as Hitler. Some brands that associated with him, like YouTube and Disney, distanced themselves after this controversial post. It is important for brands to monitor the influencers they choose, because their messages are so delicate. Another potential downside of using social media influencers as advertising is that of inauthenticity. The right match between influencer and brand is important to make organic content.
Works Cited Main, Sami. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers With Major Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." – Adweek. N.p., 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Social media is a space where people are able to pick and choose what they want to see based on what relates to them personally. As Main mentioned in one of her articles, “Viewing your feed is like dipping into your own private space that you got to decorate just how you like” (Main). This has been able to bring in a large change for the advertising world. Now, instead of advertising to a mass audience via magazine or newspaper, companies are able to target specific niche audiences and grab their attention in a much easier manner. To do this, advertising companies will go to a social media platform, mainly that of Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, and organize for their advertisement to be seen at a certain time of day by a specific group of people. By doing this, people who are going through their newsfeed, also known as ‘timeline’ or ‘home page’, are more likely to stop as it specifically relates to their interests. This is generating a very large income for these social platforms, as O’Malley mentions, “By 2017, Instagram’s ad revenues will grow more than four times in size to reach $2.39 billion” (O’Malley). Although this seems like a large amount of money, it’s important to remember that it would not be invested in this type of advertisement unless it worked.
Advertising on social media isn’t done just through the self-made commercials the company has organized to pop up on people’s newsfeeds. Instead, companies are now contacting people who have a large social media following, also known as ‘social media influencers’, to do their advertising for them. By paying these people a certain amount of money, they place a company’s product in either their Instagram post, or mention them in their YouTube video, in order to get the word out there. Although it seems like a small step to take, millions of people follow bloggers/vloggers (video bloggers) online. Main mentions in her article, “Logan Paul [well-known vlogger] can upload a video with his best friends and get 120 million views in less than 36 hours, but the first presidential debate had 80 million views” (Main). What Main was trying to explain here is that these social media influencers have a lot more reach than people may think. People watch almost every day and listen to what these people are talking about or what they are promoting next. With views that reach into the hundreds of millions, it would be foolish to not try and advertise or send out a message.
Social influencers is a good approach to advertising as they have a less likely opportunity to embarrass the brand. “There are millions of pieces of content uploaded every day, and very rarely do you hear of an influencer embarrassing a brand. With celebrities, they might appear as a spokesperson for a fragrance one day and end up on the front page of a tabloid for falling down drunk outside a club the next” (Main). Many of these people have the same, if not more, influence on people than celebrities, however they are not such a large liability on a company as they are rarely in the spotlight. Also with the media shifting more towards these social media platform, people want to see advertisement done in a more relatable way. By having these ‘everyday people’ advertising products, people are much more inclined to stop and pay attention. Box mentions, “As the social and content landscapes shift, there is demand for a new multifaceted talent pool whose skill sets lie in a unique blend of creative, strategy, data and analytics and storytelling” (Box). These social media influencers, although come across as everyday people, are everything Box explains - they must all be unique. Having these attributes makes them more desirable to watch, and eventually to listen to. However, this does not mean there are no cons to having social media influencers represent a brand. Taking the YouTube sensation PewDiePie for example, it is easy for these social media influencers to make a mistake. PewDiePie was one of the most subscribed to people on YouTube and had ties to both the website (including Google) as well as other company’s such as Disney. However, “After the Wall Street Journal revealed that PewDiePie released a video with anti-Semitic messages, Disney and YouTube distanced themselves from digital media’s biggest celebrity” (Main). These companies can’t control everything that goes into these videos, therefore it is difficult for them to know what exactly they are being associated with. Although PewDiePie tried to defend himself, the damage had be done. When you’re associated with a social media influencer like that, it is important to be aware of all the messages they are sending out and how that will reflect on your company as a whole.
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers with Major Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O’Malley, Gavin. “Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands.” Media Post. 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Social media platforms have undeniably become sort of a virtual mall for brands and advertisers. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner endorse several different products solely through their social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram. The real question is why more advertisers will choose YouTube stars and popular Internet figures for their branding. Upon doing research for this assignment, I found out that there is actually an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) with guidelines that need to be followed. (King 2015). It is not as simple as finding the most popular public figure and throwing them some money. There are specific rules that these stars need to follow when branding for these companies. Brands often choose influencers who might benefit and relate to their products. For example, many YouTube stars promote the website, audible.com. It is an audio book site with over thousands of books to listen to. Almost all of the YouTubers who promote audible are in fact authors themselves. During their bit about the website they often mention their own book that you can go listen to, which is benefiting them. They typically close off their segment by flashing a pretty link on the screen with their special code for the viewers to save money. It is a win-win-win situation!
Of course with every up there comes a down. A few of these collapses are mentioned in an article revealing a major company’s downfall with YouTube star, PewDiePie. PewDiePie is known all over YouTube primarily for his popular video game commentary. His channel has almost 50 million subscribers; that’s a lot of consumers. Brands will most likely jump to the top influencers to endorse their products, so PewDiePie was a no brainer. However, PewDiePie’s branding went wrong when his audience started changing. His channel went from strictly gaming to more of a comedy channel. There is no harm in a little change, however this can quickly become detrimental for brands and advertisers who specifically chose PewDiePie for his targeted audience. Now there are agencies to correct the brand-influencer matchup, like Studio71. I think this is super important in the marketing of these brands. They are the ones who convince major brands such as Disney and Coca-Cola to sign on with these online influencers that the older crowd may have never even heard of. Studio71 has to explain and show evidence of how many views a 6-second vine from Logan Paul will get in 24 hours. (Main 2017).
Some of these brands are losing their advantage in the market as they work with big time celebrities. The problem with big-time celebrities is their actions are constantly accounted for. What you see is never exactly what you get. Spaces like YouTube can be more personal and intimate, which makes them seem relatable to their viewers. If a viewer can relate to the influencer selling the product, then they are more likely to subscribe to or purchase that product. In more specific terms, a teenage girl might be more likely to purchase a product that is endorsed by their favorite beauty guru rather than Kylie Jenner. Relating to Kylie Jenner is pretty difficult, but relating to another teenage girl across the country making makeup videos from her bedroom is a bit easier.
Works Cited
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web.
Main, Sami. “This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers with Major Brands.” Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web
"Embrace social media stars, they can work wonders for your brand." Digital marketing. Guardian News and Media, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Social media is something that has become a part of many people’s everyday lives. With the emergence of numerous social media platforms, advertisers and brands have been able to establish another way of directly accessing their target audiences. The use of Instagram stars and YouTubers are one of the ways brands and advertisers are using social media to target audiences. This has created a social media age filled with advertisements that are based off one’s interests. Putting advertisements in between posts is another way advertisers and brands are targeting audiences through social media. YouTube is one platform that has become a target for advertisers and brands. YouTube is something that has only grown within the past years and continues to grow everyday. With YouTubers building careers out of their YouTube channels, it has only caught the attention of advertisers and brands. YouTubers are great for advertising products simply because some subscribers will buy such products because that one person has it. Loyal fans confide in these YouTubers and will often go out and buy a product simply because the person has it or recommends it. As mentioned in one article, “More than anything, customers look to connect with brands beyond the product level, in addition to connecting with communities, both small and large, that share their stories” (Box). People are more likely to buy something knowing that others who share their same interests have it as well. For example, one YouTuber I watch who does make-up is always advertising different make-up brands. Due to this, I feel more open to buying the make-up she advertises just because I know she likes it.
Instagram is another platform that has become advertisement heavy. With users that follow celebrities and Instagram stars, it creates this opportunity for advertisers to target those who share specific interests based on the content of the account they follow. As mentioned in an article discussing social media’s influence on advertising, “These advanced targeting options increase your ad’s relevance to your users and provide a level of personalization that is not achievable on other advertising channels” (Ganguly). These brands and advertisers know how loyal many of these fans are and know that these stars of Instagram, for example, serve as great influencers and trendsetters for their audiences/fans. As mentioned in the article, “Agency executives say Instagram has become a favorite playing ground for clients” (O’Malley). Instagram is a great place for advertising based on the amount of people who have it and interact with it on a daily basis. Despite all the advantages, there are still factors that pose as negatives when it comes to using YouTubers and Instagram stars as influencers for target audiences. One of these disadvantages is the fact that people don’t like to watch ads. People like to know that what they are watching is just for pure entertainment and not to help influence you to buy a product. Another disadvantage would be that fans learn to trust these YouTubers and Instagram stars and with the addition of advertisements, people may become annoyed. These advertisements may become distractions from the content of the channel and may turn people off from watching it. This may make the fans feel as though these stars are betraying them because in the end, they are being influenced to buy a product when all they wanted was to watch a video for entertainment purposes.
Social media is only growing and with this, comes more opportunities for brands and advertisers in the future. While social media has proven to be a great forum for advertising, it still has its advantages and disadvantages. Either way, brands and advertisers are getting the exposure they want in a way that directly connects them to their target audience.
Box, Toni. “Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017.” Adweek.com. 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Ganguly, Sonny. “Why Social Media Advertising is Set to Explode in the Next 3 Years.” MarketingLand.com, Social Media Marketing. 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O’Malley, Gavin. “Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands.” MediaPost.com, Social Media & Marketing Daily. 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Box, Toni. “Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017.” Adweek.com. 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web. Saiidi, Uptin. "For brands, your Instagram feed is better than Vogue or Time." CNBC. CNBC, 09 June 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Today we are fortunate enough, as Media Studies students, to live in an era of rapid change, and growth within pre-existing media industries, and the advent of new high-tech social media. Social media has taken the world by storm, its capabilities have allowed for a divergence of media content to different platforms and the ability to view these different platforms all on the go from nearly anywhere in the world. Social media has shrunk the world, and blurred the lines between producer and consumer, creating a new player in the media world, the prosumer. Instead of simply consuming the products, or in this case media content, “… people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly through their involvement on the social web.” (Gunelius) Social media has allowed people to break free of the shackles that tied them down as voiceless consumers. Now, due to user interactivity, people can voice their opinions and can influence their wide network of friends, family and acquaintances. For example, with Yelp, now everyone who has a profile can become a ‘professional’ restaurant reviewer. In addition, new personalities have gained celebrity status all thanks to their social media accounts. They have become creators. They create their own content and have thus in turn created their own brand attracting their own audience. People from all walks of life and a plethora of different interests have made their claim to fame from social media, from modeling, to baking, to photography. Marketing companies have taken notice and have changed their approaches to reach and interact within this new media landscape. Many big companies use product placement within the celebrity creators content as advertisements for their brands. If done right and if the brands are matched up well together, the advertisement will reach the intended audience with an authentic feel. In order to be done right, the creators sometimes use a middle man to match their brand with those of potential advertisers. They need someone to “…help brands find the exact right influencers to work with.” (Main) They notice how many follower’s particular creators have, who and what kind of people follow them and match their particular brand and niche audience to a brand that would appeal to that same niche audience. That being said, some companies are satisfied with the typical product placement/celebrity endorsement where the celebrity pitches their product in a straightforward manner. However, some are catching on to the fact that consumers are seeing through those ads. Because of this, companies have begun to think against the grain. For example, Viktor & Rolf, a fragrance company went down a less traditional path, giving up some of their creative power and allowing the creator to put the implement the product placement in their own way. The company “…worked with various designers and the influencers themselves to create … and eventually post on their own social channels.” (Main 2) This way, the ad seems and is more authentic. The consumer doesn’t see the creator as if they are selling out to big brands for a paycheck. But because the social media creator gets some creative power, it seems as if they actually use and enjoy the product being shown, thus conveying an authentic connection between brand, the creator/prosumer, and the audience.
Furthermore, some companies prefer the more traditional advertisement that would reach a larger audience. Instagram’s parent company, Facebook has launched an extended ad campaign to increase the amount of ads on Instagram “By 2017, Instagram’s ad revenues will grow more than four times in size to reach $2.39 billion…” (O’Malley) The positives of this kind of traditional ad where its sprinkled in the mix of content from other users, is that big companies can reach a very large amount of potential consumers. In addition, brand name companies also create their own pages and content just like consumers do. These pages, although they are ads themselves, also allow for unprecedented levels of user and brand interactivity. Works cited Sami Main. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers With Major Brands." – Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. . Sami Main. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." – Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. . Susan Gunelius. "The Shift from CONsumers to PROsumers." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. . O'Malley, Gavin. "Instagram Ups Ad Time For Brands." Mediapost.com. N.p., 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. .
Danial Donnelly
ReplyDeleteSocial media is being used for advertisers to promote their advertisers through celebrities as a form of cheap, and easy advertising. With social media being so popular, is no wonder than advertisers turn to social media as an advertising outlet. People with the most followers, the Kim Kardashian’s and the Selena Gomez’s of the world, get money to promote certain products in their tweets or Instagram posts. Selena Gomez can make up to half a million dollars with one post shared across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Case). It may seem like a bit much, but when looking at all of her followers, it may not be as ridiculous as it sounds. Gomez has 150 million followers from just Twitter and Instagram. That alone makes her social media posts so valuable, because it can reach an outstanding amount of people. “The most valuable weapon of any brand or agency is undoubtedly its people. As the social and content landscapes shift, there is demand for a new multifaceted talent pool whose skill sets lie in a unique blend of creative, strategy, data and analytics and storytelling” (Box). Using Instagram stars and YouTubers is a great strategy for advertising because you can get a close to exact number of how many views each post will get, based on the amount of followers the person posting has.
Although you can closely estimate how many views each post will get, there still is a flaw in advertising through social media and YouTubers. By going through specific people or channels, you limit yourself to that niche of people. So if you use Selena Gomez for a post, her niche fan base will be the only ones seeing it. For example, I highly doubt that the NBA will use Selena Gomez for their advertisements, because her following is not geared towards the NBA. So while advertising through social media may be effective, you limit yourself to the following of that celebrity or YouTuber. That hinders the brands ability to expand beyond its initial target audience, because only one audience is going to see it. This is different from TV advertisements because everybody sees those ads regardless of if you follow them or not. It also limits you to a certain demographic, as social media is largely utilized by young adults. That makes it so only people online and using social media can see the advertisements.
For the future of advertising, I think social media will be used more and more and eventually make social media seem tired and worn out. It is already getting annoying scrolling through Instagram and Twitter and seeing ads every 5 posts, or trying to watch a minute long YouTube video with a 30 second advertisement. Instagram has upped its ad time to 60 seconds per ad, as compared to Facebook’s 30-second ad time. Instagram says they want their advertisers to use their “creative resources” and to add variety to their ads to reach their business goals. That’s nice and all, but I’m calling bullshit. They are going to make $2.39 billion in advertising revenues, but they just want their businesses to succeed and be creative (O’Malley). I think that if they keep this 60 second advertisement time, and more ads come up on Twitter and YouTube, social media will be less influential and eventually will lose popularity because of the over-advertising. Facebook has been able to stay relevant for a very long time, and I think they are smart to keep their ad time to 30 seconds.
DeleteWorks Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web.
Case, Laura. "How Much Do Celebrities Get Paid to Tweet?" Wetpaint, Inc. N.p., 20 July 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O'Malley, Gavin. "Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands." MediaPost. 4 Feb. 2016. Web.
There is no denying that social media is one of the top tools to reach out to an audience and promote products. Social media platforms have many defining aspects that draw brands and advertisers to invest. One of the biggest advantages of using social media is the cost; it is free to create an account on virtually every platform to promote your products. Another advantage is how connected society is to technology. Almost everyone has a smart phone and uses some sort of social media platform, so if you are an advertiser looking to reach an audience, there is a good chance your message will be seen by many different types of people on that platform. One of the biggest advantages of promoting products on social media is the ability to connect with a younger audience, which is crucial for growing an audience and maintaining that audience over the years.
ReplyDeleteGiven the influx of content across different social media platforms, media consumers have been more connected than ever. This gives advertisers the opportunity to become more connected with consumers and promote products. Celebrities and social influencers carry a large, influential presence on these platforms, so brands and advertisers have been eager to take advantage of this influence and use it to promote (Box). In recent years, I have seen an explosion of advertisers taking advantage of social media influencers to promote a certain product or brand. Companies link up with celebrities, or even regular people with an insane amount of followers to have them promote their product or brand. We see it the most with celebrities because they have millions of followers and a strong influence over their audience. If they pick up a certain brand or product and start posting pictures of them promoting it, they are informing a large audience of that brand who will then be influenced to go out and research it themselves. We see this all the time with people like athletes and the Kardashians.
Other social media influencers are people who have made a huge presence for themselves online by becoming a YouTube or Instagram star. These influencers are especially attractive to advertisers because they typically appeal to a younger audience, which is important especially for start-up companies. On entrepreneur.com, Jake Paul is listed as the #1 social media influencer, and he is only 20 years old. He began by posting videos on Vine, which now span to YouTube and various other platforms, and he has garnered over 17 million social media followers (Toren). Due to his massive online presence and audience, dozens of big brands have reached out to him to promote their products to millennials.
DeleteAlthough social media influencers seem like the golden opportunity for brands and advertisers, there is still some risk in forming a business relationship with these stars. PewDewPie has recently been receiving a lot of bad press due to a video that expressed anti-Semitic views. He has 53 million YouTube subscribers and is easily one of the biggest social media influencers today, known for his over the top humor (Main). However, his over the top humor got the best of him and caused many brands to sever ties with him after his ill-received video made headlines. Brands need to recognize that these social media influencers become representatives of their brand, so they need to be careful with whom they form business relationships.
Works Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web.
Toren, Adam. "9 Top Social Media Influencers Marketers Need to Follow." Entrepreneur. N.p., 24 Jan. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
New media celebrities, like YouTubers, Instagram Celebs, or Twttier Famous People, all have gained their fame because of the Internet. These new celebrities have niche audiences that advertisers can try to tap into. This can be a win-win situation for both the celebrity and the advertiser. This combination may be happening more, “Studio and network executives say they work with influencers to build brand awareness and buzz in a more intimate way through the friend-like connections consumers feel toward the online personalities they follow,” (Villarreal). The celebrity makes money, and the advertiser gets to pitch their product to an intimate audience they may have not tapped into. It gets difficult when the audience is not receptive to the advertiser or thinks that the celebrity is just in it for the money. It is a fine line between the celebrities being called phony by his or her audience or it is made to seem like an organic relationship.
ReplyDeleteTo be a social media celebrity, you start by gathering an audience with a talent or something you do. Brandon Wardell is a comedian who has gathered an audience on Twitter by putting some of his jokes online. Casey Neistat is a YouTuber who use to daily vlog, but now releases videos on his channel just weekly. The richest of all of them is the YouTuber PewDiePie who plays video games on the Internet. These people are able to make their money because advertisers want to tap into their niche audience. It allows brands to tap into a specific audience that may be attracted to their product.
This works well when a social media influencer seems to organically go to the product. For example, Casey Neistat uses drones to make his videos so he has collaborated with GoPro and DJI, both make drones, to make videos for them. It is a win-win situation because Casey’s audience knows how much he believes in the products, and the companies are tapped into an audience that would be interested in their product. Audiences are craving this kind of collaboration, “With consumers becoming more and more disillusioned with traditional advertising experiences, their desire to form meaningful brand connections will drive marketers to invest and experiment more in innovative content formats,” (Box). If the ads can seem like they go together than it will help both parties involved.
It goes wrong when the influencer seems they are endorsing a product superficially and only for the money. This upsets the audience of the influencer and can actually hurt the view of the product in consumer’s eyes. Recently PewDiePie had endorsements from Disney and YouTube pulled after a Wall Street Journal article highlighted racist jokes he had made. The odd thing is he had always made some controversial jokes, and the advertisers should have known that when collaborating with him, “PewDiePie was known for his over-the-top humor, and any brand buying ads against an influencer, or working with them on a campaign, takes a risk of putting themselves into an influencer’s hand” (Main). Sometimes collaborations do not turn out as planned just because the audience of the endorsers and influencers do not work together. As long as the relationship is not about the money, audiences seem to be receptive to this type of advertising.
Works Cited
Box, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek. N.p., 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Villarreal, Yvonne, and Daniel Miller. "Social media stars are helping Hollywood reach younger audiences, for a price." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Angie King
ReplyDeleteBrands and advertisers strategically pair up with social media influencers in order to get their message across in a more organic and authentic way. Advertising agencies needed to find new ways to reach consumers, in attempts to stray from redundant traditional advertising. A meaningful way to advertise is through social media influencers. These influencers already have authentic bonds with their followers, making the message much more meaningful than a traditional ad. Brands and advertisers are getting more creative than simply sticking with celebrity endorsements. They are shifting to micro-celebrities on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. These micro-celebrities serve as endorsements for the brands and products as an attempt to appeal to faithful followers.
The marriage between brands and creators is becoming more careful and data-driven, due to its proven success. The company Studio71 analyzes creators and brands to try to make the best pairs between the two. The leader of this group, Matt Seiler, noted that “There wasn’t enough consideration of the matches between brands and creators…we need to be understanding of what’s actually important to creators and to present things with more choicefulness” (Main “This Multichannel Network”). The company uses three main tools to help guide their decision making process. One tool measures something called “social media velocity” which is the rate at which people are talking about subjects on social media. Another tool samples consumers and asks for their feedback in order to make more informed decisions about the perception of brands. The third tool uses the brand’s budget towards whichever platform performs the best. These tools allow brands to get quantitative data on something that seems so abstract. Viktor & Rolf led one successful campaign for their new fragrance with the right match between creators and brands. The VP of marketing for the brand noted that they “carefully select influencers who match [their] consumer and embody [their] brand” (Main “This Fragrance Company”). The company hired professional photographers and a florist to create “flower-scapes” for the social media influencers. In this way, the Instagram posts were visually appealing, creative, and unique to each influencer’s style. The careful consideration of style was important. Social influencers are so powerful because “their fans, or audience, have chosen specifically whose content to pay attention to…influencers understand how important that relationship is, and they don’t want to abuse that trust” (Main “This Fragrance Company”). The fragrance brand presented itself very well on Instagram because of the authentic content that the influencers posted.
Brands must be very careful while choosing which influencers they want representing them. They must keep in mind that social media influencers are individuals with their own motives. The CEO of InsightPool noted, “marketers haven’t quite yet evolved their mindset to remember they’re dealing with humans and emotions, and people who follow influencers because of those feelings” (Main “PewDiePie”). Brands are taking a risk when having social media stars represent them. PewDiePie, YouTube’s biggest star, represented some brands poorly through one of his recent posts. He posted a video with anti-Semitic messages and dressed up as Hitler. Some brands that associated with him, like YouTube and Disney, distanced themselves after this controversial post. It is important for brands to monitor the influencers they choose, because their messages are so delicate. Another potential downside of using social media influencers as advertising is that of inauthenticity. The right match between influencer and brand is important to make organic content.
Works Cited
DeleteMain, Sami. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers With Major Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." – Adweek. N.p., 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Social media is a space where people are able to pick and choose what they want to see based on what relates to them personally. As Main mentioned in one of her articles, “Viewing your feed is like dipping into your own private space that you got to decorate just how you like” (Main). This has been able to bring in a large change for the advertising world. Now, instead of advertising to a mass audience via magazine or newspaper, companies are able to target specific niche audiences and grab their attention in a much easier manner. To do this, advertising companies will go to a social media platform, mainly that of Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, and organize for their advertisement to be seen at a certain time of day by a specific group of people. By doing this, people who are going through their newsfeed, also known as ‘timeline’ or ‘home page’, are more likely to stop as it specifically relates to their interests. This is generating a very large income for these social platforms, as O’Malley mentions, “By 2017, Instagram’s ad revenues will grow more than four times in size to reach $2.39 billion” (O’Malley). Although this seems like a large amount of money, it’s important to remember that it would not be invested in this type of advertisement unless it worked.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising on social media isn’t done just through the self-made commercials the company has organized to pop up on people’s newsfeeds. Instead, companies are now contacting people who have a large social media following, also known as ‘social media influencers’, to do their advertising for them. By paying these people a certain amount of money, they place a company’s product in either their Instagram post, or mention them in their YouTube video, in order to get the word out there. Although it seems like a small step to take, millions of people follow bloggers/vloggers (video bloggers) online. Main mentions in her article, “Logan Paul [well-known vlogger] can upload a video with his best friends and get 120 million views in less than 36 hours, but the first presidential debate had 80 million views” (Main). What Main was trying to explain here is that these social media influencers have a lot more reach than people may think. People watch almost every day and listen to what these people are talking about or what they are promoting next. With views that reach into the hundreds of millions, it would be foolish to not try and advertise or send out a message.
DeleteSocial influencers is a good approach to advertising as they have a less likely opportunity to embarrass the brand. “There are millions of pieces of content uploaded every day, and very rarely do you hear of an influencer embarrassing a brand. With celebrities, they might appear as a spokesperson for a fragrance one day and end up on the front page of a tabloid for falling down drunk outside a club the next” (Main). Many of these people have the same, if not more, influence on people than celebrities, however they are not such a large liability on a company as they are rarely in the spotlight. Also with the media shifting more towards these social media platform, people want to see advertisement done in a more relatable way. By having these ‘everyday people’ advertising products, people are much more inclined to stop and pay attention. Box mentions, “As the social and content landscapes shift, there is demand for a new multifaceted talent pool whose skill sets lie in a unique blend of creative, strategy, data and analytics and storytelling” (Box). These social media influencers, although come across as everyday people, are everything Box explains - they must all be unique. Having these attributes makes them more desirable to watch, and eventually to listen to. However, this does not mean there are no cons to having social media influencers represent a brand. Taking the YouTube sensation PewDiePie for example, it is easy for these social media influencers to make a mistake. PewDiePie was one of the most subscribed to people on YouTube and had ties to both the website (including Google) as well as other company’s such as Disney. However, “After the Wall Street Journal revealed that PewDiePie released a video with anti-Semitic messages, Disney and YouTube distanced themselves from digital media’s biggest celebrity” (Main). These companies can’t control everything that goes into these videos, therefore it is difficult for them to know what exactly they are being associated with. Although PewDiePie tried to defend himself, the damage had be done. When you’re associated with a social media influencer like that, it is important to be aware of all the messages they are sending out and how that will reflect on your company as a whole.
DeleteBox, Toni. "Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017." Adweek 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
DeleteMain, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Main, Sami. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers with Major Brands." Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O’Malley, Gavin. “Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands.” Media Post. 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Kane
ReplyDeleteSocial media platforms have undeniably become sort of a virtual mall for brands and advertisers. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner endorse several different products solely through their social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram. The real question is why more advertisers will choose YouTube stars and popular Internet figures for their branding.
Upon doing research for this assignment, I found out that there is actually an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) with guidelines that need to be followed. (King 2015). It is not as simple as finding the most popular public figure and throwing them some money. There are specific rules that these stars need to follow when branding for these companies. Brands often choose influencers who might benefit and relate to their products. For example, many YouTube stars promote the website, audible.com. It is an audio book site with over thousands of books to listen to. Almost all of the YouTubers who promote audible are in fact authors themselves. During their bit about the website they often mention their own book that you can go listen to, which is benefiting them. They typically close off their segment by flashing a pretty link on the screen with their special code for the viewers to save money. It is a win-win-win situation!
Of course with every up there comes a down. A few of these collapses are mentioned in an article revealing a major company’s downfall with YouTube star, PewDiePie. PewDiePie is known all over YouTube primarily for his popular video game commentary. His channel has almost 50 million subscribers; that’s a lot of consumers. Brands will most likely jump to the top influencers to endorse their products, so PewDiePie was a no brainer. However, PewDiePie’s branding went wrong when his audience started changing. His channel went from strictly gaming to more of a comedy channel. There is no harm in a little change, however this can quickly become detrimental for brands and advertisers who specifically chose PewDiePie for his targeted audience.
DeleteNow there are agencies to correct the brand-influencer matchup, like Studio71. I think this is super important in the marketing of these brands. They are the ones who convince major brands such as Disney and Coca-Cola to sign on with these online influencers that the older crowd may have never even heard of. Studio71 has to explain and show evidence of how many views a 6-second vine from Logan Paul will get in 24 hours. (Main 2017).
Some of these brands are losing their advantage in the market as they work with big time celebrities. The problem with big-time celebrities is their actions are constantly accounted for. What you see is never exactly what you get. Spaces like YouTube can be more personal and intimate, which makes them seem relatable to their viewers. If a viewer can relate to the influencer selling the product, then they are more likely to subscribe to or purchase that product. In more specific terms, a teenage girl might be more likely to purchase a product that is endorsed by their favorite beauty guru rather than Kylie Jenner. Relating to Kylie Jenner is pretty difficult, but relating to another teenage girl across the country making makeup videos from her bedroom is a bit easier.
DeleteWorks Cited
Main, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web.
Main, Sami. “This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers with Major Brands.” Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web
"Embrace social media stars, they can work wonders for your brand." Digital marketing. Guardian News and Media, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is something that has become a part of many people’s everyday lives. With the emergence of numerous social media platforms, advertisers and brands have been able to establish another way of directly accessing their target audiences. The use of Instagram stars and YouTubers are one of the ways brands and advertisers are using social media to target audiences. This has created a social media age filled with advertisements that are based off one’s interests. Putting advertisements in between posts is another way advertisers and brands are targeting audiences through social media.
ReplyDeleteYouTube is one platform that has become a target for advertisers and brands. YouTube is something that has only grown within the past years and continues to grow everyday. With YouTubers building careers out of their YouTube channels, it has only caught the attention of advertisers and brands. YouTubers are great for advertising products simply because some subscribers will buy such products because that one person has it. Loyal fans confide in these YouTubers and will often go out and buy a product simply because the person has it or recommends it. As mentioned in one article, “More than anything, customers look to connect with brands beyond the product level, in addition to connecting with communities, both small and large, that share their stories” (Box). People are more likely to buy something knowing that others who share their same interests have it as well. For example, one YouTuber I watch who does make-up is always advertising different make-up brands. Due to this, I feel more open to buying the make-up she advertises just because I know she likes it.
Instagram is another platform that has become advertisement heavy. With users that follow celebrities and Instagram stars, it creates this opportunity for advertisers to target those who share specific interests based on the content of the account they follow. As mentioned in an article discussing social media’s influence on advertising, “These advanced targeting options increase your ad’s relevance to your users and provide a level of personalization that is not achievable on other advertising channels” (Ganguly). These brands and advertisers know how loyal many of these fans are and know that these stars of Instagram, for example, serve as great influencers and trendsetters for their audiences/fans. As mentioned in the article, “Agency executives say Instagram has become a favorite playing ground for clients” (O’Malley). Instagram is a great place for advertising based on the amount of people who have it and interact with it on a daily basis.
Despite all the advantages, there are still factors that pose as negatives when it comes to using YouTubers and Instagram stars as influencers for target audiences. One of these disadvantages is the fact that people don’t like to watch ads. People like to know that what they are watching is just for pure entertainment and not to help influence you to buy a product. Another disadvantage would be that fans learn to trust these YouTubers and Instagram stars and with the addition of advertisements, people may become annoyed. These advertisements may become distractions from the content of the channel and may turn people off from watching it. This may make the fans feel as though these stars are betraying them because in the end, they are being influenced to buy a product when all they wanted was to watch a video for entertainment purposes.
Social media is only growing and with this, comes more opportunities for brands and advertisers in the future. While social media has proven to be a great forum for advertising, it still has its advantages and disadvantages. Either way, brands and advertisers are getting the exposure they want in a way that directly connects them to their target audience.
Works Cited
DeleteBox, Toni. “Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017.” Adweek.com. 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Ganguly, Sonny. “Why Social Media Advertising is Set to Explode in the Next 3 Years.” MarketingLand.com, Social Media Marketing. 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
O’Malley, Gavin. “Instagram Ups Ad Time for Brands.” MediaPost.com, Social Media & Marketing Daily. 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Box, Toni. “Here’s What to Expect in Social and Content in 2017.” Adweek.com. 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
ReplyDeleteMain, Sami. "PewDiePie and the Potential Dangers of Social Influencer Marketing for Brands." Adweek 15 Feb. 2017. Web.
Saiidi, Uptin. "For brands, your Instagram feed is better than Vogue or Time." CNBC. CNBC, 09 June 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Today we are fortunate enough, as Media Studies students, to live in an era of rapid change, and growth within pre-existing media industries, and the advent of new high-tech social media. Social media has taken the world by storm, its capabilities have allowed for a divergence of media content to different platforms and the ability to view these different platforms all on the go from nearly anywhere in the world. Social media has shrunk the world, and blurred the lines between producer and consumer, creating a new player in the media world, the prosumer. Instead of simply consuming the products, or in this case media content, “… people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly through their involvement on the social web.” (Gunelius) Social media has allowed people to break free of the shackles that tied them down as voiceless consumers. Now, due to user interactivity, people can voice their opinions and can influence their wide network of friends, family and acquaintances. For example, with Yelp, now everyone who has a profile can become a ‘professional’ restaurant reviewer.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, new personalities have gained celebrity status all thanks to their social media accounts. They have become creators. They create their own content and have thus in turn created their own brand attracting their own audience. People from all walks of life and a plethora of different interests have made their claim to fame from social media, from modeling, to baking, to photography. Marketing companies have taken notice and have changed their approaches to reach and interact within this new media landscape. Many big companies use product placement within the celebrity creators content as advertisements for their brands. If done right and if the brands are matched up well together, the advertisement will reach the intended audience with an authentic feel. In order to be done right, the creators sometimes use a middle man to match their brand with those of potential advertisers. They need someone to “…help brands find the exact right influencers to work with.” (Main) They notice how many follower’s particular creators have, who and what kind of people follow them and match their particular brand and niche audience to a brand that would appeal to that same niche audience.
That being said, some companies are satisfied with the typical product placement/celebrity endorsement where the celebrity pitches their product in a straightforward manner. However, some are catching on to the fact that consumers are seeing through those ads. Because of this, companies have begun to think against the grain. For example, Viktor & Rolf, a fragrance company went down a less traditional path, giving up some of their creative power and allowing the creator to put the implement the product placement in their own way. The company “…worked with various designers and the influencers themselves to create … and eventually post on their own social channels.” (Main 2) This way, the ad seems and is more authentic. The consumer doesn’t see the creator as if they are selling out to big brands for a paycheck. But because the social media creator gets some creative power, it seems as if they actually use and enjoy the product being shown, thus conveying an authentic connection between brand, the creator/prosumer, and the audience.
Furthermore, some companies prefer the more traditional advertisement that would reach a larger audience. Instagram’s parent company, Facebook has launched an extended ad campaign to increase the amount of ads on Instagram “By 2017, Instagram’s ad revenues will grow more than four times in size to reach $2.39 billion…” (O’Malley) The positives of this kind of traditional ad where its sprinkled in the mix of content from other users, is that big companies can reach a very large amount of potential consumers. In addition, brand name companies also create their own pages and content just like consumers do. These pages, although they are ads themselves, also allow for unprecedented levels of user and brand interactivity.
ReplyDeleteWorks cited
Sami Main. "This Multichannel Network Is Growing Thanks to Its Success Connecting Influencers With Major Brands." – Adweek. N.p., 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. .
Sami Main. "This Fragrance Company Teamed With Social Influencers for This Widely Successful Whimsical Campaign." – Adweek. N.p., 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. .
Susan Gunelius. "The Shift from CONsumers to PROsumers." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. .
O'Malley, Gavin. "Instagram Ups Ad Time For Brands." Mediapost.com. N.p., 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. .