The dawn of technology has transformed the world as we knew it as it brought swifter alternatives and significant leverages to any business who opted for the digital switch. Indeed, from conglomerates down to freelancers, across the board and almost in every niche, the cyberworld represents the new playground and place to be if any trade wants to keep relevant and competing on the same level as it offers a myriad of potential, options and tools, assisting nowadays also thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), allowing quicker procedures, minimising costs while boosting revenue.
Marketing is one sector that was impacted by the tech phenomenon, almost gone are the old methods of cold calls, billboards, mailing of brochures or pamphlets, adverts in magazines, and the sort, as much of these have been superseded. The modern way of marketing paved way for faster processes with less expenses, while it enabled more reach enhancing chances of sales thus increasing on income. Therefore, it is simply a winning formula that must be explored and adopted by anyone in the industry.
Another facet of modern marketing is the new marvel that we are witnessing, as businesses started being tempted by influencers who hold a considerable number of followers/viewers and began advertising through them, increasing their spread. However, as liberal as it may look since influencers have their own channel they are still accountable for their actions, while ethics and even legality differ from one country to another sometimes also according to interpretation. Let us probe deeper to better understand the occasionally tricky social responsibility and ethics in the influencers marketing realm, how it affects the brands and their audience.
Influencer Marketing & the Impact on Consumer Behaviour
The word says it all, or does it? Nowadays, at least in avantgarde countries, influencers have become the talk of the town, the modern jobs many youngsters look up to, as it disrupts the old 8to5 careers which the majority of creators and artists are finding restrictive and boring.
Certain social media or online platforms have enabled unlimited access to an array of niches and audiences, and the fact that they monetise those individuals who manage to reach the established quotas it makes them more attractive.
It isn`t an easy route though, and there is a lot of work to be done, daily grinding, dedication, perseverance and self-discipline to build a successful blog or channel which is regularly followed and be recognised as an established influencer with a loyal audience who will listen to their advice and recommendations as they consider them experts in their field. Once you`re lucky enough to be there though you can manage your own workflow and discuss partnerships, affiliates and collabs with various brands, ideally which are in line with your leitmotif. For example, it wouldn’t make much sense that a tech reviewer is publicising shoes, although it can be experimented but it won`t be so believable to be bought as when the same individual is recommending a tablet so to say.
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for both parties to leverage a better reach and thus increment income and fame, so it is a win-win situation really, rendering a service and advertising in a more fun and efficient way attracting more potential clients in the process.
As aforesaid, once an influencer builds trust the audience will mostly follow their recommendations, thus businesses will see this as a precious route to boost their products or services.
Recognising Ethical from Unethical Marketing
If you are in the marketing department of any brand or an influencer ready to discuss a collab, watch out for the following list as a guide to differentiate between ethical and non.
Unethical:
- Not disclosing subsidised content – hiding sponsors misleads audience, taking advantage of their trust, so always be clear
- Knowingly promoting meagre products – this can harm influencer`s reputation, losing audience trust, instead keep yourself associated with the best
- Targeting vulnerable viewers – especially where children are involved, an influencer must make sure that no promoters will prey on them, so consider products` impact
Ethical:
- Promote brands you like – will make it more plausible and easier to recommend
- Promoting products matching the audience – so ideally in line with the influencer`s niche and expertise
- Avoid any exaggerations – don`t inflate to impress, be honest as this could mislead your audience and damage your reputation both as a brand and an influencer
Way Forward
In the age of AI, influencers are adopting this novelle tech tool to enhance their channel or online platform business, and together with sponsored brands create targeted content while tracking campaign performance.
The use of machine learning algorithms and natural language processing is expected to become more widespread in influencer marketing, thus brands need to stay abreast in line with trends to make sure they are maximising their influencer marketing efforts.
In Conclusion
Influencers are playing a major part then in marketing nowadays, but they together with the companies which are delegating such online promotions need to abide by their country`s laws, while working in an ethical manner and keeping in mind that they ought to be wary about their behaviour in general since they will still be held responsible for their actions or any misled information.
For every business out there trust is key, and word of mouth can be a very powerful free publicity, so it is cardinal that the audience is talking in a good way about the product or service, if not there will be likely a dire ripple effect which finally affects revenue and loss of clients.
Nowadays, experts in the field can be of precious assistance to responsible influencers if the latter are not sure about their line of thought, method or if a particular upcoming marketing campaign is ethical or even legal. If you are working in the marketing department of a company or an avid influencer, we strongly recommend to consult and check prior to delegating or accepting any marketing to be cast on the internet.