We are in the thick of the creator economy and the rise of the influencers has proven to be a watershed moment for the advertising industry. But how did we get here and what does it mean for the marketing industry? Let’s dissect the curious case of influencers in advertising and marketing.
Influencers have not only taken over our social media but they have also changed the course of the marketing and the advertising industry. Today, 25% of marketers and brands dedicate 10-20% of their marketing budget to influencer marketing. For some of the more daring brands, that figure could go as high as 40% of their overall marketing budget.
Not surprisingly, the influencer marketing industry is also estimated to be worth USD$24 billion in 2024.
While the concept of influencer marketing can be traced all the way back to the Roman gladiators, the real question is, when, how, and why did influencer marketing become an industry?
Contrary to popular belief, the concept of influencer marketing was not born on social media.
Back in the 1930s, Coca Cola used Santa Claus to influence the purchase decisions of the masses. But it wasn’t until the birth of the World Wide Web that influencers started gaining recognition and a foothold in the advertising industry.
In the early 2000s, “mummy bloggers” caught the attention of advertisers who incentivised them to endorse and sell products. A majority of these bloggers were stay-at-home moms who shared glimpses of their lives with their audience. These blog entries were perhaps the rudimentary precursors of “A Day in the Life…” or GRWM videos we get to see today.
Then came social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram in the early 2000s. Instagram became the first of its kind to facilitate a collaboration between influencers and brands.
Even though the concept of using personalities with social influence to sell products was not new, the internet and social media made influencer marketing mainstream. The digital age presented a perfect opportunity for content creators and influencers to flourish.
Since then, there’s been no looking back. Influencers have grown from strength to strength, so much so that a term that didn’t even exist a decade ago got included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2019.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and confined everyone to their homes. These internet personalities gained even more attention and autonomy. Influencers could no longer be dismissed as a fleeting internet phenomenon.
Advertisers had to sit up and take notice because consumers were turning to influencers for shopping recommendations, life advice, parenting tips, and more.
It’s true that the internet and social media played seminal roles in popularizing influencers. But, the change in the perception of influencers and their inclusion in mainstream advertising can be attributed to the many facets of human psychology.
The growing popularity and increasing success of influencer marketing can be attributed to:
Humans are cultural conformists and have the intense urge to keep up with their pack. All of us are susceptible to acting the same way that our “pack” or in this case, the influencers act. We act like “sheeple” who get easily influenced by the content creators we follow on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or other places.
When our favourite influencers recommend something, we naturally feel the need to imitate their actions without questioning them.
This pack mentality makes influencers hugely successful.
Our survival instincts tell us that we need to be in control of our lives to stay safe and secure. Since we choose to follow and invest our trust in certain influencers, we enjoy a sense of pseudo-control and power that we think comes with our choice. So when an influencer makes a suggestion, we easily believe them because they are our choice.
Where traditional ads seem intrusive and disruptive, a sponsored post appears honest, authentic, and transparent. It appeals to us more than branded content.
Data shows that 36% of brands believe influencer content easily outperforms branded content. Needless to say, this is one of the many reasons why it does so well.
A good influencer is an effective people person and can establish a rapport with their audience. For their followers (people like us), building a connection and enjoying a sense of intimacy creates a sense of kinship. We believe in what these influencers have to say and therefore our opinion of the person affects our purchase decisions.
While influencers can drive sales easily because of this Halo Effect, some of them are more effective in doing so. That’s why brands today prefer working with micro and nano influencers more than celebrity content creators. Such influencers may not have millions of followers but we tend to trust them more than bigger influencers.
Another reason why influencers can sway our purchase decisions is because of a form of social conformity called informational social influence. This phenomenon occurs when we place our trust in someone because we believe they are providing us with accurate information. It’s a conscious desire to let someone we consider trustworthy affect our decision-making.
In the age of misinformation, finding someone who seems genuine and authentic is an achievement. So, just like we seek relationship advice from our friends, we also seek shopping recommendations from influencers we follow.
Even if they’re talking about brands or products we don’t know of, we are willing to give their suggestions a try. We choose to believe in them.
As it turns out, a lot.
Even though the global consumer class is growing at an unprecedented rate (it’s expected to reach 113 million this year), it’s getting harder for advertisers and marketers to convince them to make a purchase. Today’s consumers drive a hard bargain — not only are they spoiled for choice but they are also cautious about their purchases. They are a tough crowd to please.
No wonder, the trust in traditional advertising has suffered some blows. It’s because traditional advertising often lacks social proof. Meanwhile, influencer marketing is all about social proof.
In addition to that, influencers are everywhere! So, as an advertiser, you can easily execute your omnichannel marketing strategies by working with influencers on different social media platforms.
Brands can also create quality UGC (User Generated Content) by collaborating with influencers. Simply put, the possibilities are endless.
The only trick is, finding the right influencer.
As you can tell, the trust factor makes influencer marketing powerful. Influencer marketing works because it is aspirational and inclusive. It is adaptable across genders, demographics, geography, languages, cultures, and more. It does not discriminate and therefore resonates with more people than you can target with a paid ad.
That’s why, choosing the right influencer for your brand is non-negotiable. When you collaborate with an influencer, they become your unofficial brand ambassadors. At the same time, their followers must be convinced of the brand they are collaborating with.
For the collaboration to work, the brand-influencer pairing needs to be a perfect match.
That’s why the influencer you’re working with must align with your brand principles. Only then you can have a convincing and meaningful partnership. Otherwise, your influencer marketing efforts will not yield the desired results and you’ll wonder why it’s such a big thing in the advertising industry these days.
You don’t have to break the bank or manually scour social media platforms to find the perfect influencer for your brand.
Fabulate’s proprietary technology helps you find the right content creators and influencers for digital marketing and advertising campaigns. Try our state-of-the-art Discovery + Outreach program to find influencers who resonate with your brand. You will be spoiled for choice, thanks to our massive database of more than 200 million influencers.
Whether you’re a brand, PR agency, or a marketing expert, you can turn to Fabulate to streamline your influencer marketing.
Additionally, creators and talent managers can also use our platform to access brand partnerships on a global scale. So no matter which side of the creator economy you’re on, Fabulate can be the matchmaker you need to succeed.
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