Influencer marketing continues to evolve with some brands looking to double their investment in 2017. In this session our team shares their experience, expertise and what to expect in the coming year.
3. Hello!
Kathy Baird
Managing Director of Content + Social
Ogilvy North America
Thomas Crampton
Global Managing Director
Social@Ogilvy
Kate Stoller
Senior Account Executive
Ogilvy PR Chicago
José Arteaga
Creative Digital Strategist
Social@Ogilvy
Ben Rissman
EVP and Group Director
Social@Ogilvy
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6. Update from 2016
1. Tiers of influence are changing
2. Influencers are also content creators
3. Influence as a strategy vs. a tactic
4. More sophistication in technology
5. Increasing eye on disclosure
All still important, but…
10. Five
Major
Trends
1. Increase in investment
2. Continued focus on micro-influencers
3. Questions on automation
4. Expectations on measurement
5. Leveraging advocacy
What’s the Latest in 2017?
11. 1. Increase in investment
Linquiq Survey of 170 marketers, November
2016
12. The Rise of the ”Micro”
Influencer
• Smaller yet powerful
• Tighter connection to audience
and stronger authority yields
higher level of outcomes
• Technology and IRM platforms
facilitating easier activation and
management
2. Continued focus on micro-influencers
13. 3. What’s the story with automation?
• Inherent need for human eye
• Increase in asks for carefully
curated programs
• Micro-influencers are reluctant
to be “bought”
14. 4. Increased expectations on measurement
“Four out of five US marketers
want measurement of
influencer marketing ROI to
improve.”
• Feeling that measurement capabilities
lag
• Desire for better attribution
• Expect more data from influencers
15. Tapping Into
Advocacy
• Influence increases as
audiences feel a closer
connection to the
messenger
• Brands are expanding the
sphere of influence to
include everyday customers
and employees
15
5. Leveraging customer and employee advocacy
17. Taking A Long Term
View Of Influence
• Creating a Center of
Excellence for Influence
• Approaching IRM at a
category vs. brand level to
drive efficiency
• Building long-term
relationships with
influencers for continuity
17
As influencer marketing matures, the work will span several
organizational functions, demand higher levels of expertise,
and require more cross-functional leadership.
B2C Approach
19. Mapping Influence
• Determining influence by
brand topic vs. by target
demo
• Leveraging data analysis to
uncovering leading voices
within the online
conversation
• Using these influencers to
extend earned reach
19
Network analysis is used to understand the influence of individuals,
analyzing the quality of their connections and strength of relationships with
other influencers, specifically within a subject matter.
B2B Approach
21. It’s not always easy to incorporate an IRM
program into an existing campaign,
especially if your audience is on the more
specific side. Bigger brands may get away
with casting a wider net, more niche
brands need to really focus on who they
partner with to make sure there is an
authentic fit for both parties.
Check out the image to the right for what
works about this partnership and post.
The name of the blog is straightforward
and immediately you know there’s
a cooking tie.
There’s video
content to complete
the story on
YouTube
Photo begins to tease the narrative and
alludes to a larger story to be told on the
blog and other social channels. Not branded
except in description
Clear disclosure
Engagement from
this niche audience
Tagged BrandNiche Audience Approach
27. Best Practices: Contracting
When contracting work with an influencer (and
potentially their management) there are many
things to keep in mind:
1. What is the value exchange?
2. What am I getting?
3. Work out all the details upfront.
30. Questions?
Kathy Baird
Managing Director of Content + Social
Ogilvy North America
Thomas Crampton
Global Managing Director
Social@Ogilvy
Kate Stoller
Senior Account Executive
Ogilvy PR Chicago
José Arteaga
Creative Digital Strategist
Social@Ogilvy
Ben Rissman
EVP and Group Director
Social@Ogilvy
Editor's Notes
*Study by gen.video – influencer marketing co.
Growth of 86% in 2016 by Linqia – influencer marketing co.
eMarketer
The Drum
Example for Yoplait - cooking/food which is a larger niche example.
Correct Fit: If you’re audience is gardeners, don’t assume a lifestyle mom blogger will be a perfect fit. For Niche brands, it may be better to focus specifically on cooking/recipe bloggers
Use of other channels: Rule of thumb when engaging influencers is for them to post on channels they feel are most authentic (and usually where they have the largest followings or where they post most frequently), usually you can get more than 1 post when negotiation a partnership – take advantage
Disclosure: We will discuss in best practices, but incredibly important for any paid (or item exchange)
Imagery: Engage influencers who have beautiful images from past campaigns. Especially if visuals is important for your brand (most are). If editorial is crucial, make sure their past articles are clear and well-written. They won’t always let you edit their work so make sure they can be trusted to do a good job.
Engagement: It’s touch to put a direct KPI against engagement (likes, shares, comments) but it’s important that if you want people talking about the post, that you see how the influencers’ past partnerships have been received by their audiences. Remember: Influencers serve 2 purposes – 1) Content creation & 2) Distribution to a target audience. Make sure their content is up to par and that their audience is engaged
More targeted niche audience example:
If Palmer’s: For a super specific brand like Palmer’s Cocoa butter that has a specific audience, they find it most effective to go straight to areas with large populations of their target. They have a road show and bring a social influencer along to tell the brand story. Rather than paying multiple influencers to post social content, they feature a few hero influencers who are essentially the social faces of the brand.
If Orvis Fly Fishing: OrvisFlyFishing uses Orvis Ambassadors to capture beautiful visual content for their instagram feed.
While there are many things to consider when beginning an IRM campaign or incorporating IRM into an existing PR/social strategy, we are going to highlight what we feel are top priorities to keep in mind.
Numerous vendors, tools, and networks exist with the goal of first and foremost identifying the right influencers to work with and subsequently easing brand and agency communication with influencers. Ogilvy actively inventories these companies and meets with their leadership to understand which groups to tap for each IRM situation that we may want to pursue. It’s important to keep updated on these companies. Most of them have extremely valuable newsletters. My favorite is from MediaKix.
These days it’s easy to automate ID, but its crucial to have a human touch when choosing influencers. Portals can get you to a great starting place, but is important to make sure there is a manual choice component as well.
Onboard your vendor team
Use your campaign brief to inform your vendor and your influencers of your campaign goals, ideal results, and any client sensitivities.
Evaluate Influencers Closely
Vendors will often identify influencers for you, but remember that you the brand best. Ensure that identified influencers are a sound strategic fit.
Reach, Relevance, Resonance - An ideal influencer has a strong balance across all three categories.
Make an Impression
Even if a vendor handles primary communication, try to add a personal touch. Find a way to differentiate yourself. The best campaigns happen when the influencer truly understands the brand messaging. Make sure to work closely with the vendors and the influencers throughout the process. Throwing out a brief and not checking in may not get you the best result.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) exists to improve consumer trust in online marketing and prevent deceptive advertising. Guidelines have been set to ensure readers and viewers know when a brand has been endorsed by an individual. Because endorsements factor into consumers’ purchasing decisions, the FTC mandates that all endorsed content should include a disclosure from the individual of any relationships with the brand. This provides transparency to consumers as they view the information about the brand.
Your affiliation with us must be transparent and easy to understand
(there is always some debate over which hashtags are better than others – the general consensus from the FTC is that #ad and #sponsor are best. #spon technically doesn’t cut it, but it’s better than nothing. The concern is that #spon isn’t being fully transparent)
Your endorsement consistently appears in each individual social media post
(OK to post at the beginning and allude to sponsorship throughout, but BETTER to #ad each time – big brands should always use #ad to be safe)
Include disclosure that is easy to find, essentially unavoidable to your audience
(hiding it in a strange place is a huge no-no – it should immediately stand out)
Examples above: FEI & LG Styler (both Ogilvy clients)
1) Value Exchange: More than ever, influencers of any level of popularity are asking for compensation. However, get creative. For a perfect match client, they may offer to post for free in exchange for product, exposure or access to a special event.
2) Getting: Try to steer clear from paying one lump sum for one post. Many times you can negotiate a few things and package it up as a campaign. One post usually won’t do much to move the needle (unless the influencer is incredibly top tier) – but sometimes a few posts or a post and attending an event can be much more impactful and tell a more cohesive brand story over time.
3) Work out all the details upfront. The worst situation to get into is negotiating the nitty gritty way at the end of the contracting process, especially if legal teams are involved. It’s much easier to lay it all on the table at the onset of the project. Make 2 lists: 1) Must haves (non-negotiables) 2) Would be nice – things you can live without but would like to get to round out an activation. These help immensely to have in place before the legal team gets involved. Then all your cards are on the table and it’s more clear cut to sign off on the deal for both parties.
The IRM group has example contracts and agreements we are happy to share as well as consult on contracting needs. But keep in mind that it’s important to involve legal many times to ensure all parties are covered.
Tracking and measurement are important in IRM campaigns the same way they are important for traditional PR and social campaigns. If you’re working with a vendor, they might do some of this for you.
When tracking influencer content, think proactively about how you can expand its reach and extend its shelf-life. Can you share on your brand’s social channels? Can you give it an even greater lift using paid media support? As we’ve mentioned throughout this presentations, amplifying beyond the initial point-of-coverage maximizes the value of your content.
Measurement of IRM campaigns is becoming easier as availability of influencer-owned social data and analytics becomes more open for 3rd parties to use. Some vendors have access to influencer platforms to amplify content from their own channels which makes measurement easier. However, some channels are private or not open to third parties so in that case it’s smart to focus on overall reach, engagement and other qualitative metrics.
Key metrics will vary campaign-to-campaign depending on brand goals.
Throughout the campaign, you should also be evaluating creators to determine if they continue to be a strong fit for your client- what works for one part of the campaign, may not work later on. Consider evaluating audience demographics, message pull-through, quality of imagery/video, and the overall ease of the relationship.