Don't Let Influencer Marketing Eclipse the Basics, Clickback Warns
Ontario, Canada (PRWEB) September 05, 2017 -- A June 2017 study on the Instagram platform showed that influencers are causing brand engagement from prospects at levels that greatly exceed companies' own posts (1). JetBlue averaged 2,363 engagements from its own posts, compared to influencer posts which made an average of 241,226 engagements--100 times the engagement level of JetBlue's own efforts. Postmates had influencer engagements numbering nearly 27,000, while the company's own numbered less than 1,000. Similar trends have been seen throughout the online world. Clickback warns advertisers to proceed with caution, however.
As with any trend showing such incredible numbers, many companies are diving in. As with any trend, this one has some major potential weaknesses.
For many years we have seen paid celebrity endorsements, and influencer marketing is in actuality the same thing--paid advertising with celebrity endorsement. The lifespan of such campaigns is actually short; influencers only push the brand as long as the brand is paying the influencers (3). Also, while the campaign is in progress, the influencer is certainly not going to be creating every bit of content for that brand. and followers will not always be connecting to every bit of content that they create.
Another important point is that while influencers are trusted by their respective communities, that does not necessarily mean that such trust will automatically transfer to a brand being recommended by that influencer. Influencers or not, people are going to make their own decisions, and brands need to earn their own trust (3).
"While it's certainly true that influencer marketing is a trend to watch, anyone engaging in it should be prudent," said Kyle Tkachuk, CEO of Clickback. "It is especially important to continue to retain control of your own brand, for no one knows it like you do. It only takes one miscommunicated sentence to throw your potential buyers off."
Tkachuk adds that any company seeking to expand revenue growth should ensure to stick to marketing actions that have consistently proven to work, even while exploring new options. These would include a robust mix of both inbound and outbound activities.
One reliable outbound activity is that of capturing web visitors to a company's site--something that really should be done given that up to 98% of web visitors are normally lost since they don't fill out a form. Clickback offers a highly effective solution for this—Clickback Web. Clickback Web informs marketers exactly who is visiting their web site and which data they are investigating. This puts the company right in the driver’s seat when it comes to accuracy of content and effectiveness of message.
About Clickback:
Founded in 1996, Clickback Inc. is a software as a service (SaaS) company that helps thousands of marketing and sales professionals accelerate their lead growth using cloud-based B2B lead generation products. Clickback is one of the world’s first SaaS companies to offer an email lead generation product (Clickback MAIL) that provides a safe and proven method of securing profitable B2B leads to mid-market and enterprise companies. In late 2016, the company launched their second B2B lead generation product (Clickback WEB), which is software that can identify the companies who came to a website but didn’t make contact with the business (like having caller display for your website). Since launching, Clickback WEB has recovered 743,680 leads for its users. For more information on Clickback or its software products visit http://www.clickback.com .
1. “Here's Why Influencers Are Making Bank.” EMarketer, 9 Aug. 2017, http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Heres-Why-Influencers-Making-Bank/1016307.
2. Olenski, Steve. “The Importance of Influencer Marketing for B2B Marketers.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Aug. 2017, http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2017/08/10/the-importance-of-influencer-marketing-for-b2b-marketers/#30c389a44871.
3. Mirum, Mitch Joel -. “Don't Confuse an Influencer with Influencer Marketing.” Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Blog & Podcast, sixpixels.mirumagency.com/blog/archives/dont-confuse-an-influencer-with-influencer-marketing/.
Karla Jo Helms, JoTo PR, http://www.jotopr.com, +1 888-202-4614 Ext: 802, [email protected]
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