Pratik Dholakiya says, “Influencer marketing is not a new thing; it’s been a useful tool in advertising since the 1700s, when chinaware brands like Wedgewood used royal endorsements. From 1875 to the early 1900s, trading cards were used to sell products, and a picture of a celebrity would often be included in the packaging for collectors. American baseball athletes, meanwhile, were even featured on collectible cards in the “Kodas” cigarette brand in the early 1900s. Social media, however, has dramatically up-ended the modern influencer game; as a crowd-sourcing tool, it’s... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Can influencers and affiliate marketing be a match made in heaven? Online retail’s 800-pound gorilla is apparently interested in finding out. Last week, it was revealed that Amazon has launched a beta of an invite-only Amazon Influencer Program “exclusively designed for social media influencers with large followings and a high frequency of posts with shoppable content.” According to TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez, the program functions like the company’s affiliate program in that participants are paid a commission for product sales that they... [...]

Ben Davis says, “Are marketers doing enough to prove the ROI of influencers? Do they even need to? Econsultancy has just published a discussion of the topic, titled Measuring the ROI of Influencer Marketing, in association with Fashion & Beauty Monitor. Let’s look at some of the issues. Influencer marketing is now at the top table The first point to make is that spending on influencer marketing is not insignificant. The past couple of years have seen high profile campaigns, particularly in fashion and beauty, but also in travel, food and beyond. Sponsored social posts from the... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “In 2016, almost half of Airbnb consumers were reported to be between the ages of 18 and 34. In contrast, only 28% of hotel guests who booked with Marriott online were millennials. So, with younger generations embracing the sharing economy, Marriott has decided to do something about it by turning to every millennial’s sort-of-favourite app – Snapchat. What’s it all about? Here’s a run-down of the campaign. Using the power of influencers Instead of a standard Snapchat ad, which is often just a 10 second clip, Marriott has created three-minute long ‘Snapisodes’... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “We’ve been telling you there’s no great secret to search optimization, but that’s kind of a lie, isn’t it? There is one not-so-secret ingredient that makes SEO work. It also makes social sharing work. Referrals, too. I won’t be mysterious about it — it’s links. Links make the web go around. They’re why it’s called a web in the first place. When good websites link to you, those links are votes of confidence. Get enough votes and you win. The hard part? Getting enough of the right links, from the right people. To do that, you need two things: Great stuff... [...]

Murray Newlands says, “Influencer marketing has become the talk of the town, with many embracing it as part of their marketing and PR strategies. Slowly, influencer marketing is replacing certain forms of traditional advertising, as marketers realize they can increase their reach by partnering with personalities that have large followings on their websites and social media platforms. Although the popularity of influencer marketing has grown significantly, many are still unsure as to how to use the influence of social media celebrities to create effective influencer marketing campaigns. As... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “Do you know a sponsored Instagram post when you see one? According to a recent survey, a surprising proportion of consumers remain in the dark, with 77% unaware what the #sp hashtag stands for (‘sponsored’) and 48% even unsure what the #ad hashtag means. A lack of consumer understanding is not the only problem, of course. Confusion over how brands and influencers should label paid-for content remains a big issue. As a result, CAP (the Committee of Advertising Practice) has recently issued a fresh set of guidelines to help social influencers and brands stick to... [...]

Chuck Moran says, “Influencer marketing is one of the most exciting marketing tactics brands are using today, uniting branded content development with the amplification power of networked social media audiences, within or outside of the social networks themselves. The parallels with PR abound — content married to the distributive power of media/social platforms, and the challenge of measuring the organic impact of an earned media placement. As marketers wade into the burgeoning space of influencer marketing, they should keep in mind what the PR industry has learned when it comes to measurement. To... [...]

Derek Newton says, “Influencer marketing has been a buzzword in public relations, sales and marketing for some time now. Its durability is a testament to its potential power to drive engagements and sales. But it’s also a testament to how little those in it — the brands and influencers alike — really understand it. From the outside, influencer marketing is pretty simple and perfectly tailored to a communications world dominated by social media and content overload. The idea is that those who need to reach key audiences connect with people who have influence in those segments... [...]

Sophia Bernazzani says, “Has a celebrity ever convinced you to buy something? It’s okay if the answer is yes — we’ve all been there. In fact, just recently, a famous dog helped convince me to purchase a GoPro camera. For a creature who can’t speak, he’s a pretty effective marketer. Loki the Wolfdog’s Instagram post is a successful example of influencer marketing, which involves developing relationships with influential personalities to promote your brand to the influencer’s audience. Loki the Wolfdog has over 1 million Instagram followers GoPro may not have otherwise been... [...]