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Influencer Marketing ROI: Turning Likes into Sales

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Marketing has changed significantly, especially since entering the digital space. This means that companies need to ebb and flow with the changes to ensure they are marketing in suitable spaces. One such change has been the rise of influencer marketing, which involves advertising through online individuals who have a massive following.

According to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 75% of companies used influencer marketing in 2018, which has continued to rise in the years since. This can be an incredible marketing strategy for businesses to boost sales and become more known. Here’s what you need to know about influencer marketing and using it properly.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Let’s take a more in-depth look into what influencer marketing means. An influencer has a significant following on social media and content platforms, whether YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or otherwise. 

The followers of these individuals look up to them, and there is some level of trust. Therefore, this makes the audience more likely to purchase products or services they recommend, hence the influence definition. Businesses can leverage this situation by working with influencers to promote and advertise their product or services. 

Of course, there will typically be a contractual agreement with the influencer to ensure both parties benefit from the arrangement.

The Massive Advantage of Marketing with Influencers

Realistically, influencer marketing has one of the best potential ROIs in today’s market. According to a poll, businesses make $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. They also said “that marketers rate influencer marketing as their fastest-growing online customer-acquisition channel, outpacing organic search and email marketing.” 

These impressive numbers have also led to more businesses increasing their influencer marketing budget. Thus, 59% of those surveyed plan to increase this portion of their budget over the next 12 months.

How to Engage in Influencer Marketing

Before jumping right into influencer marketing, it is important to establish some goals for the strategy.

The first goal should primarily be to reach new customers rather than expecting sales immediately. While driving sales is a goal of this strategy, it should start as a secondary or tertiary goal. Along with reaching new customers, other focuses should include increasing brand awareness and product consideration. Ideally, the strategy will begin to drive increased sales; however, the initial benefits are introducing the influencer’s audience to the brand and products.

Another essential factor is for the business to decide who they are trying to reach. Influencer marketing can be wasted if you partner with influencers with the wrong type of audience. Businesses should develop an audience persona to help understand who they are trying to reach, whether it be a current audience or one they would like to branch into. 

The Rules of Influencer Marketing

As influencer marketing has increased in popularity and effectiveness, the FTC has stepped in to provide regulations and legislation. A primary rule to know is that it is required for influencers to identify when a post or content is sponsored. 

For video reviews, influencers must provide written and verbal disclosures of the partnership. For posts, they have to include a written indication of the partnership, whether this be in the caption or a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored.

WCD Can Help Your Business Reach New Heights

If you are looking to implement influencer marketing or improve your overall web content, Web Content Development is here to help. Our decades of experience in the marketing field allow us to craft an individual strategy for your business to boost your outreach. 

Whether you are looking to get your business out there for the first time or want to improve your current strategy, we are confident we can help. If you have any questions, you can call us at 1 (866) 352-5570 or email us at info@webcontentdevelopment.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Does the News Control Consumer Marketing?

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With the rise of “fake news,” fewer people trust mainstream media marketing. This mistrust does not only affect the news outlets themselves but also impacts brands that choose to advertise on them. As people learn that they can’t trust everything they see or read, their suspicion of news outlets continues to grow. 

With these new attitudes, brands can no longer simply say that they are reliable. Instead, their advertising campaigns must now provide concrete data to back up any claims that they make. By taking the time to create a reputable ad campaign shows the audience that they hold their trust as sacred.

Building Trust Among Advertisers

The fact that there is so much “fake news” in existence today means that marketing agencies must now take the time to win their audience’s trust. Since news agencies are out to make money, they’re continually harvesting consumers’ personal data from search engines as well as social media platforms. In the past, people might have overlooked this data mining. However, now people are being much more cautious about how their data is used.

Brands must also be cautious when it comes to the relationships they form with news firms. Businesses must realize the potential negative impact of advertising on a  fake news website. 

Understanding News Consumption Today

More and more people are now turning to social media to get the news of the day. Others are now turning to websites and blogs thanks to improvements in news aggregator apps. Unfortunately, this means that fewer people are reading newspapers. This is yet another way in which advertising is changing.

Marketing agencies don’t only have to worry about making sure their ads don’t appear on the wrong sites. They must also make sure that the ads appear where people are looking most frequently. As people lose trust in the news, advertisers must ensure that they don’t lose trust in their brands, too. As more people look to specialized magazines that focus on current affairs, advertisers must make their way there as well. 

The News’ Control Over Consumer Marketing

People’s lack of trust in the news is a challenge for marketers today. Major changes are already taking place, showing us just how much control the news really does have over consumer marketing. This is because people want to be knowledgeable about what’s going on around them, so they’re turning to trustworthy sources for reliable information.

Consumers pay more attention to advertisements on credible news websites. Advertisers are following these sites in hopes of engaging more viewers. They see the impact of well-written, properly researched news articles and the way their brand performs, so they seek out credible, authentic, truthful environments to advertise in today.

Clearly, the news is in control of consumer marketing today. This is a trend that marketers must pay attention to if they want their advertising campaigns to be successful. If you need help creating a marketing strategy that can withstand these changes, contact Web Content Development today. You can also reach out to Web Content Development by calling at (800) 316-9664.

Stranger Things and Nostalgic Product Placement

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Product placement is nothing new.  Advertisers have slipped their products into television shows and movies for decades.  Actors might smoke a certain brand of cigarettes or drink a specific brand of soda. Brand name packages can be strategically placed on countertops or coffee tables.  Producers accept money from advertising agencies to seamlessly incorporate products into the production. But the production of modern shows set in the past, such as Netflix’s Stranger Things, has ushered in a new era of nostalgic product placement.  Stranger Things prominently features brand name products that were popular in the early 1980s (when the show takes place). This product placement lends to the authenticity of the show but also changes the dynamic of product placement.

Stranger Things and Product Placement Examples

Because Stranger Things is set in the early 1980s, it makes sense that the show’s characters would use products from that time.  In fact, it would be strange if they didn’t! By using popular products of the time, from food to games and school supplies, the production team for Stranger Things authenticates the time frame for the show.  This approach is as important as creating period-appropriate clothing and hairstyles for the characters. Every visual element contributes to the 1980s setting of the show. So which types of products has Stranger Things utilized to evoke the ‘80s?  

    • Food products in their 1980s packaging, such as Eggo Waffles, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, Hunt’s Snack Pack Pudding, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Nabisco Nilla Wafers, Nutty Bars, Pringles, Ritz crackers, SunMaid Raisins
    • Drinks such as TAB (the original diet soda), New Coke, and Schlitz beer
    • Games such as Up Words, Dungeons and Dragons, Family Feud, and Score Four
    • Trapper Keepers- the mega-notebook/folder carried by all kids at the time

These are just a few of the most prominent examples of nostalgic product placement in the show.  Netflix confirms that they have more than 75 product placements agreements in place for Stranger Things, although they claim to be unpaid placements.

The Importance of Nostalgic Product Placement

In addition to giving the show authenticity, nostalgic product placement allows the viewer to create an emotional attachment to Stranger Things.  Many members of the target audience grew up in the early ‘80s. Seeing these products in use brings the viewer back to his or her youth and creates a nostalgic connection.  It even gives viewers a kind of interactive experience, allowing them to play “spot that product.” To Netflix, this nostalgic product placement is clearly an opportunity for a solid revenue stream.  To advertisers, product placement is a golden opportunity to reach a very specific audience. Netflix has reams of data on exactly who is watching which shows that it produces valuable information for marketing professionals.

How Stranger Things Brought Back New Coke

Season 3 of Stranger Things is set in 1985, the year that brought us New Coke, one of the biggest product flops of all time.  To keep with the timeline, Stranger Things features New Coke, and in a marketing twist, Coca-Cola is re-releasing a limited supply of New Coke as a tie-in with the show.  So we’ve gone from a show that showcases a nostalgic product to creating a demand for that product in the current time. It is easy to see how this nostalgic product placement could generate demand for other products, whether they are now obsolete, like the Trapper Keeper, or whether products bring back retro packagings such as the genuine tins for Ritz crackers or Sun-Maid Raisins.

For more information on how product placement can be an important part of your marketing strategy, reach out to us. At Web Content Development, we implement the best strategies to exceed your online marketing goals.