Mike Blake-Crawford: 'Influencermarketing is incredibly effective'

Influencer Marketing Event vindt plaats op dinsdag 10 september in DeFabrique te Utrecht. Ga voor tickets en meer informatie naar de website.

Why is your talk worth to see?

Influencer marketing is one of the biggest buzzwords in marketing today and for a good reason: it's incredibly effective. We have seen campaigns deliver ROI in excess of 30 times across many verticals. That said, trust in influencer marketing currently sits at just 4% and one of the reasons for this is because in many cases it's fraudulent. Yes, we know influencers buy fake followers, but did you know they also manipulate likes, comments and video views too? My talk will dive into the benefits of influencer marketing while also identifying the core challenges and providing steps on how marketers can overcome and deliver success in the current climate.

What's your advice for marketers who want 'something with influencer marketing', but don't know where to start?

When embarking on an influencer campaign, it's easy to focus on 'who'. Which influencer should I choose, how big is their following and how much engagement do they receive? This is not the place you should be starting. You should be thinking about 'how' you want to work with influencers; which elements of your brand do you want to showcase? What are your key objectives? what types of content do you want to output? When you have the answers to the 'how', then finding the 'who' becomes much easier and purpose driven.

What are the do's and don'ts in terms of influencer marketing?

Do: seek to build strong relationships with a view of working towards brand partnerships with influencers. Consumers are becoming over-exposed to influencers working with a different brand each day and building longer term relationships is a trend we're seeing across the industry.

Don't: think that influencer marketing is the same as any other digital media when planning costs. Yes, you can buy influencers based on reach, engagements and video views; but the real value comes from the endorsement and creativity influencers deliver.

So don't just focus on 'Instagram influencers', influencer marketing encompasses many different.

Which brand controls influencer marketing in a good way and why?

Red Bull have been one of the best examples of brands working with influencers for a long time now. They don't focus on metrics, but primarily on working with influencers who embody their brand values, creating the types of content that their audience want to consume. They work with many sports stars who don't always have the biggest following, but have the trust of the audiences they have built. For example: Red Bull was working with pro surfer Sally Fitzgibbons almost ten years ago, before she had the fame that has recently come from her surfing exploits.

Where does influencer marketing as a profession stands in five years from now?

As we edge further into the age of transparency for brands and business, influencer marketing will only continue to grow. However, as the industry matures we'll see much more focus on the measurement and efficacy of influencer campaigns, but more importantly: the platforms on which they operate will seek to be involved more in the buying and management process. We are already seeing this with brands soon to be able to promote influencers posts on Instagram in the same way they promote ads.