Changing the Expected Dynamic of Influencer Marketing
According to Big Commerce, influencer marketing is popular because influencers are genuine, they align with consumer values, and they act like they have the buyer’s best interests at heart. However, these three tenets of influencers make them less than resilient when it comes to social media debacles. As they realize how much they could make marketing their own brands, they lose part of their appeal and genuineness to close a sale. While several influencers retain their authenticity as they get more popular, there’s a tendency for them to sell out. But what happens when passion and knowledge fuel an influencer’s image, not the hope of profit?
A Lucrative Business
Business Insider estimates that influencer marketing is set to be a $15 billion business by 2022, based on enterprise-level investment. With so many influencers covering the social media platforms, a few of them will likely make a lot of cash thanks to their popularity. However, the double-edged sword of retaining popularity while doing the bidding of a brand tends to cut deeply into the basis of influencer marketing. The conflict of interest may drive away more consumers than the extra funding does to attract new ones. However, selling out like this isn’t the only way to make a difference and earn a living as an influencer.
A Unique Voice Within Social Media
Kristian Pengwin is known throughout Italy as one of the most prominent and passionate voices in soccer. His social media presence has seen him garner as many as 450,000 followers on Instagram. A further 350,000 tune in to his Telegram chat for his knowledgeable insights and passion for the sport. Yet, he’s a unique voice on social media since he doesn’t leverage his platform to sell anything; subscribers are welcome to tap into his knowledge for free.
Pengwin’s success underlines the three core tenets of social media influencer success. He’s authentic in how he delivers his updates since he’s genuinely excited and passionate about the sport. He aligns with the same values as his subscribers, as everyone enjoys the same competitions. Finally, he has the best interests of the subscribers at heart, since he doesn’t want them to pay him for their presence. How does Kristian Pengwin make a profit, then? Through monetization, but only for brands and products he genuinely believes in. By relying on this method of monetization, he keeps the core tenets of an influencer intact.
Learning From An Exceptional Influencer
Brands and companies that tap into influencer marketing need to understand how that marketing works. Choosing influencers that aren’t in the business’s niche or don’t have consumers that are usually interested in the product is likely to end badly. However, using influencers as disposable assets can also lead to terrible outcomes. An influencer spends a lot of their time building their brand, and a company should respect that when tapping into their follower base. No matter how good the money might be, influencers that stick to their core values will have a much better time, surviving for a more extended period and increasing their follower count because of it.
