Ever wonder why so many people you meet online then maybe weeks later meet in person to find they are totally different people? This happens all the time and the people who built their online reputation to appear to be an “influencer” have a real hard time being themselves online.
Social networking online has been around almost 20 years. Where were you 20 years ago? Most of you are going to say you were yet in elementary school while a few of us are going to reply that you were right here learning what there was to learn about this new thing called The Internet. What you also learned is there are a lot of other people on the internet who, well, rather not be who they really are.
The Point Is!
What I am getting to here is, the internet has created plastic people who manipulate what you see of them online to not being who they really are. Why? Well, there is money to be made as an Influencer and big money at that. But in order to make that money, you have to be able to influence a lot of people..most to influence them into buying someone’s stuff…or believing someone’s ideas are awesome. This is what is being called Influencer Marketing.
The SyncLab Media Way
I am asked during our Discover Meeting with clients if SyncLab Media supports influencer marketing strategies. Our answer is always that we support what every BEST fits the client’s overall video-centric digital marketing strategy.
In some cases, SyncLab Media will enlist the support of someone, or several people, who we know are actually influencers in the market related to client’s strategy, but on the most part, we push towards making the client. or client’s brand, an influencer. This to us is the Influencer Marketing…when the client owns the space and controls the marketing of their product and services as the expert in that market.
Plastic People
But, back to who these people are who have been deemed “Influence Marketers”. As I can agree many on the list are actual influencers of a Market or even The Market. However, there are many I question their influence and influence of any market outside the imaginary world they have created, but cannot validate.
These are the people who evidently have a lot of people believing they are influential because their social profiles show they have trillions of people following. Some of the top of the influencer list in fact probably do have a very large number of people following them which would make them saying something about a business’ product be very lucrative to that business’ bottomline. Thus, is Influencer Marketing.
The Fact Is
On the norm, for every one true influencer marketer there are 100 Untrue individuals who have manipulated their popularity by purchasing, or coerced Followers they meet at tradeshows/conferences to when a MAC Pro, to sign up to be one of their supporters who call themselves influencer marketers.
In a fabulously written article in the NY Times, they reported on how influence marketing has become so mainstream in digital marketing that many less than ordinary people are buying millions of fake users so they can attract these businesses who are searching for people on the internet who have large numbers followers and paying them BIG BUCKS.
What Happens When Their Bubble Burst?
What happens when these individuals who are manipulating the system by purchasing fakes user accounts do not produce anything for their sponsors? Naturally, many large advertisers firms will blow a client’s marketing budget quickly by keeping alive these fake user houses. However, there are more and more businesses buying into going the straight route and hiring a video-centric digital marketing agency like SyncLab Media to develop phased strategies that develop strong brand appeal and their brand becoming the influencer.
Welcome to Marketing by Influence
Influencer Marketing is changing in 2018 to be Marketing by Influence. More businesses are catching on to the games freelance marketers play to make a buck off them. These businesses are going back to searching for agencies like SyncLab Media who base everything they do on common sense and not fads.
Smart businesses and brands are pulling back for handing over their reputation and image to someone who cannot validate they have 100k Friends on Facebook or Twitter…or anywhere for that matter.
Brands are now willing to put the risk of influencing consumers on themselves by owning up to their own content produced in a form consumers want..videos.
Video-Centric Digital Marketing strategies have proven to capture all markets and show more promise in producing an ROI than the number games strategies played by so-called influencer marketers.
If you need help sorting out what works and what does not work in video-centric digital marketing, SyncLab Media is just a call away. Of course..you can always let me know how I can help.
