6-2 Blog: Marketing Perspective

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t follow any influencers. I think now, more than ever, people are starting to become “influencers” and it’s something that’s been growing within the past year, although it’s been happening for years now. I follow a ton of fashion bloggers like Jean Wang of Extra Petite and Wendy from Wendy’s Lookbook. I also follow a lot of beauty youtubers. When my favorite fashion bloggers promote a product they like, I do my research by reading reviews and then, I make a purchase. I feel more at ease when an influencer promotes a product than when a celebrity promotes it. It feels more real and genuine when an influencer does it.

With influencers, I noticed that brands and companies are reaching out to influencers more than celebrities. I personally would buy an item from an influencer than a celebrity because celebrities are well-known public figures. They can make tons of money off of anything whereas, if an influencer were to promote an item, their opinion would seem more “real” because it’s coming from a normal, everyday-life person instead of a celebrity. Brands and companies are using this type of marketing because they known they have a better chance of reaching a more authentic audience. Influencers aren’t shown as celebrities. Most of the time, they’re shown as people with a huge following, but also people with real honest opinions. They have this huge following because people trust them and respect their honest opinions. When brands get an influencer to join their campaign, they know that they have a better chance of connecting to a real audience versus a celebrity promoting a product and people just buying it because their favorite celebrity told them to. When an influencer promotes a product with their genuine and most honest opinion, their readers and followers take it into consideration and they think, “Oh, if my favorite influencer is listing all the pros and cons of this product, maybe I should give it a try.” Influencers have a lot to lose if they lie to their audience, whereas, if a celebrity were to lie, they wouldn’t lose much because they’re already millionaires.

The strategy that influencers are using is social media. Influencers know that nowadays, teens and young adults are always on their phones, especially on social media. They use that to their advantage (in a good way) to connect with their audience, to get feedback, to see what’s trending and how they can hop aboard it. Influencers are using the strategy of connecting with their audience to gain a loyal following. When influencers ask for feedback, interact with their followers, respond back to questions, this shows followers and readers that these influencers care about interacting with them, which then causes a loyal following. These influencers are using strategies of constantly asking for feedback and putting their life story on the internet in hopes that others can connect and feel safe with them. This is a great strategy. When influencers let their guard down and share personal stories, this gives their audience a chance to get to know them better in a vulnerable level. This allows their audience to connect with them on a personal level and be able to relate to them more. Influencers build a loyal following by being personal. Nobody wants to follow someone that they feel sounds like a robot. We can easily tell when someone’s life is curated on social media. Yes, we tend to follow people who we deem are “perfect” but we still love the vulnerability an influencer has when they start sharing personal life stories and goals with us. I tend to follow influencers who talk about their life goals and a little bit about their past struggles. I don’t need to know everything, just that they’re human and imperfect just like me.

In marketing, these influencers have a huge shot an influencing their audience, hence why they’re called influencers. Whether it’s for fashion, beauty, comedy, etc., influencers can easily convince their loyal following to do what they want. Of course, in order to get there, they have to build a loyal audience first. These influencers are the next generations of role models and “celebrities” if you will. They’re constantly on social media promoting their services and products but also engaging with their audience. They ask for feedback and showcase their personality while they’re at it. They influencers are role models to young kids, pre-teens, teenagers and even young adults because they’re able to connect more to them. These are just everyday normal people who don’t have to sing, act or dance to get famous and become a celebrity. These are just everyday people who went on social media to be themselves and gained a following from it. They are role models for young kids. They play a huge role in marketing because their audience looks up to them. Their audience can relate to them more because they’re not technically “celebrities.” They started off as normal people who went on social media just taking about their lives and doing what they love and that grew into a following. These influencers use social media as a way to connect and grow and because of that, their audience is able to connect to them on a personal level. They have a huge influence on people and I think that’s why companies and brands hire them. They see that nowadays, people can more to see influencers than celebrities.

The use of marketing perspective impact the relationship between the company and consumer by this allows consumers to be able to see a real person promoting a company. Celebrities get paid tons of money to promote a brand. Don’t get me wrong, influencers do, too. But celebrities already have so much money that if they were to get caught lying about how much they love a brand, it wouldn’t matter because another brand will endorse them. However, for influencers to get hired and promote a company, readers and followers see these influencers as just normal people. It makes consumers think, “Oh wow, if they can make it, so can I.” They trust these influencers more because these influencers spent years (or months) building such a loyal following that if they get caught lying promoting a company they don’t like, they could lose everything. They could lose their credentials and authenticity. This marketing perspective impacts the relationship between the company and consumer by consumers tend to trust a company more when the company hires an influencer who engages with their audience. The impact of the company and consumer relationship grows into a trusting, loyal one. Consumers start to trust the brand because an influencer is promoting it and endorsing it, so they feel more comfortable to purchase from the company. This then leads to a loyal following.

Influencers have a huge impact on this generation. Nowadays, teens and young adults would rather see an influencer promoting a brand than a celebrity because it feels more real and personal when it’s from an influencer.