Why fundamentals matter in influencer marketing

This post is sponsored by Media Prima Television Networks under the Futurist series.

Brands are increasingly drawing on the power of influencers to vie for consumer trust and attention. More than ever before, influencer marketing has earned its place as an effective amplifier, despite scepticism that lingers from recent reports of dishonesty uncovered last year.

Putting that aside, the discipline itself is maturing alongside the creativity employed by brands to get the best out of their marketing spend. Undeniably, it’s still a worthwhile investment considering today’s ad consumption behaviour and the way influencers are driving purchase intent.

The team at Media Prima Television Networks has had the privilege of propelling a heavy use of influencers to anchor our advertisers’ campaigns – from A-listers to up-and-coming personalities and micro-influencers who are popular on social media. There are valuable lessons learnt that brands could embrace to shape their influencer marketing programmes in 2019.

1. Look away from the numbers: One of the hardest steps is to identify the right influencers. The number of followers is an easy benchmark. But in a space where authenticity is fundamental to the role of influencers, all the more reason for brands to prioritise other factors over the following size. These factors include the genuine passion for the brand or topics they’re meant to champion; their impact on society and ability to inspire others; and the quality of engagement and interaction with their followers.

2. Shift from who to what: Regardless of the choice of influencers, content is still the king of the modern marketing mix. A direction needs to be in place on what content will be truly compelling, not just for the influencers to execute, but also for the audience to care about. The basics of ensuring the content is entertaining and engaging must not be overlooked, while allowing influencers the freedom to keep their posts and experiences authentic throughout. Consumers may prefer user-generated content, but that shouldn’t stop brands from mixing it up by collaborating with influencers for a variety of formats. It could take the form of a no-brainer contest, live broadcast, mini-series or even a performance showcase at the scale of the Lazada Super Show, which contributed to its massive success for its 11.11 sale in 2018.

3. Expand beyond social media: Think of the opportunity to reach and engage a broader audience by traversing outside the realm of social media. Content doesn’t necessarily need to sit in isolation on the influencer’s platforms, but instead promoted across relevant channels, including TV, radio, on-ground and digital. Audiences play a critical deciding factor to the channel selection. In the context of a mass Malay audience, for example, TV content is still heavily consumed as evidenced by programmes such as the live awards show Anugerah Juara Lagu 32, which captured over six million TV viewers in addition to more than 20 million views on YouTube. We cannot deny the pervasiveness of social media, but TV content still gets people buzzing if created with the ability to merge into our digital life.

4. It’s ultimately sales, but more than that: In an ideal world, everyone would love influencers and their content to drive immediate purchase from a single post. Unfortunately, the buyer’s journey is a lot more complex today and there’s more than one way to use influencers to cut through the noise and solicit sales.

Influencer marketing can be leveraged on its own or as part of a broader campaign to build lasting relationships, loyalty and brand love with the audience – a credential that is vital to prepare and enable future sales.

The writer is Johan Ishak, chief executive officer, Media Prima Television Networks. The article first appeared in A+M’s The Futurist print edition.