Marketing to the millenialsthe power and success of the digital influencer.
Laura Kohler 14013742 Project Research:DE0929 BA (Hons) Fashion Communication Northumbria University
Contents
01 Introduction 03 Methodology 05 Chapter 1- Exploration of the digital influencer 11 Chapter 2- Why has the digital influencer become so successful in the millenial market 19 Chapter 3-Analysis of the future of the digital influencer 23 Conclusion 25 Reference List 29 Image Reference List 31 Bibliography
Introduction
“They’ve become the next generation of content editors. They don’t work for Condé Nast or Hearst. We treat them with an equal importance as we do our editors, and we know that the info they’re posting is extremely valuable” Stacy Mackler, vice president of public relations and communications stated Lancôme when discussing how digital influencers are reshaping the fashion and beauty industry (Strugatz, 2016).
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Digital influencers have the ability to shape and change our opinions and behaviour. They have the power to create an effect and drive measurable outcomes through honesty and authenticity. In relation to the fashion industry these digital natives post, snap and tweet to their huge number of dedicated followers who fully trust their recommendations and reviews. Currently in 2016 fashion is a numbers game. Success is measured by how many clicks a website receives, how many followers an influencer gains and how many consumers are driven to purchase a product featured (Spedding, 2016). The aims of this report are to understand, investigate, and analyse the digital influencer, both mass and micro influencers will be examined. The overall term will be explored in detail surrounding the sudden growth, power and success. Current influencer campaigns will be analysed in relation to positive outcomes. The comparison of celebrity endorsements and the digital influencer will also be discussed. Predictions and forecasts will be made to analyse the future of the digital influencer. For the purpose of this report the millennial demographic will be analysed in relation to the consumer to create a more in depth, defined and focused report.
Methodologies
As part of this project both extensive primary and secondary research have been undertaken in order to create an in depth detailed broader understanding and analysis of the digital influencer. A questionnaire of 50 people was devised in order to gain a deeper insight and the perceptions of celebrities and digital influencers in the forms of bloggers and vloggers. A focus group of 3 participants was conducted in order to gain more qualitative research. All participants were fully briefed and informed consent forms were signed by all participants (see appendix B). All primary research was controlled to only gain the answers of millennials, this was to ensure validity within responses. Secondary research was conducted through the examination of academic books and journals covering the topics of social media, marketing, consumer behaviour and the consumption of fashion. Online reports were analysed from Mintel as well as articles and insights from Forbes and Nielsen. This report has being carried out ethically and no participants have being exposed to harm. All data collected has being treated with respect (see appendix A).
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Chapter 1 Exploration of the digital influencer
In an age defined by technology the continual upward progression of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram in the millennial era has fuelled a shift in the world of marketing resulting in the sudden growth in digital influencers. Digital influencers, also known as content creators are self-built stars who utilise social media platforms to promote fashion brands and products. Digital influencers essentially assist brands and companies with social commerce. Social commerce refers to the use of social media to assist in the buying and selling of products which influences stages of the consumer decision making process. (Tuten and Solomon, 2012). These individuals share personal opinions of brands and products through social media. They generate awareness, build up customer engagement and build audiences for brands. Influence is no longer about celebrity endorsements but is about genuine, personal recommendations from honest authentic digital personalities (Hamann, 2015). Primary research found that 87% of participants answered yes when asked if they knew the term digital influencer, this suggests the popularity of these individuals within this demographic could correlate to the success and reach they maintain (see appendix D). Digital influencers are often photographers, bloggers, vloggers, instagramers or entrepreneurs who all maintain a strong digital presence and have the ability to make people listen, relate and take action. (Santos, 2016). The main focus is for influencers to showcase products or brands in a way that makes them feel authentic and not an advertisement. The role of the digital influencer is crucial as they have a significant influence on the pre and post purchase behaviour of consumers. They act as amplifiers for the voice of a brand who spread information to multi-million strong target audiences (Bilkova, 2015). Digital influencers are not traditional celebrities, Matthew Knell, Vice President of Social and Platform partnerships at About.com stated the difference; an influencer is a self-built star built through social media channels and a celebrity is built up by traditional channels (Hitz, 2016). Consumers are no longer satisfied with advertising as a sole source for information for a product, they now use social media in an effort to share and understand other peoples reviews and opinions. Consumers are reliant on experiences of others before making a purchase themselves (Evans and McKee, 2010).
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Figure 1- Zoella
Digital influencers are an example of earned media. Earned media is word of mouth marketing that turns customers into advocates and influencers for a brand (Newman, 2014). Earned media breaks through online noise as it is not paid marketing and it pushes brand awareness. Looking specifically at millennials 51% are more likely to be influenced by earned media (Hitz, 2014). Social Chorus conducted a study and found that influencer marketing campaigns can capture up to 16 times more engagement than owned or paid media (East, 2016). This shows the huge potential reach that digital influencers allow brands to engage through the type of promotion they use and suggests how millennials are respondent to influencers. Zoe Sugg also known as Zoella (see figure 1) is an example of a successful digital influencer. She has partnerships with a large number of brands including retailer Superdrug that pay her to promote their products to her large number of loyal social media followers (Mintel, 2016). It is estimated Zoe earns up to ÂŁ50,000 per month with brands paying her up to ÂŁ4,000 for a single mention of their products (Ramsdale, 2016). Zoella is a mass influencer. Primary research was conducted and when surveyed 90% of millennials stated they knew of the social media star (see appendix D). This proposes the scope of audience an influencer such as Zoella has due to the popularity and recognition she holds looking specifically at the millennial demographic.
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Figure 2- Blogging
Homebase is an example of a successful retailer who used a fashion based digital influencer to help change the personality of their brand and reposition it in the market. A 12 minute haul video was launched through partnering with YouTube content creator Tanya Burr (see figure 3), a UK fashion and beauty vlogger with over 2.2 million subscribers. She visited the store with a £500 voucher to spend and then showcased her purchases through the haul video. The video was then promoted to its target demographic of women aged 18 and above through a TrueView campaign. Each item that Tanya featured in the video was listed in the description box allowing viewers to click and be directly taken to Homebase’s website to purchase the items. A Facebook competition was also being held at the time for entrants to win a £500 voucher and Tanya featured this within her video with a link allowing viewers to easily click to enter. The results of the video were extremely positive for Homebase. There were 350,000 UK video views and a 46% increase in sales of the showcased products. The company also saw a 10% increase in the brands Facebook activity. Jonathan Hudson Homebase’s Digital Marketing Manager spoke of how the campaign succeeded far further than the initial objectives originally outlined. This successful campaign suggests how a fashion influencer can be used for not only fashion brands but across a wider range of sectors and still be extremely influential and successful in promoting products and brands themselves. The power of the campaign shows the capability to influence through utilising a social media star.
Figure 3-Tanya Burr
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Micro-influencers are a smaller segment of the overall term digital influencers. These people have a smaller digital presence but still communicate in the same way, they usually have up to 10,000 followers on social media platforms. The main effectiveness of the micro-influencer is that their posts tend to surround niche interests and usually have a narrower focus, this means their insights are more relevant suiting their followers and potentially a brands target audience. Instagram data suggests that micro-influencers actually have an increased engagement in comparison to standard influencers (Smous, 2016). It is arguable that once a social media influencer reaches its maximum followers, audience engagement could begin to decrease. Markerly, an influencer marketing platform held a survey which results showed influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers have a like rate of 8 percent in comparison to those with 1,000-10,000 followers who have a like rate of 4 percent (Chen, 2016). This data suggests that this happens due to the fact these followers actually have a genuine interest in the influencer, therefore, more engagement is made. An example of a brand who has effectively utilised micro-influencers is designer brand Christian Paul Watches, as they collaborated with blogger Katherine Saab of Stylendipity. The social media star currently has 8.8k followers which led to a boost in awareness and engagement for the Christian Paul brand (Westwood, 2016).
Chapter 2 Why has the digital influencer become so successful in the millenial market The idea of putting the customer first is not new but it is essential brands need to constantly refresh their approach to meet consumers changing demands. User-generated content and emotive storytelling are becoming more preferred, while customer-focused challenger brands continue to disrupt the market. The evolving and constantly changing millennial consumers need for greater authenticity and transparency surrounding brands online is of high importance. Brands need to adapt their marketing and promotional strategies in order to meet these changing demands (Chahal, 2015). Millennials are in control of how they consume content and interact with brands, it is important for brands to relate and fit accordingly to their target market allowing room for interest from consumers (Nielsen, 2015). Using a digital influencer to promote a brand allows a wider scope of interest for the consumer as it provides a more interesting form of promotion than traditional advertising. Millennial consumers typically value the input influencers give as they feel they are more connected and level with them (Connolly, 2016). They feel more connected as influencers are often very relatable which consumers like and respond well to (Bilkova, 2015). Most digital influencers still go to work, have families to look after and will engage in normal social activities that readers, viewers and followers also participate in (MediaKix, 2016). 11
The millennial consumer trusts personal recommendations more than brand recommendations in relation to advertising. According to Nielsen’s latest biennial Global Survey of Trust in Advertising which polled 30,000 online individuals in 60 countries, it showed personal recommendations are the most trusted form of advertising - with 81% of UK respondents agreeing to this. This is a vast difference from the 23% of British consumers who believe their purchasing decision is influenced by brand advertising from the label itself (Nielsen, 2015). Primary research was conducted to support this study as it was found that 53% of respondents stated friends and family were the most trusted when it came to fashion and beauty product reviews, 33% said this was bloggers/vloggers (see appendix D). In relation to this, a study from the Harvard Business Review states 77% of consumers say they do not want to have a direct relationship with a brand (Chabot, 2015). This large percentage is crucial in the promotion of a product as this shows how having a digital consumer as the face of a brand will be successful for a business. It creates someone the consumer can connect with that is not the brand directly, suiting the customer demands. In another study from the Harvard Business Review it was clarified that marketing inspired word-ofmouth generates more than twice the sales of paid for advertising, these customers have a 37% higher retention rate (Chabot, 2015). The results of this study show that consumers are paying attention to digital influencers and they are making a bigger impact, meaning customers keep coming back. The similarity between consumer and influencer is making a big impact on the final purchase decision of a product, this is because the consumer feels that the product suits them or will fit their aesthetics due to the connection with the influencer. According to data from a research study conducted by Research Now, nearly nine in 10 consumers (84%) make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog. In the same study 18-34 year olds valued blogs as the most important information source (Gunelius, 2014). This research provides the information to prove the trust consumers have in digital influencers and the impact that they have. A study by Tomoson showed that 51 percent of marketers believe they get better loyalty from customers as a result of influencer marketing. That is because the relationship began with trust in the influencer (Burgess, 2016). This shows because the consumer feels the promotion may be targeted towards them they feel more connected with the brand and will be more inclined to be a repeat customer. Marketing through social media using influencers is an indirect strategy for reaching new and existing customers through their mobile phones. Reaching millennials on these platforms are essential as 90 percent of young adults from the ages of 18 to 29 use social media and a third of them say social media is one of their preferred channels for communicating with businesses (Pick, 2016). This provides one of the reasons influencers are successful with millennials as often the form of promotion they use is through Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat which are all mobile social media sites (see figure 4). It is important the correct platforms are used in order to reach the target market as otherwise advertising will be lost. Deciding to market through social media could open up a brand to a whole new demographic such as millennials which were not targeted previously.
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Figure 4- Social Media
23% of respondents said they were very likely
to make a purchase after a celebrity had promoted a product
67% of respondents said they were very likely to make a purchase after a blogger/ vlogger had promoted a product
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Millennials are a particularly hard to reach demographic through online content as they are adopters of ad blocking. With nearly three-quarters of millennials consuming digital and social content with ad blocking enabled, this means a huge amount of money is lost through popular forms of digital and social advertising (MediaKix, 2016). In 2014 Google published a study showing 56% of display ads are never seen. This is due to one main factor, ad blocking along with another issue that is poor targeting to the correct market (Google, 2014) Digital influencer marketing efficiently solves these issues currently faced by brands in relation to advertising as they are assured exposure and engagement to the target market without the blocked ads due to the fact it is not sponsored content. This means that digital influencer marketing is never wasted due to being blocked or unseen by the consumer and it is expected to reach a higher percentage of its projected reach. Using social media influencers allows consumers to see a brands product, gain an insight, impression and have awareness of the product. The personal insight into an influencers recommendations will be more likely to prompt consumers into a purchase or at least gain more interest in comparison to a celebrity endorsements (MediaKix, 2016). Digital influencers have become the more trusted and powerful leader as celebrity endorsements could now be seen to be an outdated way of brand promotion. This could be seen due to the lack of interaction with consumers. Digital influencers have constant running dialogue as they reply to tweets and comment back to questions on Instagram for example, which is something almost impossible to get back from celebrities. Influencers shape the public perception of a brand or product due to this interaction. A study to support this by Ad Week shows “around 40 percent of respondents said they have purchased an item online after seeing it used by an influencer on Instagram, Twitter, Vine or YouTube� (Hitz, 2016). 45% of UK adults believe that celebrities can make either a large (11%) or some (33%) positive difference to the reputation of a product but a greater proportion (51%) feel that they make little to no difference (MarketingCharts, 2014). This demonstrates a larger proportion of consumers feel celebrities have no impact on their buying habits. This study was done in 2014, it is important to understand that this number will have continued to grow year on year as evidence suggests digital influencers have now become more favourable than celebrities. A point to note is that celebrity ambassadors are also a lot more expensive which has left room for brands to experiment more with digital influencers (Amey, 2016). Primary research validates the initial findings further as 23% of respondents said they were very likely to make a purchase after a celebrity promoting a product in comparison to 67% of respondents saying they were very likely to make a purchase after a blogger/vlogger had promoted a product (see appendix D).
8 in 10 of the most influential people for teen audiences are YouTube stars (Burgess, 2016) (see figure 5) . Teens’ emotional attachment to YouTube stars is as much as seven times greater than that toward a traditional celebrity; YouTube stars are perceived as 17 times more engaging and 11 times more extraordinary than mainstream stars. (Ault, 2015). This evidence proposes the point that celebrities have become an out of date way of promotion and are constantly being pushed further down in popularity by influencers. Digital influencers have become the new celebrity endorsers. In support of this, Magenta, a social media and marketing agency hosted a discussion at Los Angeles Social Media Week surrounding the subject of the influence of both celebrities and digital influencers on fashion marketing. It was concluded that the accessibility and authenticity of digital influencers make them far more influential on today’s consumers than celebrities, especially when it comes to fashion and beauty trends (MediaKix, 2016). The financial status of millennials could also be a factor when exploring the success of digital influencers. Data provided by Mintel shows 25% of 16 plus year olds say they currently have a healthy financial situation and they have money left over at the end of the month for luxuries. Primary research supports this evidence which shows that 40% of millennials asked had in between £51-£100 of disposable income to spend on fashion or beauty at the end of the month (see appendix D). This data could correlate with the success influencers have on a number of purchases made for a product they promote. Millennials are in a good financial position with no dependencies, therefore they have money to spend on trying out new products that they can risk not liking. It could be argued from this information that influencer recommendations is just a phase currently surrounding the millennials consumer habits and may fade out if their financial situations change.
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Figure 5- YouTube stars
Chapter 3 Analysis of the future of digital influencer Darren Parsons a member of digital clarity believes that while reviews and blogs will remain crucial to marketing in 2017 there will be a rise in popularity for video content and according to ecommerce insights product video content can increase the chance of purchase by 144% (Parsons, 2016). This insight is important to take into consideration when reviewing the future of the digital influencer as this evidence suggests that the success and progression of vloggers will continue to grow and more influencers will turn to vlogging over traditional means of digital promotion such as blogging. This could also result in influencers gaining more trust from brands due to the high percentage of increase in sales due to video content. Brands may turn to influencers to create video content if they are not currently successful in this area due to the experience influencers may have. Currently most vlogs are recorded and watched in 2D which means consumers cannot interact with the video, suggesting they do not feel immersed in what is happening. The future of vlogging could be switched to virtual reality using 360 degree videos creating a brand new experience for consumers allowing them to fully engage themselves into a vlog. Instead of watching from an outside point of view consumers will feel they are a part of the experience. YouTube has kept up to speed with this new experience and has introduced added support for 360 videos allowing a platform for vloggers to upload and share their content (Smith, 2016). This information suggests the success of the digital influencer is only going to rise and become more innovative within the up and coming years due the rise in technological advances. 19
Millennials are often described as the ‘want it now’ generation who desire everything instantly (Thegbrief, 2015). This insight into the target consumer suggest how live streaming of videos could be the future for the digital influencer as this meets the desire of the millennial market, providing instant live content. In 2016, Facebook introduced live streaming which showed consistently higher engagement than other formats. It could be projected vloggers will begin to use live streaming when promoting brands and products online to suit the demand of the millennials, no longer would they have to wait for the content to upload to be watched, it could happen instantly. YouTube Live (see figure 6) is set to launch in 2017 which sets the seamless platform for influencers to successfully progress into the future (Smith, 2016). It could be said that branded websites are going to become less important in the future specifically for fashion retailers targeting the millennial age group. It could be suggested retail websites may become seen as an unnecessary expense and social media may become the new means of product purchase (Mintel, 2016). Digital influencers will have a rise in success if this becomes apparent due to social media being their platform to work. In 2016 Instagram has announced a buy now link for its users, this will allow brands to tag specific products which will take them directly to purchase the product with one click (Griswold, 2016). This upward progression and innovation will allow influencers to potentially increase the number of followers and drive popularity due to the instant access that proves important to the ‘want it now’ millennials.
Figure 6- YouTube Live
An additional consideration surrounding the future for digital influencers in the fashion industry is the suggestion that the gaps between brand influencers and the media are becoming smaller. Consumers are becoming prosumers. Many digital influencers have become brands themselves for example Leandre Medine founder of ‘Man Repeller’ has started her own media company. Tanya Burr previously mentioned now has her own cosmetics line which is growing in popularity with penetration growth reaching 716.4%. This could be an insight into the future that all influencers will become their own brands. This could lead to fashion institutions such as Vogue finding it impossible to avoid connecting with influencers in the future due to this new generation of stars. If they want to stay relevant it is essential big house fashion institutions embrace the blogging stars otherwise they could be at risk of losing style themselves (Robson, 2016). It could be questioned, are influencers in fact helping brands promote products in order to just promote themselves giving them a starting platform to begin their own brands? Authenticity of influencers may begin to be questioned. Through primary research it was found consumers believe authenticity could potentially be lost as the success of influencers rise (see appendix C).
Figure 7- Superdrug range
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Conclusion
It has become apparent brands needs to adapt their way of marketing to suit the demands of the ‘want it now’ millennial market and it has proved utilising digital influencers is a successful way of meeting these demands. This is due to the platform in which influencers work with for example Instagram, the popularity they have with the market, the trust and authenticity they prove with consumers. The company Homebase was analysed as a sucsessful example of a retailer who used a fashion influencer to drive sales for its company and increase recognition with a new target market. Research was also conducted which suggests digital influencers are becoming the new means of a brands marketing technique. The power of these individuals has proved a successful innovative concept which is looking to take over traditional promotional methods. It has become apparent digital influencers are competing with traditional celebrity advertisements but are currently the most effective due to their honesty, authenticity and their interaction with consumers. Although it is arguable these individuals are just a phase of the millennial generation and authenticity will eventually be lost (see appendix C), evidence of innovation through technological advances suggests the success of the influencer is going to continue to rise and obtain more power in the fashion industry. Analysis of the power of the digital influencer has proved popularity and awareness are very present, evidence suggests the drive for more power will continue to rise in the future.
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Image Reference List Figure 1 -Zoella, 2016, (online) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZp8eFnJd5g Accessed 20th December 2016) Figure 2-Blogger, 2016, (online), Available at: http://www.careergirldaily.com/important-power-pose-work/ (Accessed 20th December 2016) Figure 3-Tanya Burr, 2016, (online), Available at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/pl-pl/case-study/ jak-wspolpraca-z-tworczynia-tresci-w-youtube-zwiekszyla-swiadomosc-marki-homebase-i-jej-sprzedaz/ (Accessed 20th December 2016) Figure 4-Social media, 2016, (online) Available at: https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2016/03/mobile-phones-socialmedia-the-new-remote-control/ (Accessed 19th December 2016) Figure 5- YouTube stars, 2015, (online) Available at: http://www.generations.com/2015/02/09/the-rise-of-theyoutube-star/ (Accessed 20th December 2016) Figure 6- Superdrug range, 2016, (online), Available at: http://www.superdrug.com/microsite/zoella-beautyrange (Accessed 21st December) Figure 7-YouTube live, 2016, (online) Available at: https://www.freeflyvr.com/virtual-reality-youtube/ (Accessed 20th December 2016)
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