SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS Influencer Archetypes And Their Relation To Branding Goals
NiENKE IJTSMA LAURENS MEISTER 1
FASHION MARKETING & RETAIL INTL. FASHION & MANAGEMENT AMSTERDAM FASHION INSTITUTE
1 Introduction There are a lot of speculations about the phenomenon of ‘online influencers’ nowadays1, however it seems like there is little knowledge of how exactly brands can benefit from the online influencer system. This position paper aims at giving insight into the effects that online influencers could have on the audience’s perception of brands. Our research made us aware that there are three archetypes of social media influencers namely celebrity influencers, micro-influencers and brand advocates. We examined the engagement of the audience under Instagram posts that were evidently a result of collaborations between social media influencers and brands. We also used interviews to gain a better understanding on how the social media audience thinks about influencers and whom they consider to be credible. Our research was eventually aimed at identifying which branding goals can be achieved when working with specific types of social media influencers. In the following paragraphs we will firstly explain the applied methodology, limitations of the research and terminology before we dive into the three different influencer archetypes. Concluding we will explain the relation between influencers and branding goals and we will briefly share our personal opinion on the observed phenomenon from the perspective of brands. 1.1 Methodology In order to obtain a qualitative understanding of the phenomenon of online influencers2 we firstly searched for secondary data in academic as well as popular literature. On base of the analysis of the literature, we decided on the research objective that is stated in the introduction. To compile primary data we focused on semi-structured interviews (Drever, 1995) as well as online analysis and netnography. For the data collected using netnography, we mainly focused on gathering information in the form of direct copied data (screenshots) that we considered to be valuable for our research (Kozinets, 2002). The limitations of the methodologies and our 1
See: Online influencers - Google search in the last month: https://www.google.nl/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=L7dPWPi1G63H8AeKx7SQDw#q=online+influencers&tbs=qdr:m
2
See: http://www.highsnobiety.com/2015/04/17/ the-rising-power-of-social-media-influencers-documentary/
use of them are outlined in paragraph 1.2. 1.2 Limitations Of Research Before we report the findings of our research efforts, the limitations of our research efforts will be elucidated. The main restriction of this research project is the short amount of time (2 weeks) that was spent collecting the primary data. Striving to use netnographic research it is important to mention that we did not spend enough time in online communities nor did we participate like Kozinets proposes in his writing from 2002. We consequently focused on observation (Kozinets, 2002). The amount of influencers that we observed was limited and our findings might not be representative for the broad scope of influencers that exist in the online landscape. Eventually it is important to mention that the interview participants were consisting out of friends that might represent similar point of views and opinions which could affect the relevance of their statements for this research. 1.3 Terminology A simple explanation of the term influencer comes from the influencer marketing blog ‘TapInfluence’3 , which says that it is a marketing style that focuses on key leaders, to spread the message to a broader or more specific audience than in traditional marketing. We found out that there were actually two different gradations within online influencers4. Firstly, we named the influencers with the most followers, who are mostly famous due to a primary cause, the ‘celebrity influencers’. However, sometimes individuals rose to celebrity influencer status merely by means of their social media activities (i.e Kylie Jenner). Secondly, we named the influencers with less followers, who may thank their popularity to their online success, the ‘micro-influencers’. We believe that there is also a third category, called ‘brand advocates’. Brand advocates could also be expressed as ‘brand evangelists’, because originated from a faith or a passion, they are willing to spread a brand message, like historically evangelists wanted to spread the message of the Christianity and the Bible (Tindall and Hutchins, 2016). 3
See: https://www.tapinfluence.com/blog-what-is-influencer-marketing/
4
See: Attachment 4.7 Influencer Archetypes
2. Archetype 1: Celebrity Influencers Phase 1 - Celebrity influencers as mentioned above are often famous for a primary cause. A study from 2012 has shown that even though celebrity influencers have a high reach they are not associated with the level of trust that brand advocates are. In the long-term they are considered less effective (Tindall and Hutchins, 2016). It is important to realise that reach does not equal influence but reach creates awareness (Baer, 2016). Also the level of engagement from followers of celebrity influencers is comparatively low. Whereas
Figure 1:Instagram users make negative jokes about the picture and body1
Figure 2: Fans cherish sponsored content and celebrity influencer2
1
See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BBBRjsTDo1S/?taken-by=kendalljenner
2
See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BNE2cJADwo2/?taken-by=therock&hl=en
micro-influencers have a like-rate of about 2,4%, smaller celebrity influencers have rates of only 1,7% (Chen, 2016). In general this shows us that celebrity influencers certainly help to drive awareness but might not necessarily have influence or high credibility.
Phase 2 - Observing the engagement on profiles from celebrity influencers gave us indications of the qualities and limitations of this influencer archetype. We could not find evidence that there is direct interaction between celebrity influencer and followers. Some celebrity influencers even deactivate
the function for followers to comment under pictures1. This is a clear indication that the celebrity-influencer are out of reach for followers. Next to the detachment from the celebrity influencer to its audience, or maybe even because of the detachment, we found evidence that the attitude of the audience towards the celebrity influencer was often negative or jealous. This was expressed through comments about body parts of the influencer (Figure 1). However this is certainly also dependent on the celebrity influencer. Looking at the Instagram of wrestling star Dwayne Johnson shows that people also react positively towards him and his sponsored content (Figure 2). Another finding was, that other followers made use of the wide audience that reads the comments under posts from celebrity influencers to promote their own agenda (their own profiles)2 . Analysing the interviewees opinion on celebrity influencers it became evident that the interviewees prefered to follow people that actually work in the fashion industry 3. 2.2 Archetype 2: Micro-Influencer Phase 1 - The field of online marketing is still a relatively new field for marketers to discover. However it can be observed that paid advertisement has taken a backseat to online marketing. Especially moms and millennials can effectively be reached through influencer marketing (Prophal, 2016). Very crucial for the effectiveness of an influencer is their credibility. The product placement needs to seem authentic to the audience (Woods, 2016). Consequently influencers that are not as big as celebritites are more relatable to the audience. An article on digiday.com argues that the sweetspot in terms of impact of social media influencers on instgram lies between people with 10.000-100.000 followers. The article further reports that a company that had worked with celebrity influencers like the Kardashians had been able to convert on a higher level using 1 2 3
See: Attachment 4.1 Selena Gomez See: Attachment 4.2 Kendall Jenner See: Attachment 4.3 Interview extract 1
multiple “micro-influencers” instead of the big names. Brands have thus the possibility to reach more specific demographics and more engagement by collaborating with 40 microinfluencers, whilst spending the same amount of money that one celebrity influencer would charge (Chen, 2016).
Phase 2 - In our primary research we observed that the engagement of the followers was really high. Particular about the engagement was, that there was a lot of interaction between the influencer and the followers; this was expressed in followers receiving answers to their questions by the influencer in the comment section of posts (Figure 3). Another interesting finding is the generally positive attitude of followers in their engagement with micro-influencers in comparison to the jealous or self promoting attitude observed with celebrity influencers (Figure 4). Important here is to notice, that the high amount of engagement and the positive attitude seem to be restricted to posts that are “on-topic” for a specific influencer4 . Also the type of influencer that most of our interviewees find interesting falls into the category of micro-influencer5 .
Figure 3:Micro-influencer interacts with followers1
Figure 4: Followers show appreciation towards micro-
4 5
See: Attachment 4.4 Majawyh
See: Attachment 4.3 Interview extract 1
influencer2
1
See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BMrd_rXhf0l/?taken-by=hannahfgale
2
See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BNXU04YgRh1/?taken-by=majawyh
2.3 Archetype 3: Brand Advocates Phase 1 - A recent article, called from the authors G. Cordasco, L. Gargano, A.A. Rescigno, and U. Vaccaro (2016), uses the model of ‘memes’ to explain the idea of brand advocacy. Brands are in a priority position to let their messages spread automatically. On the other hand, the writers keep in mind that the model might be an idealization of diffusion processes in the area of memetics. Originally, the model was developed in the mid-70ies by the English ethologist Richard Dawkins (1976). He defines ‘memes’ as “a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation”.1 Brand advocates spread messages, or else said they create awareness. J. Bear says that brand advocates are the potential new micro-influencers when they become more influential. However, he also mentions that the more influential brand advocates get, the less passion will be traced within their performance (2016). Thus it seems like ‘passion’ creates ‘trust’ and ‘trust’ in the end generates more sales. That is the credibility of brand advocates (Tindall and Hutchins, 2016).
people who they knew personally than other famous people2. But not only close friends, also brands could gain a lot of information by brand advocates, like their needs and their wants (Figure 4).
Figure 5: Instagram brand advocate ‘lizenoordhuis’ reposts and praises Burberry’s full advertising campaign.1
Phase 2 - We took a comprehensive look at online brand advocacy behaviour, using Instagram as a medium to explore. We find it interesting, that next to advocates spreading custom made brand information, they also spread original branding messages that they seem to feel passionate about, like the repost of Burberry’s official commercial ‘The Tale of Thomas Burberry’ (Figure 5). At the same time we were skeptical about the often low engagement that we noticed on the accounts of brand advocates. For instance, the Burberry post from ‘lizenoordhuis’ only reached 57 views. Nevertheless, the semi-structured interviews with Instagram users indicated that even though brand advocates might have relatively low followers, these followers are oftentimes people that they know personally and thus trust. Asking participants how it would affect them if their friends post about brands, it turned out that people thought that they were rather influenced by posts from 1
See: Attachment 4.5 Richard Dawkins
Figure 6: ‘lizenoordhuis’ posts exactly what she wants on her Instagram account, tagging the belonging brand to it.2
2
See: Attachment 4.6 Interview extract 2
1
See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BMRJ155DrFA/?taken-by=lizenoordhuis
2 See: https://www.Instagram.com/p/BCQacoagUUG/?taken-by=lizenoordhuis
Conclusion Where at first it seemed as if the biggest influencers were the most influential for brands, meaning that they create action among the audience (Bear, 2016), it turned out to be differently constructed when comparing literature from different perspectives and observing people’s behaviour on Instagram. Influencers with the most followers, to our understanding celebrity influencers, indeed are in a great position to create high awareness for brands. However, we observed no direct interaction with their audience and the reactions oftentimes expressed negativity, jealousy and envy towards the celebrity influencer. Brands that want to gain credibility, likely have more use in collaborations with micro-influencers because they reach more specific demographics and their interaction with the audience is high and more often positively driven. Brands, that want to approach their audience personally and gain trust could stimulate brand advocates (i.e. with personal services or actions), which create awareness among the people that they know personally. Out of the semi-structured interviews that we did came that people indicated themselves to be higher influenced by posts from people who they knew personally. 3.1 Personal Statement & Further Research We believe it is pivotal for brands to collaborate with influencers who have the ability to connect to a specific audience with a product in a genuine and credible fashion. It is dependent on the brand and specific branding goals, to decide whom to collaborate with. It was insightful to listen to the interviewees and their habits on whom to follow. The credibility that was given to their friends posting brand related content is an indication of the potential that lies in working with brand advocacy campaigns. Also the fact that most of the interviewees follow micro-influencers, people that oftentimes work in the industry, is important for brands and their decision-making1. Consequently we conclude that further research in the field of brand advocacy campaigns and microinfluencers could be of tremendous value for 1
See: Attachment 4.6 Interview extract 2 Attachment 4.3 Interview extract 1
brands.
Refrences Baer, J. (2008) Social media case studies. Available at: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/ content-marketing/social-media-influencers-versus-brand-advocates-infographic/ (Accessed: 19 December 2016). Baer, J. (2008) Social media case studies. Available at: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/ social-media-case-studies/why-online-influencer-outreach-is-overrated-and-how-to-fix-it/ (Accessed: 19 December 2016).
Chen, Y. (2016). The rise of 'micro-influencers' on Instagram - Digiday. [online] Digiday. Available at: http://digiday.com/agencies/micro-influencers/ [Accessed 17 Dec. 2016]. Cordasco, G., Gargano, L., Rescigno, A.A. and Vaccaro, U., 2016. Evangelism in Social Networks: Algorithms and Complexity. arXiv preprint arXiv:1610.09486. Dawkin, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford University Press, 1, 976. Drever, E. (1995). Using Semi-Structured Interviews in Small-Scale Research. A Teacher's Guide.. 1st ed. Scottish Council for Research in Education, Edinburgh., p.98. Hutchins, A., & Tindall, N. T. (Eds.). (2016). Public Relations and Participatory Culture: Fandom, Social Media and Community Engagement. Routledge. Kozinets, R. (2002). The Field Behind the Screen: Using Netnography for Marketing Research in Online Communities. Journal of Marketing Research, 39(1), pp.61-72. Woods, S. (2016). #Sponsored: The Emergence of Influencer Marketing. Honors Thesis. University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
4 Attachments
4 Attachments
4.1 Selena Gomez
4.2 Kendall Jenner
4 Attachments 4.3 Interview extract 1 AJSHA BEGANOVIC Do you follow fashion influencers on Instagram? I don’t follow fashion influencers. But I only follow stylist and photographers who work in fashion. But no instafamous fashion influencers. I don't like to support this. If I would need that for my job, I would do that. But personally no DANIAL AITOUGANOV/MALE DESIGNER Do you follow fashion influencers on Instagram? Yes, I’d think so. What kind of influencer do you follow for what reasons? I follow stylist, fashion editors, Instagram bloggers and designers. I use them mainly for inspiration and to stay ahead of what going on in regards of fashion. ANNA-LENA INTERVIEW Do you follow fashion influencers on Instagram? Barely to be honest. However, I do follow photographers and stylists. People that actually work in the industry. Rather real creative people than the cliché influencer.
4 Attachments 4.4 Majawyh
4 Attachments 4.5 Richard Dawkins
4 Attachments 4.7 Influencer Archetypes
“A meme is a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. (...) Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or building arches. Just as genes propagate in the gene pool via a process which, in the broad sense can be called imitation. If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passes it on to his colleagues and students. He mentions it in his articles and his lectures. If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain.” (Richard Dawkins, 1976)
TERRELL TATE If you friends post about brands how does that affect you? Yeah for sure. That really awakens my interest. But, also in this case, it is really important for me who that person is. If I find them cool and interesting then it is really powerful. Otherwise I am not interested at all. In general it is definitely way more effective if I know the person that is posting about a brand. I definitely discover brand like this sometimes. DANIAL AITOUGANOV If your friends post about brands how does that affect you? Yes, certainly. If that friends taste is credible to me I would always look it up. The least thing is to check the Instagram profile that is tagged. If it’s good I will follow them. AJSHA BEGANOVIC If you friends post about brands how does that affect you? Yeah definitely that is something that has a really positive effect on me in terms of brand perception. Of course i trust my friends and their taste the most. I am most likely friends with them because we share a similar passion, vision and taste so it is quite likely that I will like what they are doing. ANNA-LENA If you friends post about brands how does that affect you? I think friends are the most credible “influencers” to me. So if they would wear something and post it I’d surely look it up. That’s way more interesting and effective for me then some famous person doing it. Most likely my friends have a similar taste to mine and we share common interests. If I can discover something through them that is always appreciated. BRENDA NEUVEL If you friends post about brands how does that affect you? I like to see what they are interested in, what they wear, the same as where they are going on holiday. It affects me positively because I like my friends so I also get positive associations with these brands, but I have to add that it makes these brands that I see at my friend’s profiles more mainstream in my optique, so I would also search for other brands than these, in order to stay original.
- Reach +
4.6 Interview extract 2
MICRO INFUENCERS CREDIBILITY & BUZZ BRAND ADVOCATES CREDIBILITY CELEBRITY INFLUENCERS AWARENESS (main goal for ace&tate)