Influencer marketing in the age of critical social media - trust and sociality are key
The climate on social media has changed in recent years. What used to be light content platforms have become more serious and critical, with people demanding so much knowledge, responsibility and expertise from influencers, but also from others on social media, that there seems to be no room for human error. This has a strong impact on social media content creators, i.e. influencers, the way they produce content and interact on their channels.
An organisation planning an influencer marketing campaign should take into account the changing social media landscape. The effectiveness of influencer marketing is best achieved by leveraging social influence, i.e. by choosing an active content producer who can deliver the organisation's core message in a natural and follower-driven way. Careful influencer selection and organisational trust in the influencer's content is even more important.
People want real, social content
Looking at the bigger picture, it's great to see that criticality and value-based thinking have reared their heads in social media. This shift also opens doors for organisations with a social message. However, many influencer followers regret how influencers are no longer producing the casual and personal content they used to.
The more critical online environment has caused many influencers to become more sensitive - and understandably so - to the content they share. Considering what you want and dare to say out loud about yourself, your life and your thoughts. Sociality and genuine interactivity in influencers' content has taken a hit, especially on the most critically received platforms such as Instagram.
Social is, as its name suggests, an essential part of social media. Peer experiences, inspiration, the experience of getting to know another person, sometimes even genuine acquaintance or a curious peek into someone's life are all part of sociality. Sociality is the factor that keeps people hooked on social media channels.
People's longing for more authentic, unstructured and relaxed content is partly reflected in the popularity of TikTok, where the style of content is more casual - it's good old-fashioned storytelling and the focus is on the content itself, rather than on the clothes that might be in the background. Another good example is the BeReal app, which has recently gained popularity in Finland and is based on authenticity. BeReal prompts the user to take a single, real photo of themselves at the moment the app is telling them. The user will only see his friends' photos if he posts his own BeReal photo.
Social as an asset in influencer marketing
Especially when planning long-term, branding influencer marketing, it is worth paying attention to the best part of the web: social. In concrete terms, this means influencers whose content is, or at least feels, social and interactive. The sociality of an influencer may appear as just casual chatter, sharing their own life, thoughts and news - does the influencer feel approachable and the content wonderfully mundane?
However, there are different factors to consider when looking for a social and interactive influencer. For example, activity and interaction is different on different social media platforms and in different age groups. The cornerstone of influencer marketing, brand match, i.e. the match between the influencer and the organisation, still needs to be taken into account. The importance of optimal brand match or genuine interactivity, and how these are prioritised alongside other factors, depends on the objectives of influencer marketing.
Give the influencer a free hand and trust the content
Once you have found the right influencer for your organisation, it is best to let go of the strings and give them the freedom to produce their own content. It's good to communicate the aspirations and framework for collaboration, but the content can and should come from the influencer themselves.
In an era of a more critical social media landscape, an organisation's messages need more authentic and natural collaborative content creation from the influencer in order to be effectively communicated to followers and engage them. Perfectly staged, fashion-magazine level images have taken a back seat and advertising slogans copied directly from the organisation have never worked. Wonderfully mundane, relatable content is once again engaging - just as it was in the early days of the web.
Once you've carefully chosen your influencers, you can lean back and trust them to deliver content in the style that works best. It's important to remember that influencer marketing should not just repeat the organisation's own messages and advertising slogans. The effectiveness of influencer marketing lies in having a speaker from outside the organisation - equal to the listener, approachable and identifiable. Trust the influencer and the collaborative content he or she creates, because the influencer knows best what speaks to his or her followers.
