Why You Should Care About NZ Social Media Influencers

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT NZ SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS MENTIONS OF THE KARDASHIAN/JENNER FAMILY

There is no question that the internet has made some radical changes in the way businesses advertise – and sometimes the pace of these changes is hard to fathom. The idea that social media influencers can even exist is a foreign concept to many. Those of the generation that didn’t grow up with social media can struggle to understand that ‘digital natives’ simply don’t respond to traditional advertising techniques.

Millennials in particular are used to having control over the way they find, consume and act upon information; and in the same way decide who they will allow to advertise to them and filter out who they won’t. Instead, they rely heavily on the opinions of friends and social media to help them make buying decisions. Who gets onto the latest thing amongst their social groups, in real life or online, is vitally important. Social media influencers highlight brands to people they’ve already developed an online relationship with, bringing them closer to a sale.

And so we’ve seen the rise of social media influencer superstars: Instagram stars, Facebook celebs or Snapchat peeps whose massive numbers of followers give them sway. These are cool people that brands pay to mention, wear and subtly (or not so subtly) endorse their products for tangible and trackable sales.

Data found that average earned media value from US influencer marketing programs in 2015 was at $9.60 for every $1 spent; with huge media values in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) at $14.29/$1, tourist destinations and travel ($12.54/$1) and bath, body, skin and beauty ($12.21/$1). So no wonder a macro social media influencer such as Kendall Jenner is reportedly paid between US$125,000 and US$300,000 for a single social media post to her collective 65 million followers.
But 2016 research from Markerly, a social influencer agency that works for the likes of Levi’s and Coca-Cola, has found that it is micro-influencers (those with lesser followings) that have relatively higher engagement rates and reach than influencers with huge numbers.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it is engagement with followers rather than likes that is most likely to spill into purchasing actions. Remember, even if the number of likes on a page is relatively low but a high percentage of those followers are interacting with its content, posts are more frequently served to their newsfeeds.  Further organic followers are gained by recommending that page to their friends.

Social Media Influencers in NZ

That’s good news for New Zealand brands looking to add social media influencers to their marketing mix. While we have some macro influencers like Lorde, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Max Key and Bachelorettes Matilda Rice and Naz Khanjani; we have more micro. These micro influencers will often do campaigns that offer great value for money. Because they are such great value, don’t insult them by offering product only – influencers can’t pay their mortgage with contra. Social media influences consider this their job. They deserve to be paid.

The vital component of successful social media influencer campaigns is to get an expert marketer to write the posts, links and hashtags for you. They know what will get results, what won’t look like an advertisement and what legal requirements have to be in the mix . This means you will not get in trouble with media channels. Hopefully these influencers are smarter than reality TV personality Scott Disick‘s recent Instagram goof of accidentally posting his sponsor’s instructions in the photo caption; or his sister-in-law Kim Kardashian’s mistake of promoting a morning sickness drug without including the side effects, which got her in hot water with the FDA.

Speak to Identify about which social media influencers in New Zealand may be right for your brand.

PHOTOS: Let no one tell you that Lindsay Lohan isn’t subtle (Source: Instagram)
Scott makes a boo boo with Boo Tea (Source: Instagram)
References for this article are available on request.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Influencers-with-Most-Followers-Dont-Necessarily-Most-Likes/1013943
http://jezebel.com/heres-how-much-celebrities-make-in-the-instagram-produc-1740632946
http://spy.nzherald.co.nz/spy-news/social-climbers-kiwis-on-the-social-media-rise/http://petapixel.com/2016/05/20/reality-star-accidentally-posts-sponsor-instructions-instagram-caption/