What is an influencer exactly? Beyonce? YouTube star Michelle Phan? Someone with a high Klout score? Jonathan Perelman, Vice President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures (BFMP), thinks you are.
Brands pay top dollar for influencers like Kim Kardashian to tweet about their products to their huge social followings in hopes that consumers will think, "If Kim uses it, I've got to buy it right away" or "I've got to retweet everything this women who broke the internet posts." On the other hand, Buzzfeed relies on us mere mortals to spread their news. In the SXSW panel Social Media Celebrity: Audience vs True Influence, Perelman argued that the true influencer is the average Joe who is willing to put his name behind something and share it with his friends - like a Buzzfeed list showcasing the 25 most awkward cat sleeping positions.
Sometimes cats behave just like human. LOL Community: The 25 Most Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions http://t.co/HTM3wpheZ5 via @BuzzFeedAnimals
- Amanda Hsiao (@amandaxhsiao) October 3, 2013
Why is Perelman's theory so convincing? 55% of millennials click on content shared by their peers - which is 2.3x higher more than average click through rates. In relation to brands, the same study shows that roughly 70% of millennials are at least "somewhat likely" to base a product purchase on their friends' social media posts. Have we entered an era where peer-to-peer recommendations are more important than the preferences of our favorite celebrity influencers? Could it be?
So how do brands capitalize on this? Follow Buzzfeed's lead of course and do the leg work. What are your target consumers doing online? Watching videos? If so, which ones? How long are they? Any similarities with the popular ones? And, as Perelman pointed out, optimize your failures:
Tip via @JPerelman for brands & people: Mistakes can be more valuable than successes cause you can learn from them #sxsw #SocialStar #cwsxsw
- Christianna Giordano (@christiannag) March 14, 2015
To say this method will work for every brand would be unrealistic, but there is certainly something to be learned by Buzzfeed's success and brands should be taking notes. Perelman's co-panelist, Lisa Materazzo, Corporate Manager Media Strategy & Digital Engagement at Toyota, agreed full-heartedly. She also said, that when that doesn't work - just partner with a unicorn.