There's a statistic that gets kicked around a lot these days that says that, in 2014, the number of people who downloaded ad-blocking software rose from 54 million to 121 million. Today, that number stands at nearly 150 million, according to a report from PageFair and Adobe.
So when I came across a recent Forbes article announcing that Instagram would be opening its app to all advertisers over the course of this year, I had to scratch my head.
Don't get me wrong: Social sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have to generate revenue if they're going to stay alive.
I get that.
Thing is? Millennials - social media's biggest users - hate ads. So much so that a self-reported 40 percent are already blocking them on their social media accounts, a move that costs publishers an estimated $10.7 billion in revenue in 2014.
But here's the dilemma: According to AdAge, millennials account for over $170 billion in annual spending and are expected to spend $200 billion from 2017 onwards.
Rock, meet hard place.
So how do you reach an audience that has crazy spending power but goes out of its way to block your ads?
Two words: Influential marketing.
What is Influential Marketing?
Simply stated, influential marketing is marketing that:
- comes from real people who
- produce authentic content around their favorite brands that
- influences buying decisions among their social followers and
- potentially elevates the content creators to status of brand ambassador.
Just how powerful is influential marketing? Each day, an estimated two billion people are influenced by social people and authentic content.
If you're among the marketing world's hold outs who are still employing traditional digital marketing tactics, you're not alone.
Also? You're wasting your money. Because when you consider how many people are using ad blockers to avoid seeing digital ads (which cost brands in the U.S. $60 billion annually)... well, the numbers speak for themselves.
The Art and Science of Influential Marketing
The good news is, however, that influential marketing is not only highly effective, it's also cost effective and - if you understand the art and science of it all - fairly simple to take advantage of.
The other thing about influential marketing that makes it so powerful is that it has the millennial seal of approval.
That's because this age group trusts the reviews and opinions of their peers. In fact, according to a Nielsen report, 92 percent of consumers said they were more likely to trust buying recommendations from other consumers over promotional content from a brand. This is true even in instances when the buyer doesn't know the person making the recommendation.
And not only is influential marketing cost effective and well received by its target audience, it also boasts high conversion rates - generating more than 2x the sales of paid advertising according to some estimates.
So what's the secret sauce - the art and science behind influential marketing?
It all comes down to a brand's ability to do three things:
- Identify and manage their brand ambassadors;
- Develop a deep analytical understanding around the data that results from the social campaigns these ambassadors engage in; and
- Repurpose and leverage the best user-generated content throughout their entire marketing portfolio.
Identify and manage your brand ambassadors
I have heard countless stories of brand executives who are trying to manually manage a handful of their best ambassadors, and the outcomes are never good.
No exaggeration: Without the right platform to do the heavy lifting, it's virtually impossible to track all of the content that is swirling around a brand at any given point of the day (they've tried). And finding the best ambassadors who are producing the best content around your brand?
Forget about it.
A good platform, on the other hand, will automatically help you mine user-generated content - influential marketing gold that drives revenues and creates loyal customers.
Develop an understanding around the data
If you're going to reach your target audience on social, knowing who's generating buzz on your behalf is a start, but it's only the beginning.
In order to get some momentum building around that buzz, it's imperative that you have the tools needed to take a deep dive into the data that these social campaigns is generating so that you can clearly see what's working best to drive impressions and generate sales. The end goal is to take the guesswork out of your social marketing efforts and duplicate those that are converting.
Repurpose and leverage the best content
The great thing about influential marketing is that the content it creates doesn't have to work in a social media vacuum. In fact, in repurposing that content across a number of channels (landing and e-commerce pages, display ads, email campaigns, and so on), you leverage content that has already been tested and proven effective. That's a lot of bang for your marketing buck.
Are you getting the best ROI (return on influence) for your marketing dollar?
Many may view ad-blocking as an obstacle to selling. But the way I see it, it's a powerful driver of opportunity. Because when you back influential marketing with the kinds of tools that will help you identify your biggest influencers, manage the conversations they're generating around your brand, and measure the results of their efforts, what results is an impressive ROI - return on influence.