Page 8 - AeM_June_2021

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

Keeping tabs on influencer marketing

developments

During the first lockdown, 40% of the momentum of the "virtual influencer" seems unstoppa-
partnerships between influencers and brands ble. The phenomenon has its origins in Japan, where
involved nano and micro influencers, i.e., those Yamaha created the first virtual avatar back in 2007 to
with a rather small community (maximum 50,000 promote its speech synthesizer software. Just in recent
followers), because they reply to almost all years, virtual influencers have gained a lot more fans.
messages, emails, and comments and thus, In 2016, the first virtual YouTuber started with Kizuna
maintain a close bond with their fans. This in AI that has today more than 2.8 million subscribers.
turn increases their engagement rate, which is During the lockdown, the World Health Organization
why advertisers are increasingly interested in (WHO) also used virtual influencers to share health
guidelines: e.g., Knox Frost with almost a million Insta-
these profiles. Although they don't reach an gram subscribers. Interestingly, their engagement rates
audience of millions, these influencers seem beat real-world Instagrammers even though they post
knowledgeable, trustworthy, and friendly at the less often.
same time. Often, they have a profile that
optimally fits the target groups of the brands Clearly, data is the key to success in influencer market-
where they provide valuable feedback on the ing, complemented by tools to increase performance.
latest products. Sophisticated reporting gives brands a real-time over-
Currently, for instance, many internet users pass their view and enables them to analyze the specific impact
time with online gaming which is why this form of enter- of a project. In addition to data science, technological
tainment is attracting more and more well-known influ- advances and other functions that machine learning
encers from social networks. Besides that, social media offers, like modeling, find their way into influencer mar-
platforms started to implement new functions: Insta- keting. This enables you to make even better predic-
gram, for instance, has expanded its shopping func- tions and measure your own campaign results more
tions, YouTube has started initial tests with Shopify, precisely. ◊
etc. Therefore, it can be expected that more people will By Daniela La Marca
do their shopping on social networks this year and the

8 June 2021: Social Media & Influencer Marketing