In this blog post, we will provide information about the challenges of delivering a marketing message to your young target audience and the rise of influencer marketing. We will emphasize how young people's media consumption habits are changing and the importance of keeping up with this change. We will also provide you with strategic information by explaining the role of platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and why influencer marketing is important for companies.
Delivering a marketing message to your target audience is always a challenge – especially Gen Z. Media consumption shows that this new generation is developing in a completely different way than previous generations. Young people, who turn to streaming services such as Netflix instead of television, prefer digital platforms such as Spotify instead of radio. Traditional magazines have been replaced by Reddit and similar digital platforms. These changes have led marketers to mobile advertising on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok rather than traditional channels. For example, 60% of Instagram users in the United States are younger than 34, while on TikTok almost 40% are between the ages of 10 and 19.
In recent years, interest in platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitch has given birth to an entirely new industry of social media influencers and influencer marketing agencies. For example, celebrities such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner, and Kim Kardashian West have over 100 million followers on Instagram. These influencers' contribution to the marketing industry exceeded $9.7 billion in 2020, accounting for approximately 5% of the online advertising market.
Social Media Platforms for Influencer Marketing
There is a strong connection between influencer marketing and social media platforms. Influencers need the visibility provided by social media platforms for recognition, and these platforms gain their appeal through the content influencers share. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are among the major players in influencer marketing. The age groups of users of these platforms vary. Facebook and Twitter users tend to be in their 40s, while Instagram attracts consumers in their 30s and TikTok attracts consumers in their 20s. The important point to note is that this younger population has different media consumption habits. This is because people are becoming more skeptical of traditional advertising, making influencer marketing particularly important. Overall, it is important for companies looking to use influencer marketing to consider these platforms.
Although Facebook has the largest user base among social media platforms, it has been on a downward trend lately. Facebook, which has 2.4 billion active users, attracts attention with an average of five visits per day and a monthly usage time of approximately 13 hours. However, the platform's satisfaction score is low (63) and 29% of users are considering leaving the platform. Additionally, there was a large decrease in the participation rate between 2017 and 2019. Therefore, the role of Facebook in influencer marketing strategies is decreasing.
Since Twitter is a text-based platform, content format plays an important role for influencer marketing. However, it is lower than other platforms in terms of the number of active users, monthly usage time and satisfaction index. In terms of influencer marketing, Twitter posts are considered less effective than other platforms. However, the price per post on Twitter is still slightly higher than Facebook due to having a more homogeneous user base in certain content areas.
Facebook and Twitter may have limited appeal for influencer marketing. While Facebook is used for communication with the social environment, Twitter is preferred as a news source. YouTube and Instagram are entertainment-oriented platforms. Instagram and TikTok have significant potential for influencer marketing by targeting young users. The total user base of TikTok and Instagram is around 2 billion and they offer a suitable environment for influencer marketing with their visual and video content. Focusing on entertainment on these platforms makes it easier for influencers to build a following they haven't met in real life.
For these reasons, we use Instagram and TikTok as examples in the remainder of this blog post. We don't explicitly include YouTube because many people view YouTube as more of an entertainment site like Netflix and not as a social media platform. Additionally, the cost of influencer marketing on YouTube is quite high (about four times that of Instagram), which can make it inaccessible for many companies. However, while we don't explicitly mention other platforms below, much of the advice we give can be similarly applied to influencer marketing on other sites.
4 Recommendations for Companies Interested in Influencer Marketing:Understand that each platform has its own unique user culture and language. In order for your content to be effective on every platform, it is important to understand your target audience's preferences and communication style.
Be careful when choosing the right influencers. Choosing influencers that are compatible with your brand by evaluating factors such as the influencer's follower base, niche and interaction level is important for a successful collaboration.
Pay attention to the content format. Visual and video-focused platforms such as Instagram and TikTok offer a more suitable environment for influencer marketing. It is important to optimize your content for these platforms.
Communicate regularly and interactively. Staying in constant communication with influencers ensures that your brand's message is conveyed accurately. Additionally, establishing a healthy relationship with influencers is beneficial for long-term collaborations.
In summary, when doing influencer marketing, it is important to understand that each platform has different features, choose the right influencers, pay attention to the content format and be in constant communication.
Here are three important points for companies that want to interact on Instagram and TikTok:Platform selection must be done carefully because each platform requires different skills and resources. Instead of being everywhere, companies should determine their target audience and goals and choose the most appropriate platform.
It is important to collaborate with influencers to understand the user and communicate in the right language. Influencers know the platform well and can be an instructive resource for companies.
Companies must provide a reason to attract users' attention. Just being a famous brand is not enough. Companies can achieve higher engagement by using humor.
Influencer marketing involves more than just making a post.
It is important that communication is integrated across different channels. A single influencer post on platforms like Instagram and TikTok can sometimes be effective, but often isolated posts alone do not translate into sales. Multiple exposure to the same content is important for a successful campaign. Therefore, influencer marketing should be integrated into a broader marketing plan. Research shows strong interactions between influencer marketing, advertising and sales incentives. This integration impacts influencer marketing in three ways.
First, content needs to be integrated across different channels. Making a single Instagram post with an influencer can be effective in some cases, but isolated posts are unlikely to convert into sales. In most cases, multiple exposures to the same content (at least 15 times) are required, so frequency is important for campaign success. Therefore, influencer marketing should be integrated into a broader marketing plan.
Secondly, the importance of special units emerges. It is a frequently discussed topic in the relevant literature. Brands that compete directly between brands should not be promoted by the same influencer in a short period of time. However, depending on the product category, the specific association may not be necessary or convincing. When long-term cooperation occurs, special associations often emerge naturally.
Thirdly, it is important to choose the right influencer. Making a decision just by looking at the number of followers or interaction rates can be misleading. Companies should identify influencers who can reach the relevant community and actually use and promote products. Therefore, it is important to take the time to brief influencers before working with them and make them familiar with their brand.
A frequently asked question by marketing managers is whether they should work with one influencer with 8 million followers, 16 influencers with 500,000 followers, or 160 influencers with 50,000 followers. Academic research generally suggests that the most connected users (hubs) should be the focus. However, although smaller influencers may have lower engagement in absolute terms, they often have higher engagement rates and a more homogeneous following relative to their overall follower count. Therefore, the influencer marketing industry has created various terms such as mega, macro, micro and nano influencer, but there is no consistent, widely accepted definition for them. The important thing isThe following factors should be taken into account when making this decision.A frequently asked question by marketing managers is whether they should work with one influencer with 8 million followers, 16 influencers with 500,000 followers, or 160 influencers with 50,000 followers. Academic research generally suggests that the most connected users (hubs) should be the focus. However, although smaller influencers may have lower engagement in absolute terms, they often have higher engagement rates and a more homogeneous following relative to their overall follower count. Therefore, the influencer marketing industry has created various terms such as mega, macro, micro and nano influencer, but there is no consistent, widely accepted definition for them. The important thing isThe following factors should be taken into account when making this decision.
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