Our thoughts and views of the evolving world of influencer marketing, and how it may help you grow your brand in the future.

2. The Future of Influencer Marketing
INFLUENCER MARKETING
IS DEAD. LONG LIVE
INFLUENCE MARKETING!
EXEC SUMMARY
Customers stranded on a luxury party
island-turned-disaster zone, after
celebrity endorsements sold tickets to a
festival that never existed. Professional
bloggers offering positive coverage for
freebies. Fake followers. Elusive Return
On Investment.
The future of influencer marketing is
uncertain. From exciting buzz word to
essential bandwagon to controversial
headlines, the sector faces an uphill
battle to overcome cynicism from brands
and public alike. A 2018 Global Web Index
Report found only 32% of UK consumers
trust influencers.
Online retailer Bazaarvoice recently
claimed 47% of people now suffer
‘influencer content fatigue’. That’s the
content supposedly making those
influencers influential.
But facts can prove almost anything.
Social analytics company Sharablee and
content specialist Fullscreen reported
over 1/3 of the public still trust influencers
more than brands. By 2020, the industry
will be worth more than $20billion. So
who do you believe? This guide explains
why it’s not time to walk away from this
practice altogether, but refocus from
‘who’ to ‘how’.
Assumption and indecision are the
greatest threats to business. Bold
steps guarantee impact, but walking
the same line as everyone else for fear
of being left behind is folly. You need
to forge, not follow.
Over the last decade the influencer
marketing conversation has reached
a deafening volume. The race to be
involved so poorly-planned, lacking
safeguards and due diligence
embarrassing fumbles and disasters
threaten to overshadow the real
success stories.
Brands caught out, public conned, yet
we’re still told to ignore the sector at
our peril.
Time to call the experts. So we did.
In researching this document, we
traced influencer marketing’s history
to conception and then we kept going.
Understanding the term itself is
relatively new, but the associated
challenges, problems and goals are
timeless.
We consulted leading legal authorities
on the implications of new regulations.
Speaking with influencers helped us
understand how their roles are
changing and what partners must
consider. Academics introduced us to
concepts the industry has yet to
explore.
Forget introductions and surface-level
insights – we’re not here to patronise.
This thought leadership publication will
encourage new approaches and ideas
to leverage every digital content
creator, curator and social media user.
In 2019 the public is all ears, brands just
need to realise which voices count.

3. The Future of Influencer MarketingThe Future of Influencer Marketing
REGULATIONS
Influencer marketing is no longer
an untameable frontier. Scandals like
Fyre Festival and vlogger Elle Derby
have taught the public that paid-for
recommendations are often disguised
as genuine opinion. In 2018, new
legislation was introduced to stop
people being miss-sold and misled.
If the ASA believes a post is an advert
but has not been declared it means
reputation damage for all involved.
The CMA can take criminal action if
undisclosed paid content becomes
a consumer protection problem.
Brands have also suffered. Unilever
has demanded action to tackle fake
accounts, which when used to boost
follower numbers and secure lucrative
marketing deals amounts to influencer
fraud. The networks themselves are also
working hard to close fake accounts and
win back user trust.
We asked Steve Kuncewicz, partner at
media law specialist BLM, to advise.
“WE HAVE YET TO SEE AN
ACTIVE PROSECUTION
UNDER THE CONSUMER
PROTECTION REGULATIONS,
BUT AUTHORITIES ARE
LOOKING FOR THE FIRST”
he explains. “Brands also need to be
aware of the risks of aligning themselves
to an influencer for what they believe is
an engaged following and understand
their values may not gel.”
“THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING
IS BRAND SAFETY
AND, INCREASINGLY,
GETTING
INFLUENCERS
TO SIGN AN
AGREEMENT”
1 USE #AD
for brand-controlled content
involving payment, loan or free
gifts
2 ALL RELATIONSHIPS
between brands and influencers
– including historic – must be
declared
3 DUE DILIGENCE
checks should analyse genuine
follower numbers, and gauge if
values and behaviour align
4 CONTRACTS
should set out what you are
expecting from an influencer,
including protection against
fraud, and what they should
expect in return
of 18–34 year-olds made a
large purchase due to
influencer endorsement
22%
of marketers consider
transparency and authenticity
key to influencer campaigns
94%
of brands prefer working with
micro-influencers for genuine
engagement
of marketers do not see
follower numbers as a true sign
of influencer value
92%
INFLUENCER MARKETING
TODAY, IN STATISTICS
How effective is influencer marketing in
swaying purchasing decisions? What do
brands want in terms of influencer
partners? What are the benchmarks
businesses use to assess the power of
influencers? We’ve crunched the
numbers and drilled down into the facts
so you don’t have to. Here’s what the
landscape currently looks like.
of influencers have more than
5million followers
1%
46%

4. 500 – 10,000 1million +0
Reach
10,000 – 1million
0
Average Engagement (per post)
Strengths
2 – 5% 5 – 25% 25 – 50%
Celebrity
status,
national or
global
presence
Personal brand
experiences,
strong relationship
networks
Macro-influencers
Mega-influencers
Micro-influencers
Influencer
Types
The Promoter
Directly promote
products, brands, events
and happenings
The Motivator
Thought leaders adept
at encouraging others
to adopt behaviours
The Engager
Highly responsive
masters of online
communication
The Maverick
Experimental,
controversial and
outspoken dramatists
The Nurturer
Knowledge sharers
who do so to help
others
The Creator
Talented producers
focussed on creating
original content
Macro-influencers
The journalist, the
executive, the
decision-maker
Mega-influencers
The actor, the athlete,
the social star
Micro-influencers
The consumer, the
employee, the
neighbour
Specialist
knowledge
of a sector,
professional
credibility
The Future of Influencer Marketing
FORGING NEW PATHS
To see the future of influencer
marketing we must understand the
present, and how we got here.
Instagram is the word on everyone’s
lips when talking influencers. Today’s
fastest growing social platform,
92%
of marketers surveyed by Linqia
claim it’s the network of choice.
Realistically, though, Twitter, YouTube,
Facebook and individual blogs remain
relevant. You will know which is suited
to your audience, and that should guide
where resources are allocated.
How the term ‘influencer’ is applied
has also expanded. Brands know
large follower counts are not the
best benchmark to look for. Mega
influencers – film stars or footballers –
offer huge potential reach. But macro
influencers are more trusted thanks
to subject authority, and micro influencers
have intimate ties to followers with great
engagement. Within each category there
are different personality types suited to
different goals.
Using public figures to sell products and
services is nothing new. Famed US cook
Nancy Green was doing this before the
turn of the 20th Century.
Fatty Arbuckle sold us Murad Cigarettes
in 1905. This is a deal that has plenty of
relevance today when you consider his
shocking fall from grace, and the
importance of not only carefully choosing
spokespeople you can rely on, but
choosing ones who share similar values
to the brand. In comparison, leveraging
online voices to amplify brand message
is a modern concept.
In 2010, American football great Isaiah
Mustafa turned Old Spice into a viral
sensation by becoming ‘that guy on
that horse’. Around this time, Amazon
connected to Facebook, showing us what
contacts bought, turning friends and
family into micro influencers. By 2015,
Mariah Carey was sharing her experiences
of Airbnb through social channels.
Meanwhile, social media’s native stars
– from high profile vloggers to Snapchat
sensations and the Twitterati – were
already being approached by companies
to spread their word.

5. The Future of Influencer Marketing
“I WOULD SAY LOOK
FOR INFLUENCERS THAT
HAVE FOLLOWINGS
OF AROUND 20,000
TO 100,000, WITH AN
EVEN SPREAD – SO
A STRONG BLOG, A
STRONG INSTAGRAM
FOLLOWING, AND GOOD
ENGAGEMENT ON BOTH”
Are new influencer marketing
regulations beneficial?
“I think it’s always a good thing to be
really honest with your followers and
readers. If you’re working closely with
brands it’s the right thing to do to be
transparent when something has been
gifted or paid for.”
How will the influencer marketing
landscape change in the next 12
months?
“There is a big shift towards micro-
influencers. Brands won’t be as reliant on
celebrities and the huge influencers
because they are now portrayed as one
big advertisement.”
What content formats are most
exciting?
“Video and podcasting are going to be
really big, a lot of micro-influencers are
going to go into them… The traditional
blog is dying a little, but you can never
remove a blog, and they are very strong
for Google results.”
Lessons from Emma
An influencer’s world is all about insights
and learnings. Our conversation with
Emma is no exception. Here are four key
takeaways to remember when looking to
partner your brand with any online tour
de force.
1 Social content is more
in-demand
80% of brands used to approach
Emma for blog content and link
-building. Most of her work is now
Instagram and video.
2 Influencer marketing is
dominated by data
You need insights at the end
of a campaign – include this in
any written agreement. Issue
trackable links to monitor click
rates independently.
3 Find the perfect match, not
the biggest name
Influencers between 20,000
and 100,000 followers offer
excellent value and ROI. Look for
people with reach across different
platforms to future-proof
partnerships.
4 This is a two-way street
Influencers aren’t simply service
providers, be clear on what you
want but open to negotiations
on what you can offer an influencer
in return.
The Future of Influencer Marketing
VOICES OF THE
NEAR FUTURE
Emma Campbell
Emma Campbell is an award-winning
blogger at What Emma Did and
influencer in lifestyle, beauty and
fashion. She has several key lessons
for brands looking to partner with
influencers.
If you really do your research, and hone
in on the influencers that are actually a
good match and representative of the
brand personality you should expect a
lift in sales and followers.
That doesn’t always happen as you can’t
guarantee sales but, brands should always
give tracking links to influencers that tell
them how many clicks and visits posts
give them.
Look at what the brand can give the
influencer, too. It’s possible to get free
deals if their content is shared on brand
channels, or your blog hosts their blog.
It’s about finding the best relationship
type to work with each other.
Also be clear from the start you want to
see all insights at the end of the campaign.
The influencer shouldn’t have anything to
hide, if they do then there’s a chance they
have fake followers or false engagement.

6. There’s no winning formula for influencer
marketing – each campaign is affected
by different variables. Nevertheless, by
using our ten-steps to success you
can’t go wrong putting your big ideas
into practice.
Know why you
want an
influencer
Find your
potential
influencers
Step
3
Step
2
Understanding
what an
influencer
actually is
Step
1
Approach your
influencers
Step
5
Analyse potential
influencers
Step
4
Consider
payment
Carefully
Step
6
Collaborate on
the campaign
details and be
creative
Step
7
Don’t forget
about all the
other marketing
jobs
Step
9
Monitor every
outcome result
Step
8
The Future of Influencer Marketing
FINAL THOUGHT
Dr. David Edmundson-Bird is Principal
Lecturer in Digital Marketing Enterprise
at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He explains we may have overlooked
the biggest factor when it comes to
mapping influencer marketing’s future.
“One of the unspoken things is the
influence of dark social – networks we
can’t observe – WhatsApp, SMS, email.
People are referred from dark networks
by people they know. They arrive from
personal references and are likely to
make a purchase because of that.
How is this going to be exploited?
“You could incentivise them to share
the right link. Or URL shortening – using
platforms like bit.ly gives you a shortened
URL that acts as a tracker, which you can
drop into an ecosystem. Send it out to
influencers, ask them not to share, they
share quietly, then you see who is most
effective.”
63%
of social media users prefer sharing
content and recommendations via
dark social
82%
of this happens in Facebook Messenger
56%
on WhatsApp
54%
of people still share on open social
media channels
“I THINK WE HAVE
GONE THROUGH
PEAK INFLUENCER.
IN TERMS OF
BROAD, MASS
APPEAL OF
INFLUENCERS”
INFLUENCER STEP GUIDE

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marketing challenges you face for 2019/20?
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