{"id":3872,"date":"2020-03-10T01:55:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T05:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/?p=3872"},"modified":"2020-03-10T01:55:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T05:55:51","slug":"influencer-marketing-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/prlab\/2020\/03\/10\/influencer-marketing-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Influencer Marketing in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stephanie Molano, Account Supervisor\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember the days when we would watch an ad on TV and call the 1-800 number listed to order whatever item was on the screen? Yeah, I can barely remember those days either.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The advertisement and marketing industries have taken a large turn in the past five years \u2013 and there\u2019s been a dramatic shift in how we consume ads \u2013 we\u2019ve gone from your typical radio, print and TV, advertisements, to Instagram ambassadors (or \u2018brand advocates\u2019 as I like to call them) and \u2018influencer\u2019 marketing, where other people tell us what we should buy, based on their suggestion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is influencer marketing?<\/b><\/p>\n

A social media influencer is anyone who has built a following, or a group of users who choose to consume the influencer\u2019s media, and uses their content (such as stories and posts) to engage with their followers, build brand awareness and generate exposure for certain products and\/or companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last few years, influencers have completely saturated the Instagram platform, currently <\/span>ranked as the #2 most important social media channel<\/span><\/a> behind Facebook, posting content with products from paying companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Does influencer marketing really work?<\/b><\/p>\n

Although many people see influencers on social platforms, many don\u2019t understand just how effective these campaigns can actually be. Many large companies such as <\/span>Fashionnova<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Curology<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Glossier<\/span><\/a> are notorious for their investments in Instagram influencers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By endorsing several people all over the globe, their brand, product or service, has become widely recognized, building brand awareness (and ultimately loyalty) among their target audience, boosting the opportunity for higher revenue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Therefore, more and more companies choose to invest their marketing budgets on influencers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, <\/span>more than 89% of companies<\/span><\/a> say that ROI (return on investment) from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020, it\u2019s predicted that 17% of companies will be spending over half of their marketing budgets on influencers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Understand your Market\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Should you be part of that 17%?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Instagram is constantly growing, and with it, so is the opportunity for you to market your company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re considering building an influencer campaign for your start-up company, or even your multi-million-dollar corporation, it\u2019s good to outline the different factors that play into a successful influencer campaign on the platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do your research<\/b><\/p>\n

Instagram\u2019s demographic is helpful to understand who we\u2019d be marketing to and is essential for understanding whether or not you should invest in the channel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Instagram continues to rise in popularity, we know that it\u2019s userbase is still second to Facebook. Nonetheless, Instagram\u2019s channel continues to be the #1 platform for influencers and <\/span>35% of teens in the US<\/span><\/a> and drives the most number of users to company websites and check out baskets.<\/span><\/p>\n

The breakdown of demographics of age is as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n