NTCC
NTCC
With the advent of social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok,
and Twitter, a new type of celebrity has emerged: influencers. These individuals,
who are frequently specialists in certain fields, have gathered enormous
followings from a wide range of demographics. Influencers, as opposed to
typical celebrities, interact with their audience on a personal level, providing a
unique chance for companies to engage with potential consumers in a real way.
Because of the growing relevance of social media in people's lives, influencer
marketing has emerged as a key outlet for brand promotion and customer
interaction.
This research will go into these aspects of influencer marketing in depth, with
the goal of providing a more nuanced knowledge of its history, impact on
consumer behavior, and business issues. This study aims to provide important
tips for firms looking to effectively employ influencer marketing in their
promotional efforts by integrating insights from academic research and industry
operations.
Influencers were mostly those who earned fame through their blogs and
YouTube channels in the early phases of social media. However, with the
introduction of platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, a new wave
of influencers developed, expanding the digital marketing scene. Brands began
to recognize these influencers' ability to effectively reach niche audiences,
resulting in the transition of influencer marketing from a niche tactic to a
mainstream advertising tool (Brown, 2018).
1.2.1 Establishing Clear Goals and Objectives: The first step in influencer
marketing is to establish clear goals. Having well-defined objectives is
critical when it comes to growing brand awareness, generating website
traffic, increasing sales, or improving social media engagement.
1.2.2 Identifying the Right Influencers: Businesses must discover influencers
whose target demographic is like their own. Followers' interests,
engagement rates, genuineness, and relevancy to the brand's specialty are
all considered. Influencers are classified into three types: macro-
influencers (celebrities), micro-influencers (smaller following but highly
engaged), and nano-influencers (influencers with a very tiny, targeted
audience).
1.2.3 Relationship Building: It is critical to establish real and mutually
beneficial relationships with influencers. Influencers are approached by
brands with cooperation suggestions. These offers might include
remuneration, free items, or other perks. Building trust and rapport is
essential for a successful cooperation.
1.2.4 Content Creation: Once the agreement is finalized, influencers generate
content that easily incorporates the brand's products or services into their
postings. This information can take many different formats, including
social media postings, videos, blogs, and podcasts. The material should
be entertaining, real, and relevant to the audience of the influencer.
1.2.5 Transparency and disclosure: Ethical issues are critical. Influencers are
required by law and social media platform standards to fully declare their
relationship with the company. This transparency fosters audience
confidence while also ensuring regulatory compliance.
1.2.6 Campaign Monitoring and Analytics: Brands analyse the performance of
influencer-created content throughout the campaign. Reach, engagement,
clickthrough rates, and conversions are among the metrics examined.
Advanced data analytics technologies aid in tracking the campaign's
impact, enabling for Realtime modifications and upgrades.
1.2.7 Long-term relationships and community building: While one-time
initiatives are typical, many firms choose to build long-term partnerships
with influencers. Long-term collaborations enable influencers to become
actual brand advocates, resulting in a more genuine relationship with the
audience over time. Furthermore, influencers frequently interact with
their fans, creating a feeling of community around the business.
1.2.8 Measuring ROI and Effectiveness: When a campaign is completed,
brands evaluate its overall effect and return on investment (ROI).
Businesses may assess the performance of their influencer marketing
project by comparing campaign objectives to actual outcomes. This
evaluation helps to shape future and cooperation.
1.5.1 Micro-Influencers:
Micro-influencers are people who have a small social media following, usually
ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of followers. Micro-
influencers are distinguished by their high engagement rates and narrow
emphasis. They frequently have a devoted and loyal following within a certain
specialty or group. Micro-influencers are perceived as more personable and real,
resulting in extremely influential recommendations and endorsements. Brands
work with micro-influencers to reach out to specific audiences, build genuine
connections, and create original content. Micro-influencer collaborations are
generally more cost-effective for firms due to their smaller size, while
generating highly concentrated and significant marketing effects.
1.5.2 Macro-Influencers:
Individuals who have acquired enormous social media renown, frequently with
hundreds of thousands to millions of followers across many platforms, are
known as macro-influencers. These influencers have a large following and
appeal to a wide range of people. Macro-influencers are typically celebrities,
industry specialists, or social media personalities with a large following. Brands
may get exposure to a wide and diversified audience by collaborating with
macro influencers. However, macro-influencers may appear less personal than
micro influencers, and their collaborations are typically more expensive.
Regardless, its enormous reach may be beneficial for brand awareness
initiatives aimed at a diverse audience.
1.5.3 Nano-influencers:
Nano-influencers are a distinct subset of the influencer marketing community.
Nano-influencers, as opposed to macro- and micro-influencers, have a relatively
tiny following, often ranging from a few hundred to a couple thousand
followers. What distinguishes them is the exceptional degree of honesty and
trust they share with their audience.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Throughout the study process, ethical issues will take precedence. All
participants will provide informed permission, protecting their identity and
confidentiality. The study will adhere to ethical rules and legislation governing
human subject’s research.
3.6 Limitations:
data, the dynamic nature of social media platforms, and the difficulties
Thematic research is used in both the subject's literature review and data
collecting. The Secondary way of approach is used. Websites, blogs, journals,
articles, and research papers were combed through to conduct a literature study
and accumulate an expanding quantity of data on social media addiction in the
modern world.
• Studies
• Theories
• Books
• Case Studies
4.1 STUDIES
Werner Geyser, 2023. The Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2023 which
shows latest overview of the influencer marketing industry. It summarizes the
thoughts of more than 3500 marketing agencies, brands, and other relevant
professionals regarding the current state of influencer marketing, along with
some predictions of how people expect it to move over the next year and into
the future.
Noémie Gelati and Jade Verplanckite, 2022. The effect of influencer marketing
on the buying behaviour of young consumers which is a study of how the
purchase intention of young consumer is affected by brands within the fashion
and beauty industries.
4.2 THEORIES
Word of mouth (WOM) marketing and opinion leadership are two more
concepts investigated by various narrative studies and empirical researchers.
Opinion leaders are persons with specific knowledge who can influence the
decisions of others, which connects this idea to WOM since opinion leaders may
be useful sources of information for customers. However, according to Johansen
and Guld Vik (2017), there is a significant distinction between opinion
leadership and influencer marketing because the latter seeks a massive audience,
whilst opinion leaders often connect with a small number of individuals. It is
vital to distinguish between WOM and influencer marketing since the latter is a
process – an influencer is constantly investing time in developing content and
partnering with companies, whereas WOM is often a one-time event.
SAM is a popular idea in social sciences that has been studied both
experimentally and theoretically. According to SAM, individuals like to be
among others who are like them (Argyris et al., 2020). Furthermore, they are
affected by those with whom they have many apparent similarities. The
similarities are mostly appraised based on comparable views that people have.
These attitudes can be further classified as significant and less important, with
the former group aiding in the prediction of attraction.
Argyris et al. (2020) use the example of persons who have similar views on
family and views and those who share a taste in coffee, claiming that the latter
will be less appealing. SAM and the notion of influencers are discussed in the
context of influencers.
An influencer's relationship with their audience is built on trust. Hu, Zhang, and
Wang (2019) provide the cognitive theory idea of trust transfer. According to
this hypothesis, if a person believes in one entity, that perception can be
believed by another. Using social media influencers as an example, if a
consumer trusts an influencer and their perspective, they will transfer that trust
to the items and companies that these influencers promote. Hu, Zhang, and
Wang (2019) provide several instances of how this phenomenon affects
customers and their decision-making. For example, if a client recognizes a
website and sees a link to an unfamiliar page, the customer is more inclined to
trust the latter resource.
Amanda Russell, 2020. The Influencer Code: How to Unlock the Power of
Influencer Marketing tells the entrepreneurs trying to harness the power of
influencers to enhance their brand and expand their business. Reaching today's
consumers is more difficult than ever, from Fortune 500 companies to tiny
fitness studios, whether you provide financial services or donuts.
Nike created the #Breaking2 campaign to highlight their ambition to break the
two-hour marathon barrier. They collaborated with great sportsmen such as
Eliud Kipchoge and engaged the help of macro-influencers in the sports and
fitness industries. These influencers shared the campaign's message and training
content with their followers, building anticipation and enthusiasm. The
campaign received widespread media coverage and produced a lot of discussion
on social media. (Mark Otson, 2021, Top Successful Campaigns) Even though
the two-hour barrier was not surpassed, the campaign demonstrated Nike's
dedication to pushing limits, strengthening the brand's image of innovation and
determination.
The data that were collected are analysed and stated in the following.
1. Yes 100%
2. No 0%
All the people who participated in the survey use social media platforms like
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This question had no doubt in it as in today’s
time almost everyone ranging from children to old people use some or the other
social media platform. Hence the ratio is 100:0.
1. Yes 58.3%
2. No 41.7%
Here also we can see that majority of people use social media platforms. This
survey included people from all age groups including teens, youngsters, and big
adults as well hence we can see that majority of them from all ages do follow
influencers.
5.3 Table 3 Respondents Purchase decision based on Influencer’s
Recommendations
1. Yes 30%
2. No 36.7%
3. Maybe 33.3%
Here we can see that quite a lot of people have made a purchase based on an
influencer’s recommendation or by seeing an ad or paid partnership on the
social media platforms. This easily shows us the advantage of using influencer
marketing.
1. Very 15%
Majority of people selected the Sometimes I do; Sometime I do not option when
asked whether they find influencer’s recommendations about a product or
service of a brand credible or not. While 18.3% said they do not, 15% people
said they do.
5.5 Table 5 Whether a Brand is trusted more because of collaboration with
Influencer’s for Promotions
1. Very 25%
3. Maybe 50%
In this there is a tie between people thinking whether they are more likely to
trust a brand that collaborates with influencers for promotions. However, most
people think that they can trust the brand and selected the maybe option.
1. Very 50%
3. Maybe 8.3%
Here when asked about about whether influencer marketing positively impacts
the brand image the majority said yes however quite a few people also said that
it does not.
This also depends on a lot of different factors.
5.7 Table 7 Whether Respondents use a Discount Code or Promotional
Offer Provided by an Influencer
1. Yes 21.3%
2. No 76.9%
Here most people said that they have not used any discount codes as of now and
23.1% people said that they had which is not a bad number as it will surely
grow in future. This also depends on a lot of different factors including
credibility and trust.
1. Yes 38.5%
2. No 15.4%
3. Maybe 46.2%
2. Not Important 0%
1. Yes 92.3%
2. No 0%
3. Maybe 7.7%
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIt0Epe0CZm0ZrjSjzQztssiXTG0
VUloWjBk8TAN9j0auhMQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
From the survey we can see that how majority of the people think that
influencer marketing positively impacts a brand and helps boosts the sales.
When asked whether people find it credible or not a lot a people said yes while
some also said no. This is one of the most seen disadvantages of digital
marketing, as there are a lot of influencers nowadays and a lot of brands
whether they be big or small collaborate with them, there is excessive and
rigorous content marketing on social media platforms which clutters it. Hence
the credibility factor is affected. Also brands and influencers sometimes hide the
fact that it is paid partnership or sponsorship they are doing and say very good
things about the product which in real life might not give the same results. This
also hampers with the credulity and trust factor as audience might think every
review as paid and not genuine.
Hence, here comes the factor of transparency and trust that the brand should
create with their customers to boost their sales. As we can also see in most
people believe that transparency is very important in influencer-brand
relationships The brands should post more genuine reviews as well to maintain
transprimer and trust.
Another thing we can see in the survey is that as of now not many people have
used discount codes given out influencers to purchase a certain product or
service but seeing the increasing popularity of influencer marketing it can be
easily seen that the number will grow in future. However, it depends on a lot
other factors like the product or service or the brand and whether the customer
trusts the influencer or to, reaching the right target audience, etc.
Many people as found in the survey also think that influencer marketing
positively impacts a brand’s image while some do not. This also depends on a
lot of different factors, but the brands also must make sure that they post
genuine reviews and maintain transparency as well to overcome this point, as
mentioned above.
Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What Makes Online Content Viral? Journal of
Marketing Research, 49(2), 192-205
Abidin, C. (2016). Visibility Labour: Engaging with Influencers’ Fashion Brands and #OOTD
Advertisements on Instagram. Media International Australia, 161(1), 86-100.
Hsu, C. L., Lin, J. C. C., & Chiang, H. S. (2020). Influencer Marketing: How Message Value
and Credibility Affect Consumer Trust of Branded Content on social media. Journal of
Interactive Advertising, 20(1), 58-73.
Hutchinson, A. D., Quinton, S., & Wilson, H. (2019). The Micro-Influencer Paradox:
Authenticity and Audience Size. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 4(4),
451459.
Becker, Maren, Nico Wiegand, and Werner J. Reinartz (2019), "Does It Pay to
Be Real? Understanding Authenticity in TV Advertising," Journal of Marketing,
83 (1), 24-50.
Leung, Fine F., Flora F. Gu, and Robert W. Palmatier (2022), "Online Influencer
Marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50, 226-51.
Libai, Barak, Eitan Muller, and Renana Peres (2013), "Decomposing the Value
of Word-of-Mouth Seeding Programs: Acceleration Versus Expansion," Journal
of Marketing Research, 50 (2), 161-76.