New York SBDC Research Network

Article by Blake Droesch From eMarketer More than 500,000 active influencers are operating just on Instagram, according to a study by InfluencerDB. That’s 39% of all Instagram accounts with more than 15,000 followers. And among this group of active Instagram influencers, 81% have followings between 15,000 and 100,000 users. With so many options, marketers can find influencers who closely match their brand’s ethos. But it also means the influencer field is at risk of becoming oversaturated, which presents several challenges to marketers. “While the increase has definitely led to more available influencers to work with, brands need to be careful,” said Jessica Dooley, US social practice lead at Mindshare. “The emergence of influencer marketing into a scalable channel has increased a brand’s liability to fraud and potential controversy. Now more than ever, it is paramount that any influencer activation is rooted in a more rigorous evaluation process.”

Author: Krista Garcia For the full article, go to eMarketer Even with recent reports of fraud and fake followers, influencer marketing continues to be big business. According to measurement firm Points North Group, influencer ad spending by brands in the US and Canada totaled $211 million in Q2 2018. Nearly three-quarters ($150 million) was devoted to Instagram. A February 2018 survey by influencer marketing agency Activate found that 88.9% of influencers worldwide said they were using Instagram for influencer marketing campaigns more than they did a year ago. Despite Instagram's growing prominence in influencer marketing, an April 2018 CPC Strategy study showed Facebook was the leading platform where US internet users heard about new products, events or services from people they follow. Nearly 70% cited the ubiquitous social network, while Instagram (11.3%) and YouTube (9.5%) ranked a distant second and third. This survey was comprised of all age ranges, though, and many in

Obtained from: eMarketer It’s been called a fad, a bubble, a waste of money. But influencer marketing will remain immensely popular in 2018, and it’s important to put the discussion of disclosure in the context of just how important the tactic has become—not just for the usual suspects (marketers of fashion, beauty and gaming products) but increasingly for marketers in other categories. Marketers and influencers that don’t disclose put themselves at risk for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scrutiny and consumer backlash, both of which are rising.

From MarketingProfs : Consumers say they are most likely to trust online influencers who come across as credible and who appear to have actually used the products/services incorporated into their posts, according to research from IZEA. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2016 of 1,000 consumers age 18-70 in the United States who use social media. Some 67% of respondents say the credibility/believability of an influencer is highly important in making sponsored posts effective; and 64% say it is very important that the influencer seems to have actually tried the product/services incorporated into posts. Less than half of consumers say an influencer's popularity/follower count makes sponsored posts more effective.

From Emarketer : Influencer marketing is rapidly gaining popularity among brand marketers, and according to recent research, nearly three-quarters of US marketers cite ongoing ambassadorships as one of the most effective uses of influencers. Marketers use influencers in a variety of ways, from leaving a review for their product to mentioning their brand in some way on social networks. For many (70.6%), ongoing ambassadorships are the most effective influencer marketing tactic. Product reviews are a close second—more than two-thirds of respondents mentioned them as being the most effective use of influencers. Brand mentions and sponsored content were other tactics marketers pointed out, and though affiliate links were also mentioned, few respondents cited them as being the most effective.