Insights for Creators & Marketers

In 2017, ByteDance Ltd. acquired an app called Musical.ly. By mid-2018, it had been transformed into the popular app known as TikTok. Many influencers have found success solely through TikTok since its start. Some influencers gained their following through other platforms, like YouTube and have yet to try their hand at being a “TikToker.” If you aren’t already, you should consider making a TikTok account. Here’s why:

Brand loyalty is characterized by consumers repeatedly purchasing products from a particular brand. This loyalty can be attributed to their values as a brand, the quality of their products and services, and their brand image. Loyalty to a brand from a consumer perspective has nothing to do with price and everything to do with how the brand markets itself and the products and services it offers.

Whether you post YouTube videos or Instagram posts, as a creator, a major key to success is creating and executing a posting schedule. When a creator is looking to grow in follower count, among the many ways to do that is keeping a consistent posting schedule to engage with your followers.

As a brand, you might feel as though you need a partnership with a major celebrity or an influencer with millions of followers to gain more recognition. While this is one strategy, bigger isn’t necessarily always better. In fact, micro-influencers hold massive power when it comes to influencer marketing campaigns.

Partnering with influencers is an effective way for brands to expand their existing customer base and grow their potential for more sales. Partnering short-term with influencers to promote one service or product can be effective, but creating a long-term campaign can be far more beneficial to brands and influencers. When a short-term campaign is over, both the influencer and the brand will move to find other partnerships, possibly leaving behind an amazing opportunity to expand and nurture an existing community into converting into a paying customer. If the creator matches the target audience of the brand and they have a great connection, there is evidence to suggest that a longer form partnership is more effective in influencer marketing, similar to email nurture campaigns which sometimes take 5-7 emails before a customer converts.

For creators and brands, it is important to be transparent about the partnerships you engage in. Honesty and transparency are vital for creators to maintain a trusting relationship with their viewers, and sometimes that means following guidelines set forth by the FTC. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a set of rules regarding disclosures when it comes to creators getting compensation or free products in return for their endorsement. Creators and brands must abide by these guidelines to continue their partnership. The FTC guidelines dive into more detail, but below is a brief outline of when and how to disclose a relationship between an influencer and brand.

Brands over the past 5 years have realized that marketing with influencers can be a powerful tool. Being able to educate varying audiences about a brand’s product or service through creators can be essential to a brand’s success. From a creator and brand standpoint, it is important to keep the Halo Effect in mind when partnering with companies.

If a brand wants to maximize their potential to land sales and educate prospective buyers on their products, they must consider their media presence. Influencer marketing has become a vital tool for many brands. By utilizing their loyal fanbase, an influencer can use their testimony and “influence” as a reliable review of the brand’s product or service. With that being said, some types of brands, products and services can benefit more from influencer marketing than others.

Does this sound familiar? Explaining to your accountant what you do for a living feels like you’re speaking in a foriegn language. When you applied for a mortgage, the loan officer couldn’t understand why you didn’t have a W2. Or when you try to explain to your credit card company that you need a bigger limit, they ask why you don’t have three months of recurring pay stubs.