How YouTube Influencers Are Rewriting the Marketing ...

YouTube influencers, however vast their reach, are absolutely not “today's celebrities,” and celebrity marketing and influencer marketing offer fundamentally ... SkiptoContent Menu Menu Search Search Latest Latest ConsumerInsights Overview ConsumerJourney ConsumerTrends MarketingStrategies Overview App&Mobile Automation Data&Measurement Industries Search YouTube FutureofMarketing Overview Creativity DigitalTransformation Management&Culture Privacy&Trust Tools Overview GoogleTrends TestMySite MarketFinder RichMediaGallery LatestinYourRegion Article August,2022 DecodinghowpeopleinHongKongmanagetheirwealthandmakefinancialdecisionstoday HongKong Perspective August,2022 Reachpotentialcustomersateverystageofthefunnelwithvideo Global Perspective August,2022 InsideGoogleMarketing:Howtorunanexperimentenginethatdrivesgrowth AsiaPacific Perspective August,2022 InsideGoogleMarketing:Howtorunanexperimentenginethatdrivesgrowth AsiaPacific Perspective August,2022 Whyinclusivemarketingmeansaccessiblemarketing Global CaseStudy August,2022 Beautyofautomation:HowL’OréalwonbigduringmegasaleswithPerformanceMax Vietnam HowYouTubeInfluencersAreRewritingtheMarketingRulebook SanjayNazerali / January2018 Share Share Sharethispage Close Email Copy LinkCopied Linkedin Twitter Facebook Whatsapp Xing VK LinkCopied HowYouTubeInfluencersAreRewritingtheMarketingRulebook SanjayNazerali January2018 Influencerscanbepowerfulbrandallies,butthesecollaborationsrequireanentirelynewapproachtomarketing,accordingtoCaratGlobalChiefStrategyOfficerSanjayNazerali. Workinginstrategyatoneoftheworld'slargestmediaagencies,I’vewitnessedcountlesspitchesaboutinfluencermarketingandthegrowingpowerofcreators. Withengagedaudiencesinthemillionsandpassionatefanshungryforcontent,YouTubecreatorsarealreadyanestablishedchannelforbrandslookingtorunads. Butincreasingly,theseYouTubeinfluencersarealsobecomingattractivepartnersfordeepercollaborations. Clientsareinitiallyenthusiastic,assumingthisisthedigitalage’sanswertocelebritymarketingandendorsement.Thenthornybusinessquestionsarise,suchas:  What’sitactuallydoingformybrand? ShouldIdoanendorsementorproductplacement? Isn’titjustformillennials,beautybrands,andmakeuptutorials? Thesehavealwaysbeentoughquestionstoanswer.Eventhoughalmosteveryonehasbeenjumpingontheinfluencermarketingbandwagon,fewunderstandwhat“influence”reallyisorhowitworks.Untilnow. "Celebritymarketingandinfluencermarketingofferfundamentallydifferentbenefitsforbrands." TogetherwithYouTubeandNielsen,myteamanalyzedtheresultsofhundredsofbrandandcreatorvideosintheU.S.andtheU.K.tounderstandtheimpactofinfluencersforbrands. It’sacriticalfirststepinestablishingabusiness-ledrulebookforthisnewworld—andit’salreadychanginghowIapproachmyownplans. 1.Influencermarketingisnotthesameascelebritymarketing YouTubeinfluencers,howevervasttheirreach,areabsolutelynot“today’scelebrities,”andcelebritymarketingandinfluencermarketingofferfundamentallydifferentbenefitsforbrands. Forinstance,wefoundthatcelebritiesaremoreeffectiveatdrivingrecallthancreators(84%versus73%).1 Giventhatacelebrity’sjobistobefamousandmemorable,thatmakessense. WhereYouTubecreatorsreallystarttogaintheupperhandisindeeperbrandinvolvement.Brandfamiliarityisagoodexample.Ifwewantanaudiencetoreallyunderstandus,ourwork,ourvalues,orourproducts,thencollaborationswithYouTubecreatorsare4Xmoreeffectiveatdrivingliftinbrandfamiliaritythanthosewithcelebrities.2 Whenitcomestopurchaseintent,it’sanevenmatch:ourresearchfoundthatinfluencerswerejustaslikelyascelebritiestodrivebuyingdecisions.3 Influencermarketingappearstoplayafundamentallymorepragmaticrole.Why?Myhunchisthatit’sbecausefansfeelveryconnectedtotheYouTuberstheylove.Thebestcreatorshaveformedauthenticbondswiththeirfans,whichmeansfanstrustwhattheyhavetosay,andturntothemforbrandandproductrecommendations. ThinkwithGoogle Source:Nielsen/Carat/YouTubeBrandedVideoStudy,May2017. Share Sharethispage Close Email Copy LinkCopied Linkedin Twitter Facebook Whatsapp Xing VK LinkCopied HowYouTubeInfluencersAreRewritingtheMarketingRulebook SanjayNazerali January2018 2.It’snotjusta‘beauty’thing BeautybrandswereoneofthefirsttoteamupwithinfluencersandcreatorshaveestablishedahugepresenceamongtheYouTubebeautycommunity.About 86%ofthetop200beautyvideos onYouTubeweremadebycreatorsratherthanprofessionalsorbrands.[seedata] Butwhat’sinterestingaboutourfindingsisjusthowfarYouTubeinfluencersstretchbeyondthebeautycategory. Wetestednineadditionalcategories,includingauto,alcohol,snacks,andtoys.Acrossallninecategories,workingwithinfluencersleadstoliftsinbrandmetrics,fromfamiliaritytoaffinitytorecommendation.4 Insomecategories,suchassnacksandalcohol,theycanhaveevenmoreimpact,drivingsignificantlyhigherthanaveragepurchaseintent.5 Sotheideathatinfluencermarketingispurelyforyoungpeoplewhoarelookingatfashionandbeautybrandssimplyisn’ttrue. 3.The‘how’mattersasmuchasthe‘who’Celebritymarketinghashistoricallyfocusedonendorsement,sponsorship,andproductplacement.Influencermarketinghasdevelopedfarmoreoptions,andit’simportanttounderstandwhichoftheseworkbest—andforwhichmarketinggoals. Ourresearchfoundthatdeepthematicintegrationswithcreatorsdrivethehighestresultsforbrands.6 Thesearemoreinvolvedintegrationswheretheinfluencerplaysaroleincreatingapieceofcontent—suchasademo—withthebrand.They’refardeeperthanproductplacementsandtheyworkmoreeffectively. Whilethereweremanyconsistenciesacrosscategories,wealsosawsomenuances,whichareimportantforclientstounderstand.Wefoundthatsimplerbrandintegrations,likeaproductendorsementoranadfeaturingacreator,alsoshowedpositiveresultsforbrandaffinityinallcategoriestested.7 Ofcourse,deepcollaborationscanbemorethansomearereadyfor.Forcertainobjectivesandcategories,theeasiestandmosteffectivewayforbrandstotapintothepowerofinfluencerswillbesimplytoruntheirownadsonYouTubecreatorcontent. Weknowthatcanwork.Infact,thelatestanalysisfromD2D,ournetwork’smeasurementarm,suggestsonlinevideoinvestmentcanbeincreased3Xcomparedtoplannedlevelstooptimizeplaneffectiveness.8 4.Don’tlosesightofwhypeopleloveYouTubersWeoftenassumethattherightYouTubeinfluenceriseitheranaspirationalversionofourtargetaudienceorthatthey’rejustlikecelebrities.Neitheroftheseassumptionsiscorrect,andit’sperhapsherethatcelebrityandinfluencermarketingdifferthemost. Whereascelebritiesneedtobetrendyandstylish,consumersexpectcreatorstobefriendly,funny,andsometimesirreverent.9 Irreverenceisinteresting,becauseitdrivescredibility.Irreverencestronglysuggestsindependence,andit’sthisthatbuildstrust.Itcanalsobeincrediblyvaluableforbrands.Ifacreatorusuallyridiculesthingstheydon’tlike,youcanbesurethatwhentheypraisesomething,theymeanit. "Influencermarketingismorethanabandwagon.It’sapowerful,scaledformofcommunication." Humorisalsointeresting,becauseitreflectsasenseofcommunity.YouTubehelpsforgeaspecialrelationshipbetweenfollowersandinfluencers,onethatreflectsasenseofco-ownership. Thisfamiliaritycreatesadegreeofintimacythatmakestheuseofhumorseemmuchmorenaturalthanitwouldwithcelebrities.ThisisprobablyalsowhyweseecelebritiessuchasDwayneJohnsonincreasetheirinfluencerscoreswhentheygetreallyactiveonYouTube. ThinkwithGoogle Source:YouTube/CaratInfluencerResearch2017;n=12,000;U.S.only.SeparatedataprovidedbyNielsen.Basedonindexscorerankings. Share Sharethispage Close Email Copy LinkCopied Linkedin Twitter Facebook Whatsapp Xing VK LinkCopied HowYouTubeInfluencersAreRewritingtheMarketingRulebook SanjayNazerali January2018 YouTubeinfluencersarehelpingwriteawholenewrulebookformarketing IfItakeonethingfromthisstudy,it’sthis:there'sahugeculturalshiftinthenatureofcelebrity,authenticity,andcommunity—alltopicsweasmarketerscareabout.Andthisshiftisbeingdrivenbyanewclassofdiverse,authenticvoiceswecallcreators. Whilethisnewformofmarketingcanbepowerful,itrequiresadifferentapproach.Ifwedon’tplaybytherightrules,wewon’tharnessitsfullpotential. Ifbrandswanttomakethemostofthesenewmarketingopportunities,theyneedtogetstrategicandgranular.Forthosewillingtoinvest,it’sclearthatinfluencermarketingismorethanabandwagon.It’sapowerful,scaledformofcommunication.Now,wefinallyhavethebeginningsofastrategicapproachtoit. Othersareviewing Marketerswhoviewthisarealsoviewing Article Article Marketinglessonsfromthe#1YouTubeglobalviralvideoof2017 CaseStudy CaseStudy Win-winsalespromotions:Japan’sAjinomotopioneersnewapproachforbrandsandretailers AdsLeaderboard AdsLeaderboard AdsLeaderboard Top10YouTubeAdsVietnameseWatchedin2017 Article Article Howtostayontopofmarkettrendsinadynamicenvironment Article Article YouTubePlaybook-OptimizeYourContent Article Article YouTubePlaybook-CreateGreatContent We'remakingcontentrecommendationsbetterforthousandsofreaders.Logintohelp. Login Completeyourshortprofileformorepersonalizedrecommendations Completeprofile SanjayNazerali ChiefStrategyOfficer,CaratGlobal Sources (9) Showsources9 1-7,9Nielsen/Carat/YouTubeBrandedVideoStudy,May2017.8Data2Decisions,“TheTVStackEffect,”Global,2017. Othersareviewing Lookingforsomethingelse? 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