Suzie Shaw.
With the influencer advertising sector set to reach a projected market volume of over US$56 billion before the decade is out, We Are Social CEO Suzie Shaw is hoping to reap some of that forecasted success in the local market.
Shaw said the socially-led creative agency is seeing “a lot of growth” in the sector this year, from the number of new projects that are focussed on influencers to the relative level of investment.
“But in our 15-year experience, we learned that not all impressions and engagements are created equal,” she said.
“Influencer marketing done well requires a lot of strategic and creative thinking to ensure you're really clear on the role for the activity, careful selection of influencers who are credible and efficient, identifying the right moments to activate, where the brand can really capitalise on earned reach, and then there's the actual creative concept, which needs to be authentic, yet engaging.
“Getting the production quality right is important too, so it fits comfortably on the influencer's feed, but is consistent with the brand's positioning. It all needs to be carefully thought through, rather than simply treated like a line item on a media buy. Otherwise, the activity may miss the mark in terms of truly building brand awareness and equity.”
We Are Social reported a 17% increase globally in influencer investment last year, while research from IZEA and Hoozu revealed that over half of Australians (52%) aged 18 to 29 are more likely to try a new product based on an influencer's post, just under half (46%) have purchased a product after seeing it used by an influencer and 41% of respondents were more likely to trust a sponsored post from an influencer than from an A-list celebrity.
Despite the growth in the sector, Shaw said that that many brands still seem to be pushing influencers to work in a way that more resembles advertising and simply isn't authentic, which in turn results in the output not being as effective or credible.
“There’s a need for more authenticity, so we have to develop credible but compliant ways to natively integrate brand messages into the creator's content,” she told AdNews.
“This requires a good strategic understanding of the brand's objectives and the influencer's audience and publishing proposition, and then creatively finding that sweet spot between the two. We put a lot of thought into this and then work with the influencers to co-create ideas.”
As marketers are forced to do more with less due to the current economic climate, the focus on measuring effectiveness has also made its way into the world of influencers.
“All brands want to know what the ROI on influencer marketing is, and there's a lot we're doing to continually improve our approach to analysis, but the reality is that every influencer partnership and activation is relatively small in the grand scheme of marketing investment and like all marketing, the real impact is not always an immediate click or sale, so attribution at an activation level is challenging,” Shaw said.
Another challenge presenting itself is the ACCC’s crackdown, in force since last year.
The competition watchdog announced an investigation into the influencer marketing sector to identify misleading and deceptive behaviour at the start of 2023, conducting a proactive sweep of platforms to identify posts that contain potentially misleading reviews or testimonials.
Of the 118 social media influencers reviewed in the ACCC’s influencer sweep, 81% were found to be making posts that raised concerns under the Australian Consumer Law for potentially misleading advertising.
The We Are Social chief, however, said that in her company’s experience, neither brands nor influencers are seeing declines in activity as a result of the regulatory activity.
“Like all types of marketing, it's important to ensure you're compliant, and that means understanding what you can and can't say and do,” Shaw said.
“It's our job to thoroughly understand this on behalf of the brands we work with, whatever category they're in, and then ensure the influencers and creators we work with follow the relevant regulations and codes.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Shaw said many of We Are Social’s clients – from the likes of Samsung and Kayo to eBay and Audi - are making "great use" of influencers this year, with those partnerships likely to continue into next year too.
“Influencers are the new generation of publishers; they've built large and engaged followings and are, in many ways, the gatekeepers of valuable communities that brands want to reach,” she told AdNews.
“Collaborating with the right influencers, to have them authentically advocate for your brand or product can be game-changing, and this is why we're seeing demand grow so much for influencer marketing.”
Shaw said the real opportunity for brands lies in being more lateral in thinking about which influencers can help them reach new and interesting communities. something that We Are Social's recent Next Gen Influence 2024 report touched on.
“Don't just assume that because you're a brand for mums, you need to be working with mum influencers,” she said.
“There's a great opportunity to build longer-term partnerships with influencers, where they and their audience really become familiar with your brand, and so are able to have a lasting impact that goes beyond short-term promotion.”
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