13 May 2016
Bye bye bloggers, hello micro-influencers
At Catch, we work with a wide range of consumer brands day in day out; so when we throw around the term “influencer”, we assume its meaning is common knowledge.
The dictionary definition of an influencer is a person who, “has a compelling force or produces effects on the actions, behaviour, opinions etc of others.”
A common misconception in the industry is that influencer = blogger. Influencers CAN be bloggers, yes. But it is becoming more and more apparent that bloggers do not hold the strength that they used to.
Over recent years, the blogging industry has blossomed beyond compare. Blogs provide a creative outlet for people to channel their passions into an online media where they can share their talents and interests with the world. There are blogs on just about anything, but the ones that we tend to work with the most are fashion and beauty blogs. These types of blogs in particular have taken the industry by storm.
The beauty of this industry is that ANYONE can become a blogger. If you have access to the internet and basic competence using Wordpress, you can become a blogger overnight. You don’t necessarily need to be able to write particularly well either; audiences these days are all about visuals and glossy photography. However, this ease of entry has led to a huge over-saturation in the market. Sure, there are bloggers who stand out above the rest. But these “stand out” bloggers still come by the bucket-load.
So what does all this mean for influencers? You don’t need a blog to be an influencer anymore. Micro-influencers are taking over, in a big way.
A micro-influencer is usually an Instagrammer or YouTuber, with a high social following, who has a great impact on their audience and what they do. This power enables them to influence their followers’ buying habits and encourage them to buy into brands by association. Instagram is the most popular platform on which influencers tend to flourish; essentially creating visual micro-blogs showcasing their inspirational lifestyle. As long as they continue posting engaging, glossy visuals and keep growing their audience, brands will pay them to talk about them.
This industry is booming like no other.
Brands and influencers are working together to promote just about anything: clothes, cosmetics, holidays, even down to simple things like vitamin supplements. It all comes down to the power of, “well, if _____ is doing it, I want to do it.”. And it’s as simple as that.
How are blogs already going into decline; they only just became cool?
Millennials want their information faster, in snackable pieces. Being taken off their half-asleep newsfeed crawl to trawl through blog posts isn’t ideal anymore. They need to digest the information there and then, if it is going to make any impact. Full length YouTube tutorials are being taken over by short videos on platforms like Instagram/Snapchat; whilst these short videos are being supplemented with live streaming. Instagram feeds used to be a way of getting users onto your blog; now your Instagram feed IS your blog, featuring carefully curated, glossy stories and inspiration.
Where will the industry go next? Does anyone who isn’t “Insta-famous” by now even stand a chance?
At the end of the day, influencers aren’t going to disappear any time soon, that’s for certain. As the industry progresses, they are set to hold an important role in the way brands talk to customers. The power these influencers have over consumers will increase over time; but it is the channels they are using that will really evolve and change the industry as we know it.
The social media team at Catch have worked on many successful influencer outreach and social campaigns for brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, Thomas Cook Airlines, Rimmel London, The Body Shop and more. If you’re interested in finding out more please Get in touch.
