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- Shein’s the No. 2 Brand for Instagram Influencers. Here’s the Titan They Can’t Stop Buzzing About
- How Polite Pest Turned Social Media Followers to New Customers
- Snapchat launches its own AI chatbot
- YouTube’s Podcast Play Comes Into Focus Amid Skepticism From Creators
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Unlock the Power of Influencer Incentives ⚡ with THIS Comprehensive Guide
Finally, everything you need to know about incentivizing influencers! In this guide, you'll gain insights into the different types of incentivization & delivery methods, the most effective incentives for attracting top-tier influencers, and how to structure your offers for maximum impact. Read now!
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Great Reads
Shein’s the No. 2 Brand for Instagram Influencers. Here’s the Titan They Can’t Stop Buzzing About
Fast-fashion brands such as Zara and Shein have dominated the influencer marketing space on Instagram, according to data from Statista. Zara was the most mentioned fashion brand, with 66,400 influencers featuring the company on their posts in 2022, followed by Shein with 57,200 mentions. Despite criticisms over textile waste and labour conditions, fast-fashion brands continue to embed themselves in consumer consciousness due to their cheap prices and quick turnaround times. H&M came in third with 46,100 mentions, while Nike took the fourth spot with 40,500 influencers.
General retail giants Amazon and Target also made it to the top 10 list of most mentioned brands on Instagram, with 35,000 and 31,600 mentions, respectively. The survey also revealed that influencer marketing remains effective, with 81% of US consumers surveyed having researched, purchased, or considered purchasing a product or service after seeing it on social media. However, 39% of consumers said authenticity is the most important attribute when learning about a company, making it crucial for influencer marketing campaigns to stay focused on what the consumer is interested in.
FinTech Company Creative Juice’s Black Creator Incubator
FinTech company Creative Juice is launching its first Black Creator Incubator program to provide education and resources to Black creators to help them grow their businesses. The program will give $25,000 to five Black creators on February 27 and provide them with creative and financial educational sessions.
Sima Gandhi, CEO and Co-Founder of Creative Juice, said the incubator was designed to uplift Black creators and combat the lack of support systems that many creators of color face. The biggest challenges that Black creators face are pay inequality and a lack of access to capital resources, according to Gandhi. Creative Juice aims to provide financial literacy and business tools specifically designed for creators to run their businesses more effectively and monetize more easily.
The company is open to all creators regardless of platform, size, or current earnings. The Black Creator Incubator program will address issues such as taxes, bookkeeping, growing a platform, and handling finances as a creator. Future plans include developing more funds for underrepresented communities and collecting data on how creators grow when they receive the support they need and treat themselves as businesses.
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Perform beyond the norm
#paid’s measurement suite allows you receive exclusive insights into all of your influencer marketing campaigns so you can optimize performance in real time—aka crank up what’s selling and axe what’s not. With custom, exclusive research methods that highlight how each campaign impacts sales, traffic, and brand perception, past #paid users like IKEA, General Mills, and Samsung leveraged this actionable data to elevate every influencer campaign for the better.
Scared of commitment? Good, they don’t have any.
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Campaign Insights
How Polite Pest Turned Social Media Followers to New Customers
Polite Pest, a Mesa-based pest control company, has relied solely on influencer marketing to drive its customer growth for three years. The company currently partners with 107 social media influencers who live predominantly in the Mesa area and promote Polite Pest when a technician arrives at a residential service. The hyperlocal influencers promote the company through posting on their feed, Instagram stories, and partnering with the company on video reels.
The company's top producing influencer last year brought in 86 new clients, and the company gained 1,400 new customers in 2022, with 800 of them coming from influencer marketing. The company's niche influencers are usually stay-at-home moms who have an Instagram and Facebook following of 10,000 to 50,000 followers. The relationship between Polite Pest and the influencers is mutually rewarded, as most influencers receive discounted services, and some are paid $50 to $100 per post that converts into a new customer. Polite Pest's advice to PCOs trying influencer marketing is to never expect something the first time and that posting does not normally translate to same-day results.
Why Gymshark Has Handed Over Creative Control Of The Brand To An Influencer
Fitness apparel brand, Gymshark, has appointed bodybuilding influencer David Laid as its creative director to lead its creative and brand strategy. Laid, who has three million Instagram followers, will be involved in product development, marketing executions, and curating social content.
The move is part of Gymshark's plan to protect its bodybuilding roots while pushing into new areas and diversifying its audience. The company has expanded its products and marketing beyond lifting and into other areas of fitness but wants to ensure it doesn't “take the foot off the gas with the people that put us here in the first place." Gymshark's Chief Brand Officer, Noel Mack, said influencers understand audiences better than marketers, and the appointment is the “next frontier” of influencer marketing.
Dunkin’, Krystal Talk Influencer Marketing Strategies
Dunkin’ and Krystal, two fast-food chains, discussed their influencer marketing strategies in a recent report. Dunkin’, famous for its donuts and coffee, has partnered with several influencers, including Ben Affleck and TikTok star Charli D’Amelio. Dunkin’s Chief Marketing Officer Jill Nelson highlighted that the brand seeks to partner with influencers who have a genuine love for the brand. Dunkin’ has also launched a TikTok crew ambassador program that encourages franchisees to tap employees as influencers to promote the brand on social media.
Krystal, a smaller brand with under 300 locations, has also partnered with influencers, but on a smaller scale. Casey Terrell, Krystal’s Chief Marketing Officer, acknowledged that high-profile partnerships cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so the company turns to smaller or micro-influencers who are already fans of the brand. The company also uses social media agency marketing Sparkfly to track sales from influencer campaigns.
Krystal also used its social media partners to promote its Side Chik chicken sandwich, partnering with Grammy-winning rapper 2 Chainz and Instagram personality Brittany Renner, who has more than 4.7 million followers. Terrell said the partnership was meant to be funny, given Renner's social media persona as the “ultimate ‘side chick’.”
Both Dunkin’ and Krystal have found success with influencer partnerships. Dunkin’s collaboration with D’Amelio led to a sales boost, while Krystal’s partnerships with Renner and 2 Chainz resulted in increased brand recognition.
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Fiverr is looking to partner with content creators
This is an opportunity for you to get sponsored by Fiverr—the world’s largest marketplace for digital services.
In their new program, Fiverr is giving creators the opportunity to turn their content into income. Here’s how it works:
- Choose a partnership plan that works for you and create engaging content about Fiverr.
- Receive Fiverr credits to try out their services and showcase them in your content
-Enjoy your earnings—Fiverr offers flat rate payments for the content as well as commission-based incentives (aka if the more conversions your videos drive, the more you earn)
Got 5,000+ YouTube subscribers? Apply here.
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Interesting People
Ali Fazal: The Role Of Technology In The Creator Economy With GRIN’s VP Of Marketing
In a recent interview, Ali Fazal, Vice President of Marketing at creator management platform GRIN, discussed how technology plays a vital role in the rapidly evolving creator economy. GRIN offers an all-in-one platform that simplifies and streamlines the influencer marketing process for brands, allowing them to activate, track, and evaluate campaign data easily.
Fazal emphasizes the importance of cutting out the middleman and building authentic relationships between brands and influencers. GRIN's ultimate goal is to be the go-to creator management platform for every global consumer brand. Fazal also reveals that GRIN is developing new products to help brands succeed in the current economic climate, highlighting the need for customized influencer marketing approaches.
Vanessa Chen On Her Success As One Of The Top Fashion Influencers Today
Vanessa Chen, a well-known fashion influencer with 2.4 million followers on TikTok, 871,000 followers on Instagram, and 1.36 million subscribers on YouTube, shared her secrets to success in an interview. Vanessa credits consistency for her success and said that she started creating content during the pandemic. Despite the constant change in fashion trends, Vanessa remains creative by adding her own twist to the things she sees online. She tries not to focus too much on trends or even transitions that are trending, and instead, brings her own perspective to the content she creates. Vanessa also engages with her audience and tries to incorporate their feedback in her content creation process.
Vanessa admits that negative feedback is one of the biggest challenges she faced as a content creator, but she measures her success by the challenge that went into making a video and the engagement it received from her audience. Vanessa's advice to aspiring fashion influencers is to keep going every single day and remain consistent with their content.
Vanessa has a lot of exciting things in store for her in the next couple of years. She is launching her own fashion line, and she hopes to see more transparency from platforms on how algorithms work and how videos are pushed to encourage more people to become creators. Despite being one of the top fashion influencers today, Vanessa remains humble and focused on creating quality content for her audience.
How fitness influencers game the algorithms to pump up their engagement
Fitness influencers are using social media algorithms to their advantage, according to a study by two US academics. The report analysed the accounts of 488 fitness and nutrition influencers on Instagram over six months, studying over 50,000 posts, 8 million follower comments and 620,000 influencer replies to determine how they attracted and interacted with followers.
Images that conveyed the influencers’ competence were found to be the most effective in increasing followers, while those who regularly replied to followers’ comments received 21% more positive feedback. The report, published in the Academy of Management Journal, also warned that people without industry-recognised credentials can present themselves as experts, sometimes by digitally enhancing their own physiques.
Tommy Fury defeats social media influencer Jake Paul by split decision
In a highly anticipated bout that drew millions of viewers, pro boxer Tommy Fury defeated YouTuber Jake Paul in a split decision at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia. Fury's record remains undefeated with nine wins while Paul now has a record of 6-1.
The fight was filled with drama, with both fighters having points deducted for various infractions, and Paul knocking Fury down in the eighth round. Despite the loss, Paul intends to exercise a rematch clause. The fight drew in high-profile stars, including Mike Tyson, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kevin Hart, and was another example of a pay-per-view boxing event involving a social media influencer generating significant buzz.
YMU Signs Cleaning Influencer Mrs Hinch
Sophie Hinchliffe, better known as "cleanfluencer" Mrs Hinch, has signed with talent management company YMU to develop her brand in entertainment, publishing, IP, and social strategy. With over 4.6 million Instagram followers, Hinchliffe has released over six best-selling books, a podcast, and a product line with UK grocery chain Tesco. She has also been a P&G ambassador since 2018.
Hinchliffe first launched her Instagram page in 2018, posting videos of herself cleaning her home, which inadvertently launched a new type of influencer content known as "cleanfluencing". Lucy Loveridge, global MD for social at YMU, said the company is "looking forward to building on her current success, taking the 'Mrs Hinch' brand to the next level and beyond".
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Industry News
Twitch’s new experiments hub tells streamers what’s being tested each month
Twitch, the popular live streaming platform, has launched a new homepage for experimental features that it tests out. The new experiments page will list the experiments running on Twitch on a monthly basis and will give streamers a heads-up about what's in the pipeline. The aim is to make the experience more transparent and to keep streamers informed about features in testing.
Twitch Chief Product Officer Tom Verrilli said that Twitch runs three types of experiments, each with different goals. The platform has a long history of running tests, and many make it into the core product, but some don't. The new page is a useful change for streamers who rely on the platform and are invested in even small changes that might affect how their communities work.
Snapchat launches its own AI chatbot
Snapchat has launched its own AI chatbot, named “My AI”, using OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. The chatbot is designed to be used within the Snapchat app and can be accessed while messaging friends. Users can ask My AI for dinner suggestions, personalized poems, or flirty ice breakers. However, Snapchat has warned that the chatbot is “prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything”. The technology can confidently respond to questions with incorrect information that it appears to have made up.
The chatbot has been specially trained to adhere to Snapchat's safety guidelines and to not perpetrate harmful or misleading information, although Snapchat has warned that mistakes may occur. My AI will be available only to Snapchat+ subscribers, who pay £3.99 per month for the latest app features. The conversations with the AI, complete with Bitmoji, will be pinned to the top of the Chat tab and can be switched to while mid-conversation with another user. While the company said that My AI is an experimental feature, it added that user feedback would help improve the product experience if and when it is rolled out more widely. Snapchat hopes that the new feature will help “foster deeper connections between friends” and become something that “draws its community” to the app.
In YouTube, TikTok, Reels battle, creators don't expect a big payday
In the battle for short-form video supremacy, YouTube, TikTok and Reels are vying for the top spot. However, social media influencers have said they do not earn as much money on TikTok as they can through YouTube's long-form video format. Despite this, Alphabet-owned YouTube is competing with TikTok by launching a new monetisation model. The move comes as TikTok announced its Creativity Program Beta, aimed at rewarding creators who post videos longer than one minute.
The programme, which is targeted at established creators, promises higher rewards and is part of TikTok's ongoing efforts to attract and retain top content creators. Meanwhile, on Meta's Reels platform, monetisation operates differently, compensating creators with a share based on the views received by each Reel. However, access to the Reels Play Bonus programme is limited to invite-only participants who meet specific qualifications. Although all three platforms are investing heavily in the short-form video format, social media influencers such as MrBeast and Matthew Benedetto are diversifying their presence across platforms as part of risk management. The standardisation of online vertical video makes it easy to create the same content and post it across multiple platforms.
YouTube’s Podcast Play Comes Into Focus Amid Skepticism From Creators
YouTube has announced plans to add podcasts to its music streaming service, YouTube Music, in the near future. The announcement was made at The Verge’s Hot Pod Summit in Brooklyn by Kai Chuk, a YouTube executive focused on partnerships, and Steve McClendon, the podcasting product lead at Google.
While YouTube remains an important player in the creator economy, it has been criticized for its lack of resources dedicated to podcasting, especially in comparison to rivals like Spotify. YouTube’s move to include podcasts on its music streaming service may provide a more comparable listening experience for users, but it remains unclear how podcasters will be able to leverage YouTube’s monetization platform for creators.
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Thank You To Our Title Sponsors
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Great Paywalled Content
Why some DTC brands are reducing influencer marketing budgets - Ad Age
Some direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies are reducing their influencer marketing budgets due to reduced authenticity and the increasing cost of working with influencers. The need to prove a return on investment and diversify their media mix have also played a role in this decision. For instance, Stix, a direct-to-consumer brand that sells products like morning-after pills, condoms, probiotics, and pregnancy tests, initially set aside 10% of its marketing budget for influencer marketing. However, after trial and error, they noticed that organic influencer relationships work better for their brand than paid influencer campaigns. Smaller DTC brands often struggle to pay creators’ increased rates, leading to reduced influencer marketing investments.
Kayley Reed, founder of influencer talent agency Hermana, has seen the shift first-hand, stating that the oversaturation and popularity of the influencer space is to blame. While influencer marketing grew into a $16.4 billion industry in 2022, the changing landscape has led to reduced investment from DTC brands. For instance, Susan Korn, founder of accessories brand Susan Alexandra, said that influencer marketing was a way to “buoy your business” while getting “beautiful content where people could really see how something was worn.” However, influencer campaigns' performance started to deteriorate in early 2022, leading to reduced investment in the channel. Rockford Yapp IV, VP of acquisition at DTC investing platform Public.com, echoed this sentiment, saying that the performance of campaigns started to deteriorate, and they were able to get more value for their budget on other channels.
Logan Paul’s Prime energy drink is now a status symbol - The Washington Post
The Prime sports drink has become a cult-like phenomenon in the UK, sparking long queues at supermarkets, shortages, and even resale at hugely inflated prices. The drink, endorsed by Logan Paul and KSI, has become a status symbol for many of their fans, with reports of some students charging others for the chance to take a photo of an empty bottle.
Market experts believe this trend is indicative of the growing influence and importance of online personalities, with influencer marketing expected to continue to gain popularity over the next decade. Though based in Kentucky, the Prime drink is distributed by a company that prioritizes working with influencers.
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