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- How NIL and TikTok Got Sam Hurley Nearly $1 Million in Deals
- TikTok expands its ‘Series’ paywall feature to more creators
- Older TikTok Creators Are in Demand by Brands
- Twitch scraps ad changes after streamers leave platform
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Great Reads
How NIL and TikTok Got Sam Hurley Nearly $1 Million in Deals
Sam Hurley, a high jumper and sophomore at the University of Texas, has become one of the highest-earning college athletes in the world through his savvy use of TikTok. Hurley, who prays before every jump for divine assistance, has leveraged his enormous social media following into lucrative endorsement deals, approaching $1 million in earnings. While most high-earning college athletes perform in front of large crowds, Hurley's audience is primarily online.
He has signed deals with brands such as Amazon, Jimmy Dean, Vuori athletic apparel, and Bubble skincare. Hurley's success as an influencer has created a unique path to college sports riches, with his social media fame bolstering his athletic career. However, his case also highlights the shortcomings of the current system, which relies on external endorsement deals rather than direct compensation from schools. The question of fair compensation and sharing revenues with athletes continues to be a topic of debate in college sports.
Gilad Bechar On Founding Moburst, Its Impact On Influencer Marketing, And Its Unique Take On Measuring Progress
With the rise of digital influencers, Moburst has adapted its strategies to leverage this trend effectively. They offer two distinct approaches: influencer marketing and an "army of creators." While influencer marketing taps into the trust and follower base of popular influencers, the army of creators focuses on creating engaging ads without the constraints of personal branding. Moburst utilizes data and analytics to measure the success of influencer marketing campaigns, ensuring optimal return on investment for their clients. Gilad emphasizes the importance of accurately measuring performance metrics beyond impressions and engagement to drive meaningful results.
He believes the influencer marketing industry should prioritize actions, ROI, and lifetime value to provide businesses with clear expectations and value. In the future, Moburst aims to be an end-to-end solution for clients, expanding their services and acquiring companies to meet all digital transformation needs.
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Campaign Insights
Why Cars.com is driving away from performance marketing and toward influencers
Auto dealer Cars.com is shifting its marketing strategy away from performance marketing and toward influencer marketing as it aims to boost brand awareness and engage with car shoppers. The company, celebrating its 25th year, is incorporating influencer marketing networks to syndicate its editorial content and reach consumers through new channels. Cars.com has partnered with networks like Influential and Izea to amplify its brand messaging through various content formats, including written editorials and short-form videos.
The move comes as Cars.com reduces its performance marketing spend and focuses on media channels such as social media, streaming video, and audio ads. While the exact investment in influencer marketing was not disclosed, the shift reflects the growing recognition of influencers as important voices within media budgets. Cars.com will continue to evaluate the results and adapt its marketing strategy based on evolving consumer behavior and preferences.
Simon & Schuster UK is set to launch the publishing industry's first romance TikTok creator house
Simon & Schuster UK is set to launch the publishing industry's first romance TikTok creator house in Brighton in July. The event will feature six top BookTok influencers and will include exclusive reveals of upcoming romance titles such as "The Long Game" by Elena Armas and "Wildfire" by Hannah Grace. Attendees will also participate in a scavenger hunt involving local bookshops. The project is a collaboration between S&S UK and content marketing agency Rocket.
The TikTok creators attending the event, including Library of Lina, Ella Simps for Books, Compulsive Book Buyers, Rhysandsbaby, and Booked Up, collectively have a following of over 230,000. This initiative follows HarperVoyager's creation of the publishing industry's first TikTok creator house with BookTok influencers in Hay-on-Wye last year. The romance-specific creator house aims to further amplify the power of romance and engage with the BookTok community.
Suta partners influencers to roll out Pride campaign 'This is ME'
Artisanal brand Suta has partnered with influencers to launch its Pride campaign titled "This is ME." The campaign showcases Suta's Pride collection, which celebrates individuality and self-expression through unique and unconventional designs. This marks Suta's second Pride-themed collection, reflecting the brand's commitment to inclusivity. The campaign focuses on drag as an art form that transcends gender boundaries and empowers individuals to express their identities freely.
Influencers from the LGBTQiA+ community, including Gentleman Gaga, Deysi Rawmen, Goddess Gagged, Glorious Luna, Mx Stallion, Rai-OTT, and design lead Harshavardhan Rai, will model Suta's pieces and use their platform to raise awareness of community issues. Proceeds from the collection's sales will be donated to NGOs supporting the LGBTQiA+ community. The campaign will debut on June 1 on Suta's social media platforms, and the collection will be available in Suta's stores, website, and app.
TikTok has a political influencer problem targeted at Gen Z voters
The rise of political influencers on TikTok is becoming a concern for policymakers and government officials in the United States. These influencers, often paid by shadowy marketing firms, are using the popular social media platform to sway young voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. These influencers collaborate with political campaigns, including both Democrats and Republicans, to promote political content to their large user base. The strategies employed by these firms exploit weak disclosure regulations to hide their connections with mainstream political groups, creating the illusion of authenticity. With over 150 million Americans using TikTok, lawmakers and intelligence officials worry about the susceptibility of young voters to online political manipulation.
Research shows that young people spend a significant amount of time on social media platforms like TikTok, forming their social and political identities online. The unregulated nature of TikTok and other platforms makes it difficult to track and regulate paid political influencers, raising concerns about computational propaganda and the amplification of false information. Social media companies and regulators face the challenge of addressing this political influencer problem and protecting vulnerable groups in the democratic process.
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Interesting People
Interview With Kerry Of Kerryout_Delivery: A Close Look At Food Content Creation
Kerry of Kerryout_delivery, an Arlington-based food influencer, digital creator, and food photographer, recently shared her experiences and tips in an interview. Starting with Yelp reviews and food photos, Kerry launched her successful food Instagram account, Kerryout_delivery, to document and share her culinary adventures. She offers services such as creating content for businesses' social media platforms and promoting restaurants and businesses through her Instagram channel.
Kerry's content focuses on Asian and Asian-inspired food, highlighting unique dishes and showcasing Asian-American restaurants. Her approach to content creation prioritizes quality over quantity, ensuring appetizing visuals that engage users. As a part-time creator, Kerry advises fellow creators to trust the process, be authentic, and take breaks to avoid burnout. She emphasizes the importance of consistency and recommends batching content creation to manage time effectively.
With brand collaborations, Kerry recently worked with a Vietnamese pho delivery service, leveraging her Vietnamese background and showcasing innovative Vietnamese food. She believes the future of food content creators will continue to grow, with social media playing a larger role in marketing and the potential for AI to enhance content creation. Kerry plans to share more of her day-to-day life and develop a food blogging component on her website.
Maya Hussein: The Arab Canadian Influencer On Project Umrelief And Giving Back In Kenya
Maya Hussein, a Canadian/Lebanese influencer known for her relatable and diverse content, opens up about her journey in content creation and her philanthropic endeavors. Maya's sense of humor and Arab heritage have played a significant role in shaping her comedic style and connecting with a global audience. She emphasizes the importance of real-time execution and drawing inspiration from the behavior of those around her, resulting in viral content that resonates with viewers.
In addition to her content creation, Maya has embarked on a spontaneous trip to Kenya as part of Project Umrelief, a nonprofit initiative. Her involvement with the organization involved raising funds and providing assistance to the people of Wajir, Kenya. Maya stresses the significance of researching nonprofits and ensuring the legitimacy of their work. During her visits to Kenya, she helped provide cataract surgeries to 205 patients and distributed food to those in need. Inspired by her experiences, Maya plans to continue fundraising efforts for various countries, finding it immensely rewarding.
Jonathan Futa: How He Co-Founded Group RFZ And The Importance Of Measuring The Impact And Value Of Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Jonathan Futa, co-founder of Group RFZ, recognized the need for better insights into the return on investment (ROI) of influencer marketing. Group RFZ has emerged as a leader in tracking the progress and success of influencer marketing campaigns through brand lift studies. By 2023, the company has revolutionized the influencer marketing industry.
Futa's journey began by applying a brand lift study methodology developed for political campaigns to address the measurement challenges faced by marketers and agencies. Group RFZ conducts brand lift studies to evaluate the impact of influencer content on viewers, followers, and engaged audiences. These studies go beyond traditional metrics like reach and engagement, focusing on metrics such as purchase intent and favorability.
Group RFZ's success is exemplified by their work with Waze in the United Kingdom. Through a brand lift study, the impact of influencer campaigns on brand awareness, favorability, and likelihood to use the app was revealed. The study showed significant increases in key metrics, emphasizing the value of brand lift studies in assessing influencer campaign success.
Christoph Kastenholz, CEO And Co-Founder Of Pulse Advertising On Social Media And Influencer Marketing Trends
Christoph Kastenholz, CEO and Co-Founder of Pulse Advertising, discusses the latest trends in social media and influencer marketing. Brands are increasingly prioritizing social media ads as people spend more time online, leading to a shift away from TV advertisements. One major trend is the demand for measurable influencer marketing results, moving beyond qualitative considerations. Pulse Advertising has paired influencer marketing with paid advertising solutions to target the ideal organic audience effectively.
Authentic and engaging content creation is a key focus for Pulse Advertising. When selecting influencers for campaigns, quantitative data is important, but ultimately, the creator's alignment with the brand and gut feeling play a crucial role. Pulse Advertising has achieved success with campaigns for renowned brands like Beats by Dre and MAC. These campaigns leveraged influencers, such as TikTok star Ashnikko, resulting in billions of views and high engagement rates.
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Industry News
Key Takeaways From The 2nd Annual Influencer Infronts 2023 Hosted By Blue Hour Studios
Blue Hour Studios hosted the 2nd Annual Influencer Infronts 2023 event to address the undervaluation of influencer marketing compared to other advertising forms. The event featured educational presentations and a creator showcase, with a focus on providing insights and data about the influencer space. Attendees expressed appreciation for the educational component, leading Blue Hour Studios to expand on it in this year's event.
Infronts 2023 included a fireside chat with ESPN, exploring the future of fandom, followed by a panel discussion on maximizing short-form video content. Esteemed speakers, including representatives from ESPN and YouTube Shorts, shared their expertise on tone, style, editing processes, and collaboration with creators.
The main objectives of Infronts 2023 were to educate the industry on the effectiveness of influencer marketing, diversify voices in brand partnerships, and drive increased investment in the creator economy. Blue Hour Studios also highlighted the disconnect between low brand investment in influencer marketing and the high consumer engagement with influencer content.
TikTok expands its ‘Series’ paywall feature to more creators
TikTok has expanded its "Series" paywall feature to users in 94 countries, making it available to a wider range of content creators. Previously, this feature was only accessible to select creators. With Series, creators can lock a collection of exclusive content behind a paywall and earn up to $190. They can also create longer videos, with a maximum length of 20 minutes, compared to the regular 10-minute limit on TikTok.
To qualify for monetization, creators must meet certain criteria, including having 10,000 followers, being 18 years or older, and meeting specific engagement requirements. However, TikTok is also considering exceptions for creators with 1,000 followers who can demonstrate selling premium content on other platforms. TikTok aims to improve the experience and rewards for its creator community and welcomes feedback on the new feature.
Twitch scraps ad changes after streamers leave platform
Twitch has reversed its decision to implement new advertising rules after facing backlash from streamers, some of whom threatened to leave the platform. The Amazon-owned livestreaming service had planned to limit the size and type of ads used by content creators on Twitch, significantly impacting their ability to generate income. Following the outcry, Twitch abandoned the policy and acknowledged the importance of sponsorships for streamers' growth and income.
While some streamers have expressed concerns that not all of the new rules have been reversed, Twitch stated that it will continue to work with the community to improve the platform's experience. The decision to backtrack on the ad changes comes after Twitch apologized for the confusion caused and pledged to rewrite the rules. Despite the reversal, some streamers, like UK streamer Marco (known as Stallion), have decided to leave Twitch, citing issues with discoverability and a perceived focus on money over community.
Chinese content creators find fame with influencer agencies
Rural Chinese content creators are finding fame and fortune on platforms like YouTube, despite the Chinese government's ban on accessing overseas social media content. Influencer agencies act as cultural brokers, recruiting domestic creators and sharing their content abroad. These agencies dub viral videos in foreign languages and export them to international platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
The rise of rural creators on YouTube can be attributed to the unique content they offer, focusing on comedy, food, and lifestyle, which resonates with audiences seeking an escape from urban stress. These creators generate income on YouTube, which contributes to a significant portion of their overall earnings. For example, Sister Xia, a rural influencer, earns 20% of her income from her YouTube channel. The success of these creators on global platforms allows them to showcase China's cultural influence despite the country's restrictions on accessing overseas content.
UK influence analytics company WeArisma raises £2.5 million to help brands optimise their earned media
UK-based influence analytics platform WeArisma has secured £2.5 million in funding to enhance its brand discoverability and earned influence analytical tool. WeArisma functions as a social media search engine for brands, providing insights on their influence ranking across popular media. The platform helps brands determine their Earned Brand Influence Value (EBIV).
The funding round was led by Adjuvo, and WeArisma has received a total of £3.5 million in investment to date, including £1 million from Morgan Stanley's Multicultural Innovation Lab in 2022. WeArisma aims to address the need for better assessment and understanding of influencer marketing's value and effectiveness. By aggregating data from various sources, WeArisma enables brands to evaluate their performance among their target audience across different social channels, thereby enhancing brand affinity and market share.
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Great Paywalled Content
How influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy is using AI to change discovery in that space - Digiday
Global influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its creator platform and improve the search and discovery of influencers. The agency, which operates in London, Berlin, New York, and New Orleans, is focusing on its US operations and exploring how AI can shape the creator business.
Billion Dollar Boy has integrated third-party AI tools into its discovery software platform, Companion, to streamline the process of identifying creators whose content aligns with the agency's creative vision. However, concerns regarding regulations and ethics arise when creators use AI to develop content that may infringe upon intellectual property rights. Despite these concerns, the agency sees great potential in the creator economy, where brands and creators collaborate to build new products and engage audiences.
Can the influencer economy thrive outside of TikTok and Instagram? - Vogue Business
Bond, a new social commerce platform, aims to offer an alternative model for the influencer market that doesn't rely on traditional social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The platform focuses on storytelling and aims to provide a more engaging setup for social commerce. It allows brands and creators to curate themed collections, host live shopping sessions, and link directly to brand pages, all within the platform.
Bond has already attracted over 50 brands, including Bally and Altuzarra, as well as 65-plus creators. The platform aims to migrate users from social media apps to its own platform, offering a more enticing and less transactional shopping experience. However, Bond will face the challenge of acquiring an audience that makes it worthwhile for brands and creators to participate.
How OnlyFans Creators Use TikTok to Promote, Attract New Subscribers - Business Insider
OnlyFans creators are leveraging TikTok's algorithm and bite-sized videos to attract new subscribers and promote their content. Despite TikTok's stricter guidelines for mature and sensitive content compared to other platforms, adult-content creators like Charlotte Lavish have found success by creating safe-for-work videos that appeal to mainstream audiences. Lavish, who has a large fan base interested in modest content, uses TikTok to direct potential subscribers to her Instagram account, which then leads them to her OnlyFans page.
The inability to add links directly on TikTok poses a challenge for OnlyFans creators, but they often see an influx of new followers on other platforms when their TikTok posts gain popularity. Some creators, like Chloe Sasha, showcase different aspects of their personality and create mainstream content such as cooking videos and sports commentary on TikTok, repurposing some of it for their OnlyFans accounts. For many OnlyFans creators, TikTok serves as an effective platform to showcase their talents and attract new fans.
Authentic Storytelling Is the Key to Influencer Marketing - Adweek
Authenticity and storytelling are the keys to successful influencer marketing, according to Denise Vitola, VP of Brand Integration, PR, Social Media, and Influencers at Bayer Consumer Health. In a discussion with influencer partner Jamie Hess (@NYCFitFam) at Adweek's Social Media Week, Vitola emphasized the importance of genuine values in campaigns, noting that Hess truly believes in Bayer as a company and its health products.
Unlike brands that rush influencers to create content, Bayer gives its creators time to use and familiarize themselves with the products, allowing for authentic opinions and connections with their audience. Vitola highlighted the power of storytelling, emphasizing the need for engaging and authentic narratives that resonate with communities, rather than relying on scripted content. The goal is to create an emotional connection by sharing relatable stories that highlight the benefits of the product or service being promoted.
Older TikTok Creators Are in Demand by Brands - The New York Times
As TikTok continues to gain popularity among older users, brands are taking notice and signing up elder influencers for marketing campaigns. Companies selling clothing, beauty products, and more are discovering that older content creators can effectively promote their products while sharing life lessons, fashion tips, cooking tutorials, and funny videos.
Mae Karwowski, founder of influencer marketing agency Obviously, notes that older influencers have been experiencing a surge in popularity over the past year or so. Brands are targeting creators over 55 on TikTok, recognizing the potential of engaging with this demographic. While the income from these partnerships may not be enough to retire on, it can provide a financial boost for older influencers and even serve as extra investment money. As TikTok's user base continues to grow, it offers an accessible platform for older people to build an audience and connect with brands.
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