How Influencers Have Transformed Modern Marketing | Rachel David | TEDxVancouver

Summary

In this insightful talk, Rachel David discusses the impact of influencers in the digital revolution, highlighting how they've transformed advertising and e-commerce. She shares her experience running an influencer marketing company and emphasizes the importance of personal branding in today's social media-driven world. Rachel also addresses the challenges of regulation in influencer marketing and offers advice on how to support creators, emphasizing the value of their multifaceted contributions to the entertainment industry.

Takeaways

• 🌐 We are currently in the digital revolution, a significant shift following the Industrial and mass media revolutions, with advertising being heavily influenced by the internet and social media.
• 📰 Traditional advertising methods like newspaper ads and billboards have been largely replaced by digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
• 🤳 The rise of influencers, individuals who consistently post online and have amassed a large following, has become a major factor in modern marketing strategies.
• 💰 Influencer marketing is a booming industry, projected to grow from $4.5 billion to $10 billion by 2020, indicating its effectiveness and growing importance.
• 📈 Brands are recognizing the power of influencers for marketing, but the industry is still developing its regulations and procedures, making it somewhat the 'Wild West'.
• 🌍 Rachel David, the speaker, runs an influencer marketing company called Hashtag Communications, which operates globally and has facilitated significant brand deals.
• 📈 The influence of influencers is underscored by statistics showing that a majority of Millennial purchase decisions are influenced by peer recommendations and social media posts.
• 🦷 A case study of Hi Smile, a teeth whitening product, demonstrates the power of influencer marketing, where a brand deal with Kylie Jenner significantly boosted sales.
• 🔗 The difference between a celebrity and an influencer is relatability; influencers are seen as more authentic and relatable, which influences consumer decisions more than traditional celebrity endorsements.
• 👥 Influencer marketing is not just for brands; it's also crucial for individuals looking to build a personal brand, as seen with the speaker's own success with YouTube.
• 🚀 Looking forward, the influence of Generation Z and the continued growth of influencer marketing will shape the future of advertising and consumer behavior.

Q & A

What is the current revolution being discussed in the script?

The current revolution being discussed is the digital revolution, which is transforming advertising and media consumption.

How has the advertising landscape changed due to the digital revolution?

Advertising has shifted from traditional media like newspapers and billboards to digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

What is an influencer according to the script?

An influencer is someone who consistently posts content online in their chosen niche, such as beauty tutorials, comedy skits, or vlogs, and has amassed a large following.

How big is the influencer marketing industry currently, and what is its projected growth by 2020?

The influencer marketing industry is currently a 4.5 billion dollar industry and is projected to grow to a 10 billion dollar industry by 2020.

What is the speaker's profession and the name of her company?

The speaker, Rachel David, runs an influencer marketing company called Hashtag Communications.

What is the difference between a celebrity and an influencer in terms of marketing?

The main difference is relatability; influencers are seen as more relatable and authentic compared to celebrities.

What is the role of influencers in the e-commerce space according to the script?

Influencers play a significant role in e-commerce by promoting products through their online presence, which can lead to increased sales and brand awareness.

What is the impact of influencers on Millennial purchase decisions?

70% of purchase decisions by Millennials are made from a peer recommendation, and influencers are often seen as peers.

What is the significance of the case study involving Nick and Alex, the founders of Hi Smile?

The case study illustrates how leveraging influencer marketing, particularly mid-level and micro-influencers, can significantly boost sales and brand growth.

What is the current state of regulation in the influencer marketing industry?

The industry is currently like the 'Wild West,' with regulations, procedures, and ROI measurements still being developed and standardized.

How can personal brands benefit from influencer marketing?

Personal brands can grow their audience and credibility by collaborating with influencers, who can endorse or promote their content to a wider audience.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Digital Revolution and the Rise of Influencer Marketing

The speaker introduces the concept of the digital revolution as a continuation of the industrial and mass media revolutions, highlighting the disruption of traditional advertising by the internet and social media. The influencer marketing industry is presented as a booming sector, expected to grow to a 10 billion dollar industry by 2020. Influencers are defined as individuals with a significant online following who can impact consumer behavior. The speaker, Rachel David, shares her background as the founder of Hashtag Communications, an influencer marketing company, and discusses the global impact of influencers on e-commerce and purchase decisions, especially among Millennials.

05:02

📈 The Power of Influencer Marketing and Personal Branding

This paragraph delves into the effectiveness of influencer marketing, using the example of Hi Smile, a teeth whitening product that leveraged influencer marketing to achieve significant sales growth. The difference between celebrities and influencers is explored, emphasizing the relatability of influencers. The paragraph also touches on the importance of personal branding, especially for Millennials, and how building a personal brand on social media can lead to opportunities and employment. The speaker shares her own experience of growing an audience through YouTube, which later translated into a customer base for her company.

10:04

🛑 Regulation and the Future of Influencer Marketing

The final paragraph addresses the regulatory challenges within the influencer marketing space, which is likened to the 'Wild West' due to its lack of established procedures and standards. The speaker's involvement with the Ad Standards Council is mentioned, discussing the importance of transparency in branded content. The paragraph also contemplates the future impact of Generation Z on marketing and the need for stricter rules to protect young audiences from excessive advertising. The speaker defends influencers against the stigma of being overpaid, explaining the multiple roles they fulfill in content creation and the value they provide to brands compared to traditional advertising and entertainment industries.

Keywords

💡Digital Revolution

The 'Digital Revolution' refers to the current era of technological transformation characterized by the widespread use of digital technologies and the internet. In the video, it is identified as the third major revolution following the Industrial and mass media revolutions. The script discusses how advertising has been disrupted by this revolution, with traditional methods like newspaper ads and billboards being replaced by online platforms.

💡Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is a strategy that involves partnering with individuals who have a significant following on social media to promote products or services. The video explains that this industry is booming, with a projected growth to a 10 billion dollar industry by 2020. It is highlighted as a highly effective marketing method, although it is still in a somewhat unregulated phase.

💡Social Media Platforms

Social Media Platforms are online spaces where users can create and share content or participate in social networking. The script mentions platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook as the new battleground for advertisers, where influencers have a significant impact on consumer behavior.

💡Influencer

An 'Influencer' is an individual who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority or extensive following on social media. The video describes influencers as people who consistently post content online in various niches and have amassed a large following, thus becoming influential figures in the digital space.

💡Millennials

Millennials, also known as Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. The video highlights that 70% of purchase decisions by Millennials are made from peer recommendations, emphasizing their reliance on social media and influencers for making choices.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. The script notes that businesses, especially in the e-commerce space, have transformed significantly over the past five years due to the impact of influencers.

💡Personal Brand

A 'Personal Brand' is the image or impression that an individual projects, often used to advance their career or business interests. The video speaker emphasizes the importance of building a personal brand in the digital age, using her own experience as an example of how it can lead to business opportunities.

💡Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is material that is paid for by an advertiser and created in collaboration with the publisher. The video discusses the need for transparency in sponsored content, mentioning the use of '#ad' or '#sponsored' hashtags on social media posts to disclose paid partnerships.

💡ROI (Return on Investment)

ROI is a measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or compare the efficiency of several different investments. In the context of the video, ROI is mentioned as one of the aspects that brands are trying to measure in the influencer marketing space, although it is still a challenge due to the lack of standardized procedures.

💡Generation Z

Generation Z, or Gen Z, refers to the demographic cohort after the Millennials. The video speaker anticipates that the behavior and preferences of Gen Z will present new challenges and opportunities in marketing as they grow up, although it is unclear what the exact impact will be.

💡Content Creation

Content Creation is the process of making media content using various forms of media and publishing it for an audience. The video emphasizes the multifaceted role of influencers as content creators, who often handle all aspects of production, from filming to editing and distribution.

Highlights

We are currently experiencing a digital revolution, following the Industrial and mass media revolutions.

Advertising has been disrupted by the internet and social media, shifting from traditional media to platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

Influencers are individuals who consistently post online content and have amassed a significant following in their chosen niches.

Influencer marketing is a rapidly growing industry, projected to be worth 10 billion dollars by 2020.

The influencer marketing industry is currently unregulated, with ongoing efforts to define procedures, rates, and ROI measurement.

Rachel David, the speaker, runs an influencer marketing company called Hashtag Communications, which has done over a million dollars in brand deals.

Influencer marketing is applicable globally, with different approaches in Asia, Europe, and America.

70% of purchase decisions by Millennials are influenced by peer recommendations, highlighting the power of social media.

60% of in-store purchase decisions are influenced by social media or blog posts.

Millennials spend an average of nine hours on social media, forming close connections with influencers.

A case study of HiSmile demonstrates how influencer marketing can turn a small investment into a multi-million dollar business.

The difference between a celebrity and an influencer is relatability; influencers are seen as more authentic and relatable.

Kylie Jenner's success showcases the power of influencer marketing, where she became one of the youngest billionaires through her cosmetics line.

Only 3% of consumers are influenced by celebrity endorsements for product purchases, indicating a preference for influencer recommendations.

Influencer marketing is not only for brands but also for individuals looking to build their personal brand and audience.

Influencers are involved in multiple roles such as talent, directing, producing, editing, and distribution, making their work multifaceted.

The advertising and entertainment industries have changed, with influencers taking on roles traditionally held by larger teams with bigger budgets.

Supporting influencers by interacting with their content can help them continue creating and provide more content for enjoyment.

Influencers are not overpaid when considering the multiple roles they fulfill and the value they bring to both brands and audiences.

Influencer marketing is evolving with stricter rules being put in place for brand disclosures and content regulations.

The influencer industry is likened to the Wild West, indicating a period of rapid growth with ongoing efforts to establish norms and regulations.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello thanks for coming today so we are

currently going through a revolutionary

shift first there was the Industrial

Revolution then there was the mass media

revolution and now we are in the digital

revolution if you think about it

advertising it stayed relatively the

same for about 50 years until the

Internet and social media came and

disrupted it I mean when is really like

the last time that you bought something

because you saw a newspaper ad or a

billboard

now advertisers are spending their money

towards platforms like YouTube and

Instagram and Facebook and on top of

these platforms we have these things

called influencers now you might be

wondering like well what is an

influencer Rachel well simply put an

influencer is just someone like you and

me except where they choose to

consistently post stuff online this will

be on Instagram on YouTube and it can be

in the niche of their choice so this

could be beauty tutorials or comedy

skits or these things called vlogs if

you don't know what a vlog is people

literally film just their life like

drinking soup and you find it

entertaining and somehow they've amassed

a huge following and have become an

influencer so if you're wondering maybe

why your kids are glued to YouTube

this is why and this is the world that I

work in so currently influencer

marketing is a 4.5 billion dollar

industry and its projected to be a 10

billion dollar industry by 2020 so what

is happening is these brands they're

realizing wow this is a highly effective

way to market

the problem is is it's virtually the

Wild West when it comes to regulations

procedures rates measuring ROI all these

things we're figuring it out as I speak

on this stage so a little bit of

background on myself my name is Rachel

David I run a company called hashtag

communications it's an influencer

marketing company and it's been around

for about two years in the past two

years we've done over a million dollars

worth of brand deals with top creators

in the world and top brands now not only

is that in one place no we work with

companies in Asia in Europe in America

and each place deals with influencers a

little bit differently so during this

talk I hope that I can share with you

some of the craziness I've seen this

unique perspective I've had and equip

you with ways that you can utilize

influencers to your advantage or at the

very least just make you look a little

bit cooler amongst the Millennials in

your life so I believe that influencers

are really applicable to anyone trying

to get attention on anything over the

past five years we have seen businesses

virtually transform especially in the

e-commerce space

thanks to influencers I read the stat

that 70% of purchase decisions by

Millennials are made from a peer

recommendation which makes sense because

like if I am gonna go get laser hair

removal I'm gonna go ask my friend and

be like well where did you go get it so

I'm not just gonna like look good now I

wouldn't even look at a facebook ad for

a laser hair removal recommendation and

then I read the stat that 60% of

in-store purchase decisions are

influenced by something that someone has

seen on a social media post or a blog

post like 60% that's really high but if

you think about why that is on average

Millennials are spending nine hours on

social media

so oftentimes what is happening is these

youtubers they're watching are starting

to become their friends

more so than their real-life friends so

I read this case study about these two

founders their name their names are Nick

and Alex they are the founders of hi

smile you might have seen it it was it's

a teeth whitening products you might

have seen Instagram models taking a

picture with it it's it's very

photographable so these young founders

created this product and I read the

headline Kylie Jenner helped to twenty

something year olds turn a few thousand

dollars into a forty million dollar

business I was like oh God let me read

more than I read within eighteen months

they did ten million dollars in sales so

I was like okay well how did you do this

well what they did is they actually it

yes it's a very millennial product but

they took a really a millennial approach

to their marketing they started off by

utilizing these mid-level and micro

influencers they started generating more

sales eventually they were able to save

up enough money to then do a brand deal

with Kylie Jenner the Big Kahuna when

she put it online it went out to seventy

five million of her followers at the

time she's a little bit higher now and

their sales skyrocketed so I often get

asked what is the difference between a

celebrity and an influencer and it's

really just one word my friends and

that's relatability people love that

these influencers that they're

uncensored and they're unscripted and

every now and then they'll just drop the

f-bomb and I know you might be thinking

but Kylie Jenner she is a celebrity and

I agree but you have to think about what

is she famous for like she's not famous

for singing a song she's not famous for

playing a character that you fell in

love with she's not famous for dribbling

a ball down the court no she's literally

famous for her personality yes it

started off on a reality

show but then she took that she started

posting consistently online to the point

where millions of people followed were

engaged they got to know love and trust

her to the point where just recently

Forbes put her on the cover and they

named her one of the youngest

billionaires in the world she just made

nine hundred million dollars in three

years off of her Kylie cosmetics line

that's pretty insane if you look at the

data really only three percent of

consumers are influenced by a celebrity

endorsement when it comes to their

product purchase decisions which

actually make a sense because when I am

looking at Jennifer Aniston on the TV

and she is promoting a vino I'm like

don't do you think I am like really like

I know that you were airbrushed for

three hours and then you probably got

some weird vampire facial with their

Hollywood friends that I am NOT gonna go

and get so I'm not buying it sorry if

you're watching which you could no I

want to watch somebody who is like me

promoting a product now not only is

influencer marketing applicable to

brands I do believe it's applicable to

people's this is where you come in ask

any millennial if they're trying to

build up their Instagram right now and

they're probably gonna say yes and

that's not something to be looked down

on if anything they know more than

anybody that building a personal brand

today is more important than ever when

it comes to things like accessibility

opportunities job employment before I

started my company I basically made

youtube videos I took a whole year off I

made YouTube videos with no intention of

really doing anything I just wanted to

share my life

vlogs those things that we were talking

about and I ended up you know garnering

an audience and growing that so then by

the time that I actually did have this

idea that I was going to start this

company I immediately had

a customer base I immediately had

clients because they grew with me they

trusted me and they were like oh yeah

okay well rachel is talking she's doing

this thing why don't we use her to this

day I haven't had to spend any money at

all on marketing to this day I haven't

had to spend a penny on marketing so

personal brands are important and part

of that puzzle piece is growing your

audience so how do you do it so one way

you can is utilize and influencers so

say that you have a vegan Instagram page

that you want to grow you would go and

you could actually pay a bigger

influencer in your niche to shout you

out and these shoutouts are how a lot of

people are growing really quickly so one

of the most interesting discoveries that

we're gonna be faced with is in the next

20 years when generation Zed grows up

and I often get asked by concerned

parents you know what do you think is

gonna happen

the thing is is I don't know like I'll

be the first one to admit that I think

that there should be more kids outside

playing with a ball but I am happy to

say if we're relating this to marketing

on the regulation front we are putting

stricter rules in place so part of what

I do is I'm involved with the ad

standards Council and we come up with

decisions of how people are going to be

consuming branded content so for example

you might see influencers posting on

Instagram and they post something and

it'll say hashtag ad at the bottom this

is now requires to put a hashtag ad or

disclose if it's hashtag sponsored or if

you're watching a YouTube video in the

first 30 seconds they do need to

disclose if it is sponsored by a brand

now of course there's still things that

we do need to figure out and just a

couple days ago I was watching a video

and I saw that Jake Paul actually put

out a video that was 13 minutes long and

seven minutes of that was up selling to

kids advertising his products to kids

well there's rules around that in

broadcasting like you're only allowed to

market to kids like 20% of your pro

can be marketing the kids this had

almost like 50% to marketing to kids so

do we still have a long way to go yes

but it's like I'm saying it is the Wild

West right now but we are taking it one

day at a time and we will get there so

lastly we got a talk about the money

everyone wants to talk about the money

and I think that there's this stigma

attached to influencers and that they're

all these like young millionaires and

that they get paid too much and hey Jake

Paul I mean I just saw him save it he's

like I made fifty million dollars this

year and I'm like so there's this stigma

and people think that these kids are

riding around their Lambos and they all

have pet monkeys but I assure you that

99% of them do not I actually do a

podcast every week where I interview an

influencer or a creator and we talk

about how they make money online and

their different revenue streams and a

lot of them are just trying to sustain

making content as their full-time job

what I want you to keep in mind is not

only did the advertising industry change

no the entertainment industry changed as

well you know advertisers they had

bigger budgets to go and make

commercials there was like five times

the amount that they have now and then

even on the entertainment industry front

there were bigger grants there were

bigger bursaries there was a support

system a much bigger one for artists so

now when you look at an influencer who's

doing a sponsored post you're they're

essentially getting two for one for a

fraction of the price so relatively

they're not actually getting paid that

much these creators they are on-camera

talent they are directing they're

producing they are lighting they're

doing their makeup they're you know

editing they're their management they're

their admin and they are their

distribution I mean I work for a

broadcaster that is something actually

getting it out to an audience of putting

it on camera so if you see a sponsored

post by a creator that you like like

don't roll your eyes if anything this is

the time that you should actually go and

interact because and

show your support because when you

actually like like you know say there's

something sponsored if you even just

like that post you know that that's when

the brand is actually looking at their

stuff so it means a lot to a creator

they're ready feeling a little bit

self-conscious of how are you gonna

react to it but if you like it then the

brand sees that and then they might want

to do another deal with them and then

you get more content so if you see an

affiliate link and you need that product

anyways use it if you see a promo code

you know use that if you see even a

youtube video and you know how sometimes

I mean I know it's annoying we watch and

in the middle of a video there's an ad

but when you watch that full video

through they get paid a little bit more

and what you're doing is you're really

helping these highly creative people

build their lives so they can make more

content for your enjoyment

so in closing I'm going to keep it super

short to recap influencers they're not

going anywhere

number two stop picking on your kids

number three support the influencers in

their life and number four have a great

[ __ ] day thank you

[Applause]