November 7, 2019
Four Takeaways and Trends in Influencer and Content Marketing from PI Live
For all the right reasons, PI Live, the influencer marketing conference, has received a lot of attention as more than 3,000 people gathered in London at the end of October to discuss the best content and influencer marketing strategies in the field. It really was a “can’t miss event” in Europe.
As PartnerCentric’s international affiliate manager, I was excited to attend the show to learn about new trends and strategies in influencer and content marketing to help our clients find the best opportunities for their brands. Below are just a few items that I have been thinking about since I returned from the show
1.Authentic influence and Ethical Data collection
Influencer marketing has grown exponentially over the past couple of years and a recent study shows that businesses and brands can increase ROI by 11 times with influencer marketing than with other form of advertising. Therefore, brands are allocating more and more of their budget to it. But now the question is how can these companies be sure they are investing in the right campaign?
The headline sponsor and CEO of Tagger Media believes the answer is from truly understanding the importance of data and where it is coming from.
Then experts from Tribe, Post for Rent and others brands discussed in a brilliant panel how marketplaces now consider influencer marketing as a core strategy, but that building a solid one can be a real challenge. Because of that, setting up, managing and measuring influencers campaigns is intensive work and can be time consuming. They then pointed out that given how the industry is evolving, quickly investing in agencies and platforms not only simplifies this process but also ensures that everything is set up correctly from the beginning.
2. Behind the science of influencer marketing
Ian Forrester from Research and Analytics, Whalar unveiled in his talk the world’s first study on influencer called “The science of influencer.” This study is the answer to “Why does influencer marketing work?” It appears that when compared to TV or Facebook advertising, utilizing influencers is much more emotionally intense and more memorable. Furthermore, if consumers are exposed to an influencer ad before a Television or Facebook ad from the same campaign, they are 58% more likely to feel positive towards the TV or Facebook ad and 47% more likely to remember it.
3. Publisher Board Guidelines for Best Practices
There are so many great free resources to take advantage of in order to stay up to date on best practices in the industry. For example, there is a publication called “The Best Practice Guidelines for Advertisers” that was recently released by a board of publishers including vouchers, content, cashback and paid search. This publication aims to set the best standard practice and get people to connect, share ideas on how to improve campaigns and bring more transparency to the process. If you are curious and want to know more about this, you can read the whole best practices document here.
4. US Publishers Expanding Abroad and Going Remote
Finally, during my various meetings with US publishers, UK expansion was a topic that I kept hearing about from a few top partners. The goal is to help them strengthen their presence abroad and gain more European visibility. I also was hearing more and more about partners getting the opportunity to work remotely and because PartnerCentric is a fully remote agency (and has championed remote work for years) I am delighted when I hear about other organizations experimenting with remote work and the incredible energy that emerges when these opportunities are presented.
Overall, this was a great show to attend and it reinforced what we already have known: influencer and content marketing is a great way to increase brand awareness and open your brand to new audiences that are already tailored to the service or product you are providing. Want to chat with us about your influencer marketing needs?
Contact us any time!