Graphic Arts Magazine July / August 2019 | Page 32

Feature
#Influencers: Purchasing content to build brands
Let’s set the record straight. Customers build brands by recognizing a product
as the sole solution to an unmet need or unresolved problem. For customers
to build a brand two criteria have to be met: the brand has to be trusted and
the tone and the content of the advertising needs to resonate with the
customer. Trust is built when products live up to or exceed their promised
expectations of durability, reliability and serviceability.
Advertising works when the "messa-
ging” is personalized to the target
audience and the communication method
matches the audience’s identified focus
of attention. Own a print shop? Instagram
might not be the right medium for selling
print, but a YouTube video tutorial on
the print finishes for a business card
might just be what a person is searching
for when they are attempting to distinguish
their calling card from their competitors’.
Now let’s get real.
The prime directive: social media
In 2017 RapidBoost reported that Canada
has one of the most advanced broad-
band networks in the world where over
96% of Canadians have internet access
from their home. Yet, only 39% of Canadian
businesses have some sort of online
presence and just 24% actively engage
their consumers daily on social media.
Plus, research has shown that 90% of
customers trust peer recommendations
and 71% of consumers are more likely to
make a purchase based on social media.
With Canadians spending over 44
hours every month plugged into social
media, the prime directive for national
businesses is to be present on social
media. Business owners must educate
themselves on the power of social
media and allocate time, money and
human resources to develop a social
media presence to enhance their band.
Using social media influencers is one of
the best ways to build brand awareness
and loyalty because user generated
content is 50% more trusted by internet
users than traditional media. More
importantly influencers cannot be
32 | July / August 2019 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
silenced by desktop ad-blocking soft-
ware that in Canada has a penetration
rate of 24%. So, what’s the disconnect?
There isn’t enough data to support a single
conclusion, but the common objection
appears to be just plain apprehension
on the part of business owners: who will
care about my business on social media?
What could I say to get people to follow
me? How will I find my audience, and
how will they find me? That’s where a
social media influencer can assist.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a hybrid. It’s a
mashup of the celebrity endorsement
placed into a modern-day, content-driven
social media environment. Influencers
are recognized social media authorities
who provide frank opinions on products
in their field of expertise. Influencers work
because the information is genuine and
helpful. No responsible and respectable
influencer would risk their reputation on
partnering with a product that is shady.
Influencers work because they rely on both
social networks and content marketing
strategy focused on creating and distribut-
ing valuable, relevant, and consistent
content to attract and retain a clearly defined
audience. It’s that interconnectivity that
drives profitable customer action. Influencer
strategies use content marketing to
build a win-win situation. There are no
advertising tricks and no disingenuous
celebrities smiling over a product they
couldn’t care less about.
Online influencers work because they
sway the sentiments of their online audience
in a particular direction regarding a
brand, idea, business or person.
Partnerships between an influencer and
a brand are symbiotic, collaborative and
relational. An influencer isn’t anything
new. Before the digital revolution, celebrity
endorsements were the go-to tactic to
promote media attention, influence key
stakeholders and build brand awareness.
With 3.028 billion people actively using
social media – that’s 40% of the world’s
population sharing information – the
amount of positive and negative content
being exchanged among individuals is
incalculable. That makes it a top priority
for companies to understand how influen-
cers can make or break their brands.
Influencers function because they create
a personalized social interaction.
The dating game
Building brand awareness through
social media influencers is a courtship.
First comes dating.
That’s where the brand looks for a
socialite to court. A blogger, for example,
who has built a reputation for their knowledge
and expertise. One that makes regular
posts on his or her personal media channels
and has gathered a reasonable cohort
of followers that reposts, passes on and
retweets the bloggers opinions.
Engaging a well-respected go-to graphic
artist blogger who is willing to incorporate
your printing shop’s customer service and
finishes into his or her blog posts expo-
nentially increases an already targeted
audience’s awareness of your business.
Spoiler Alert − Be warned the power of
the influencer is not in the number of
followers he or she has. The power of
the influencer lies in the downstream
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