Influencer Fatigue: Are We Done with Influencers?
GYM IN A BOX NEW AFFILIATE DROP-SHIPPING PROGRAM
Re-Engineering our Influencer Marketing Strategy
Accordingly to latest experiences, we at GYM IN A BOX have completely re-engineered our existing Influencer programs and have switched to Affiliate Dropshipping . In recent years, influencer marketing has become a trendy way for companies to promote their products and services. It’s no secret that social media influencers can be a powerful force in marketing. However, don’t be fooled by the glitz, glamour and follower counts.
1. Does the influencer engage with audiences that match your target demographics?
2. Do they produce content that aligns with your brand or industry?
3. What is their online reputation like?
4. How do they engage with their audience?
For major brands, partnerships with celebrity influencers have become an indispensable part of their marketing strategy. As a result, thousands of influencers came forward to cash in on their visibility.
Recently, however, we’re seeing signs that influencers can’t influence anymore; that the world may be done with traditional top-down influencer marketing. In fact, recent studies have found only 3% of consumers are influenced by celebrity influencers to purchase specific products. So, what’s driving this change? Why are so many brands, GYM IN A BOX included, switching off on influencers?
The Downside Of Influencer Marketing
The Problem With Influencers
1. A greater demand for authentic engagement - driven by millennials and Gen Z
Of all the reasons for the move away from influencers, the growing demand for authentic and meaningful engagement is the most significant.
People are sick of all the generic cookie-cutter posts showing celebrities posing with teeth-whitening kits, boutique clothing, or even appetite-suppressing lollipops. Instead, social media users are looking for real, unstaged content to engage with.
At the heart of this pattern is a huge shift in the way consumers interact with brands. Now, the age of the passive audience is over. Instead, customers are actively engaging with each other (and brands), looking for authentic and meaningful engagement and forming their own communities based on shared interests and values, or what we like to call ‘tribes’.
2. Fake influencers with fake followers, engagement, and likes
Then, there’s the problem of fake influencers with bought engagement on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Influencers face huge incentives to boost their numbers when it comes to followers, likes, and comments, and this has given rise to issues with bots, paid follows, and other shortcuts.
In fact, studies have found cases where the influencers engaged by major brands have follower bases that are estimated to be up to 70% fake. This isn’t just a massive headache for brands: it’s also another huge reason behind the disillusionment with influencers in general.
3. Cliché and repetitive influencer content
On top of the demand for more authentic engagement, user fatigue with stereotypical influencer content is also driving people away.
Every day, social media users are subjected to an unending stream of influencers peddling their wares with the same aesthetic. If it isn’t someone selling a yoga mat with a sunrise beach yoga pose, it’s someone with a tastefully-framed shot of avocado toast, or a too-perfect gym selfie.
If you’ve found yourself feeling a little fed up with cliches like this, don’t worry - you’re not alone. 47% of consumers are fatigued by repetitive influencer content.
In fact, this collective frustration has led to some amazing parody accounts (like Insta Repeat) pointing out just how samey a lot of Instagram content can be.
This is a major reason behind Instagram users abandoning the platform’s classic aesthetic and looking for something more real.you
Instead, a new generation of successful influencers like Emma Chamberlain or Joanna Ceddia has emerged. These young content creators are willing to engage their audience in unique ways - even if it means being a little dorky. And man, do people love it.
4. Too much reliance on the big players
Another trend driving people away from online influencers is an over-reliance on the big names out there. After all, Kim Kardashian can’t sell everything!
When it comes to mega-celebrities, there’s only so much paid sponsorship an individual can take on before their audience gets tired of it. For major brands, this means there’s a limit on what can be achieved through partnering with well-known faces.
As blogger and all-round media wizard Seth Godin notes, one way to get around this is to take the opposite approach: instead of finding the largest audience out there, brands should look for ways to build meaningful communities around smaller audiences.
According to Seth Godin, larger audiences aren’t always better. Source: Social Media Week
“Instead of trying to reach everyone,” says Seth, “we should seek to reach the smallest viable audience and delight them so thoughtfully and fully that they tell others.”
So, the world is fed up with traditional influencer marketing, what does this mean for brands on social? How should you engage with your audience, and get your products in front of the right customers?
By dropping the focus on generic, big-name influencers with huge audiences, and by focusing instead on meaningful communities united around common passions and interests, brands can increase the visibility and relevance of their products.
We’re talking about consumer tribes.
Take the time to understand your tribes
Tribes are groups of consumers sharing common traits. These individuals identify with each other through their collective interests, which could be anything from gaming or eSports, veganism, sustainable fashion, or a love for chunky dad shoes.
The internet is crawling with groups of people, subconsciously forming tribes around nearly every interest niche you can think of.
Winning brands are those who understand how tribes get created, what defines them and how they evolve over time. This includes analyzing their language, choice of platforms, and preferred methods of communication, and matching their content, so you can position your brand as a genuine tribe leader.
This means rethinking what the term 'influencers' mean.
Rethink what you mean by ‘influencers’
By finding individuals with meaningful connections to other members of the tribe to promote your brand, you can build brand visibility and credibility.
In fact, analysis shows that individuals working on a more contained scale are often perceived as having more of a legitimate voice than big-name celebrities, and can lead to a higher rate of conversion to sales.
So, when you’re thinking of your next influencer campaigns, don’t automatically jump to the biggest names out there. Instead, take a look at individuals with an authentic, well-established presence on their platform of choice, and a good connection to their tribe.
Think small
And that means bigger isn't better. You don’t have to shoot for the big numbers with your influencers.
Given the disillusionment out there with celebrity influencers, you’ll be better off partnering with influencers working on a smaller, more meaningful scale with a dedicated audience.
If you can engage your tribe of brand customers and fans through respected and trusted individuals, you can reach new potential fans, and build real brand loyalty.
Partnering with influencers used to be simple.
Before, all brands had to do was to pull together a shortlist of celebrities and public figures with sizeable audiences, compare the reach and profile of each individual, and make a choice.
Now, consumers don't want to see the same influencer telling them which slimming teas to drink, which lipsticks to buy, and holiday resort they should go to.
With the tribe mindset, everybody has the potential to be an influencer (in their tribe), which makes the influencer pool much bigger. You need to take into account the influencer’s relevance, authenticity on the topic, analyze their content footprint, check if they have fake followers or engagement, out of hundreds and thousands of influencers on multiple platforms.
Ditch the big names, and go for authenticity
There’s a good reason why so many Instagram users are turning away from generic, big-name influencers on social media. The jig is up, and people are seeing through the façade of samey, calculated promotional content.
In an environment where authenticity is the greatest online currency, brands need to know everything they can about their audience, and understand how to find and engage their tribes of fans online.
If you are interested in promoting GYM IN A BOX, we created a very profitable Affiliate Drop-Shipping program.
Affiliate marketing is the easiest way to generate an income online. You don't need to create your own products (which takes a ton of time), and you don't even need to really sell anything.
All you need to know how to do is to recommend something, and if you've ever recommended anything to anyone before, then you already know how to do this.
With time and hard work, successful affiliate marketing can turn your side hustle into a profitable business venture.
The Future Of Influencer Marketing
The future of social media influencers places emphasis on connectedness. That’s part of the reason the use of micro-influencers (those with a relatively small social media presence) is on the rise. In addition, more brands are relying on in-house influencers to lend authenticity to social media outreach.
What is the best golden rule of Affiliate Marketing?
It’s simple one: promote products that you genuinely believe in and that are relevant to your audience. It's a win-win situation - you get to earn a commission on sales, while your audience gets to discover products that they'll love. So, have fun, be authentic, and spread the word about products you're passionate about! We now developed a completely new system where you are in charge of your own profits by drop-shipping instead.
How does Affiliate Marketing work?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model in which affiliates are paid a commission for promoting and selling a merchant's products or services.
Affiliate marketing works by placing affiliate links on a website, blog, or social media platform. When a visitor clicks on the link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.
What are the benefits of Affiliate Marketing ?
The benefits of affiliate marketing include the ability to earn passive income, the ability to promote products and services without incurring the costs of producing and distributing them, and the ability to reach a large and targeted audience.
Who can participate in affiliate marketing?
Anyone with a website, blog, or social media platform can participate in affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is relatively easy for beginners to get started with as it does not require a lot of technical knowledge or a large investment. However, like any other marketing strategy, it requires effort, research, and a willingness to learn and adapt to be successful.
We provide our affiliates with a special discount for their referral audience. This affiliate marketing strategy offers an immediate incentive for your customers, so you can have the higher-than-average conversion rate. However, more profitable and transparent is our Drop-Shipping model.
Tips for GYM IN A BOX Affiliates.
- Use free platforms such as social media and blogging to promote affiliate products.
- Create high-quality content that drives traffic to your affiliate links.
- Utilise free SEO techniques to improve your content's visibility in search engines.
- Network with other affiliate marketers and industry professionals for guidance and support.
Is there a catch to Affiliate Marketing ?
There's no catch. Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful ways to generate an income online.
The key to affiliate marketing in 2023 is threefold as it becomes essential to:
1. Have an engaged audience.
2. Have a relevant client base.
3. Become or have a value-adding element to the equation.
This, in turn, means that the main driver for growth is building an audience and promoting products, rather than other monetary costs.
Affiliate Marketing Pros
- Low barrier to entry. Affiliate marketing is easy to get started with, and costs little. Most affiliate programs are free to join, and you don’t have to create, stock, or ship products, which also means less hassle/responsibility.
- Low risk. You’re not the product owner, so you don’t lose anything if a customer doesn’t buy.
- Passive income potential. Affiliate marketing provides the potential for passive income.
- More freedom. When you start earning passive income, you can work anytime and from anywhere, as long as you have internet access.
Affiliate Marketing Cons
- Not a quick fix. It can take time to generate the amount of traffic needed to result in substantial income.
- Less control. You don’t own or control the product/service you’re recommending, so you can’t control the quality or customer experience.
- Competition and audience fatigue. An attractive affiliate program means you might be competing with others for customers.
- Offer fatigue. Audiences can also get “offer fatigue” if they see too much ongoing promotion from you.
We now offer a Drop-shipping option for our Influencers. Please send us an Email “ GIB Dropshipping “ , if you’re interested in this business model.
https://gyminabox.la/pages/affiliate-ambassador-program
What is Drop-Shipping? Learn more.
Leave a comment