"Like"... Nah. Influencer Instagram Changes + What They Mean
November is supposed to be the month where we all give thanks for what you are thankful for. You know - You’re thankful for your friends, family and freedom. Well, if you are influencer November is making you curse vs reciting words of thankfulness.
While, I often talk about money on this platform - the other side of my business is brands. I have been building brands (for corporations and self) for well over a decade. While I have worked for companies to build strategy, I often find that the tone that many of them have towards consumers and influencer lacks heavily. But I will get into that another day.
Three major things happened this November that has the influencer community looking for pivots with a flashlight:
IG with the pump fake on the likes:
Over the last couple of months the platform has been beta testing removing the Like button from post (brands, influencer, everydogonboddy) in the countries of Australia and I believe Canada. The platform released that this new feature will be rolling out to the masses as we move throughout the coming months.
The Tea: This change is happening for two reasons: First up - Influencer Marketing is legit a $2B+ with scalability to grow to $20B in by 2023. Crazy right? No cap, the most common influencer budget is $1,000 – $10,000/year, followed by $100,000 – $500,000/year. 19% of marketers will spend $1,000 – $10,000 per year on influencer marketing in 2019, while 18% are spending between $100,000 – $500,000 per year. Influencers can make on the low end $10/post upwards of thousands/ post. The other reason for this change (which is the narrative that the platform is pushing) is due to mental and financial health. Which I get, but I feel that this is occurring due to both reasons hybrid together. Don’t fret tho, the owner of said account will still be able to see likes (and other metrics).
2. FTC is starting to snoop again and I’m not talking about dog either.:
Every November, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) publishes an updated report of their disclosure report. This is the main reason why you are seeing more companies push towards using #ad and/or #partner within the company that the influencer uses. This year, the disclosure is geared towards update on the disclosures brands and influencers use “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” provides influencers with tips from FTC staff about what triggers the need for a disclosure and offers examples of both effective and ineffective disclosures.To cop the updated document, click here. The guide includes tips for when and how influencers should tell their followers about a relationship. For example, it suggests the words influencers might use, as well as where in their social posts a disclosure should appear. Here is also their hub on all things Influencer.
3. Views, No Drake:
Views on IG and Facebook Stories are lagging due to the changes in algorithm on both platforms. Swipes are great for Swipers, but if no one views them, the thrill is gone. Many users are starting to see the changes that was once felt only on static post (profile placed) starting to shift to Stories as well. It has been a while since the platform has shifted around and I expect that to be happening simultaneously as the “like” function change rolls out. This feature update was more so due to the usage of bots that have been contested over the years of social media + influencer infusion. With this option being key real estate for influencer partnership (often times IG Stories are valued higher than static post due to the layers the right crafted messaging can bring = engagement) with brands. Also, more insights can gained with this feature. The platform also incorporated the ‘Creator’ accounts due to this influx of use.
While I am wholeheartedly hoping that the “like” functionality shift doesn’t happen due to out rage, this proves as a lesson to influencers - build a holistic platform.
Influencers, what I mean by that is for you to build a nucleus for your brand (website) and use social media, email and video as the legs that connect to the core. Think about it like this, your website and your email list is the only thing that you own. When you created this account on FB/IG/YT, your content became co-owned by the platform.
Some more tea:
Start hosting strong posts and videos from your social media as previews on your own website.
Brands are starting to shift value from mega influencers to those of the micro or nano level. Reason for this is due to the content that is being used on this level. If you are finding yourself outside the range on either end, negotiate with your partnering brand to shape the content you use to be authentic. Be able to show the ‘why’ of how this would be better accepting of this change. Yes, you are getting the coint, but this is your brand as well. Less salesy content performs much better on posts and will give you more payout at the end.
Communicate with your audience frequently via e-mail, Jackie Aina started to do that at the beginning of the year - with contest, pushes to YouTube, etc.
Don’t just use media kits to gain the offer, use that same format to consistently show reach throughout the campaign (no matter if it is 1 post or 20). You should have some slide showcasing your reach beyond the like, metrics are bae.
For marketers, it also makes the ROI (Return of Influencer) a bit harder to cultivate the story for your SOW (Statement of Work). Some tea to do this is to understand the full girth of the audience segmentation and the conversion you are seeking to gain. The same way you would use influencers to drive a new product will not hold the same cadence you would do for just a general brand awareness effort. Curating those benchmarks are key to being able to say the value spend of influencers for your brand.
No matter what type of marketer or influencer you are, the market is always going to ‘feel’ saturated. The key is being able to drive traffic from other places. When platforms and opponent players change up the play, always look to your own playbook to stay ahead of the game. Want to learn how? Snatch an Influencer + Partnership Session with me to create new plays. This offering is for not only influencers, but brands as well!