Navigating the New Era of Influencer Marketing: How to be Successful on Instagram, TikTok, & Co.

What is it about?

Influencer marketing represents a $10 billion industry in 2020 and is becoming of increasing relevance for many firms, especially those operating in a business-to-consumer environment. Few firms in the fashion, beauty, travel, food, or beverage industries are running marketing campaigns these days that do not include, at least to some share, a collaboration with popular users on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. However, many marketing managers still have a less than adequate understanding of those platforms compared with their knowledge of more traditional media channels and often find it hard to make the right decision in this fast-moving environment. To provide some guidance in this respect, this article aims to give an introduction to the most critical platforms for influencer marketing. It then presents advice to firms who want to engage in influencer marketing as well as specific questions on identifying the right influencers to collaborate with.

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Why is it important?

------------------------------------------------------- Contribution to Academic Scholarship ------------------------------------------------------- Despite the increasing importance of influencer marketing, there is relatively little academic research on the topic. This article provides guidance on how firms can use influencer marketing successfully, paying special attention to selecting influencers to collaborate with. It also discusses future challenges in the field of influencer marketing and provides a presentation of the main social media platforms available. ------------------------------------------------------- Contribution to Management Practice ------------------------------------------------------- Firms frequently struggle with influencer marketing and therefore outsource it to external agencies or younger employees. This article provides hands-on advice on how to implement an influencer marketing campaign and how to select and manage influencers to collaborate with. ---------------------------- Author Perspective ---------------------------- The world of influencer marketing is moving very rapidly and the key knowledge on the dynamics of this industry is found among agencies working in this sphere. The idea of this article was to bring together the day-to-day knowledge of the leading influencer marketing agencies and the academic side of this topic to create a unique combination of insights on how to manage influencer marketing campaigns.