2020 has seen a massive influx of influencer marketing. Influencers are used as brand ambassadors to boost brand awareness because of their popularity on social media platforms. Companies have turned to them for help, in their efforts to reach out to Gen-Zers.
While ‘influencer brands’ are scarce, influencers must stop advertising traditional brands and start building their own. But why?
To Negate Negotiation
Typically, when influencers are asked to endorse another brand, they have to undergo a cumbersome negotiation process wherein brands offer them money, products, or exposure for them to promote their product on their social media.
When influencers create their own business, they have the power to make executive decisions, therefore, negating the negotiation process and pressure to please an outside party. They have the flexibility to decide the price of their products, what the products are, and when and where they need to be promoted therefore making their brand that much more authentic. They can even promote them as much as they want on their social media platforms to increase revenue.
It Is A Smart Business Move to Secure Their Future
Influencers creating their own brand is a smart business move. Currently, younger generations identify more with influencers than traditional brands. Influencers are created by fans who can ultimately make or break an ‘influencer brand’. Usually, fans enjoy identifying with content creators they find entertaining and will purchase their merchandise just to feel a connection with their idols.
However, everything has an expiration date. The influencer trend may dissipate in the years to come leaving former influencers without enough revenue to sustain themselves. By creating their own brands, they are securing their futures and establishing a backup plan.
A prime example of an influencer brand is TikTok star, Addison Rae’s “Item Beauty” makeup line. The brand was launched after talks of TikTok being banned in the U.S. were afoot.
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They Are the Talent
Influencers ARE the talent. They are not reliant on any other company or brand for content creation, this gives them leverage. They have already done the groundwork by maintaining a substantial following and level of engagement. The cost of creating a platform to sell their products is also low compared to the revenue they could make off their brand.
Creating their own ‘influencer brand’ is a great way of investing in themselves. Product design is similar to content creation as the creators are not subject to boundaries, creatively, in either field.
However, the rise in ‘influencer brands’ could pose a threat to pre-existing brands. It could harm the sales of the brands as more people rush to purchase ‘influencer brand’ products. There isn’t a sure-shot way of understanding when the influencer craze may end as it relies solely on the interests of the younger generation. When fans start to shift away from social media content creation an influencer’s influence is lost.
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