Sally Beauty’s announcement this week of a brand relaunch that would include “the start of the #SallyCrew Influencer Program,” is indicative of the continued relevance of the rapidly evolving world of influencer marketing.

Influencers 3.0

The metrics are becoming more sophisticated, the business models more strategic and targeted; brands are differentiating between what works and what doesn’t and are demanding more in the form of solid ROI; and the latest generation continue to try to become brands themselves. (Ryan, can you hear the footsteps?)

Influencers – who increasingly refer to themselves as “creators” – can also now quickly (particularly in the age of TikTok) align themselves with agents and “collab houses” to further legitimize their business.

Where’s my ROI?

From the brand side, the evolution is being driven by the need to maximize marketing spend. Marketing costs on traditional platforms keep increasing – it can cost as much as four times more to acquire a new customer on Facebook or Google than it did two years ago.

Enter the Influencer. When used correctly (i.e. working with the right influencer to reach the right audience, rather than focusing solely on vanity stats like number of followers), influencer marketing has proven itself to be a cost-effective alternative.

• Revolve, a company whose marketing plan was based exclusively of social media influencers went public in 2019 with a valuation of over $1.5B
• According to Gil Eyal of influencer marketing platform HYPR, Estee Lauder plans on using 75% of its marketing budget on influencers in 2020, and brands are increasingly shifting from one-off influencer campaigns to an “always-on” strategy.

At the same time, consumer segments are being sliced ever thinner. Researcher Hamutal Schieber: “Peer-to-peer platforms are shaping the future of e-commerce. These ‘e-comm-unities,’ such as Depop, blur social media and online shopping… mirror the subculture mentality and are dedicated to niches and preferences of smaller groups of consumers.”

What to learn more? Join us next Wednesday, Jan. 22 at Noon EST, for a free webinar, “The Next Stage in the Influencer Revolution and What It Could Mean For You,” with Gil Eyal and Steve Zeitchik of HYPR. The 2020 Licensing International webinar series is sponsored by OpSec Security.