How Facebook is Disrupting Influencer Marketing

Ask any marketer to name two areas that have exponentially grown over the past few years and I guarantee the majority will tell you influencer marketing and targeted paid social. Well now, thanks to Facebook, these two areas will be more closely linked.

The social giant, who also owns Instagram, just last month rolled out the ability for social influencers to turn their paid content into sponsored posts by tagging the brands they’re working with, then giving a brand the ability to boost that Facebook post with full access to the analytics.

So this is great, right?! Now agencies, brands and influencers can easily run paid promotions via influencer posts, while still enjoying that influencer’s established reach. But hold on. It seems like we’ve been here before with Facebook…

What’s the catch?

Well no surprise, Facebook would like to tap into the success of influencer marketing – the platform sees true value in it.

Facebook would like to tap into the success of influencer marketing - the platform sees true value in it. Click To Tweet

The concern for many in the industry is that Facebook’s algorithm may kill the organic reach of an influencer’s post if brand partners don’t boost it. And these fears are founded, as Facebook optimizes towards its pay-to-play model.

Don’t fret, here’s a few things to consider:

The only constant in social is change – Take a deep breath, this will certainly disrupt influencer marketing. It’s something that will require a shift in strategy, but it’s all about adapting. Brands have been forced to evolve with several algorithm changes in the past and this is no different.

Don’t put ALL your eggs into the Facebook basket – Yes, we know they own Instagram too and will most likely roll out something similar, but it’s more important now than ever to ensure tailored content is being pushed out by influencers across several social channels. And keeping this shift in mind, considering bumping up content amplification on other platforms. You just may find that an influencer creating a collab board on Pinterest, for example, has the ability to deliver against your business objectives, maybe even better. Test and learn. 

Find the right influencer partner – whether it’s a network of micro-influencers or a handful of top-tier influencers, it’s important to find a partner that’s adapting – whether it’s for this shift or the latest FTC guidelines. One influencer network we talked to recently had already evolved its offering so that a full paid strategy with A/B testing was already in the mix. They believe that influencer marketing with just one social amplification is shortsighted. What is vital is that next step which involves taking the top-performing influencer content and putting targeted paid support behind it to truly create a broader reach.

So the world isn’t over.

Taking a step back, there is an added benefit for marketers to get access to more analytics, to be able to see first hand how influencer content is performing. It will help brands assess ROI and take a more active role in influencer campaigns.

There’s just a bit more to consider with your influencer strategy. Being able to adapt is what will set brands (and their influencers) apart.

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