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Author: Scott Guthrie | #061 | 22 June 2022

Influencer Marketing |  Social Platforms  |  Quick Links  |  Column

A level playing field for influencer marketing?

An article in The Drum this week by Hannah Bowler asks whether influencer marketing is a scapegoat for other advertising channels. The article cites the recent parliamentary report which calls for more scrutiny of our industry, as well as Dr. Luke Evans MP’s body image bill.

William Soulier, CEO of Talent Village, is quoted in the piece. He raises interesting points around the category of 'influencer', and whether sportspeople and celebrities should be included within the cadre. Legislators and regulators would argue 'yes', as they hold sway online.

The influencer marketing industry, however…

WTF happened to Bobbi Brown

Make-up artist and business woman Bobbi Brown has launched a new product: What the Foundation (WTF). Then TikTok make-up artist Meredith Duxbury uploaded a negative review. #whatthefoundation got viewed over 39 million times. Finally, Bobbi Brown uploaded her own TikToks, first to inform and then to amuse. A serious point to this? It hits to the heart of creators offering subject matter expertise and authoritative, authentic voices online. Skincare and make-up choices are very personal. Speaking with authority means understanding the scientific formulations of products. It also shows how a brand can respond quickly and with humour when things go south on TikTok.

Other stories in the Influencer Marketing section explore the subjects of sleepfluencers, and disinformation. Sign up now

Influencer Marketing |  Social Platforms  |  Quick Links  |  Column

Spotify enables bands to interact with their fans

Spotify wants to enable musicians and podcasters to directly interact with their audiences, creating meaningful engagement and monetization opportunities. The streaming service has created exclusive live audio rooms, where artists can host their top Spotify fans. Here, artists can celebrate a special musical moment like a new release, and earn revenue by selling merch, promoting concert tickets, and receiving tips - all inside the live room.

Discord to enable creators to form VIP channels for uber fans

Discord is rolling out premium memberships to more servers, enabling creators to offer their uber fans access to gated content - or VIP channel areas within the creator’s main server…

Other stories in the Social Platforms section explore the subjects of Discord, TikTok’s measurement framework and YouTube’s Black Voices Fund. Sign up now

Influencer Marketing |  Social Platforms  |  Quick Links  |  Column

→ 1.5 billion: the number of monthly users viewing YouTube Shorts

→ Influencer marketing platform market to expand from $8B today to $42B in 2027 [Market Insight Reports press release].

Influencer Marketing |  Social Platforms  |  Quick Links  |  Column

The creator calculator: how much creators can earn monthly

Mighty Networks has created a helpful tool for creators to calculate potential monthly earnings across a variety of revenue streams. To earn $1,000 a month, for example, a creator needs to generate either 2m views on YouTube, 25m TikTok views, have 250 OnlyFans subscribers (paying $4.99 a month), or sell 1,666 items via Amazon links (based on 3% affiliate fee). Sure, the maths isn’t perfect. The calculator should be treated more as a rule of thumb than a rule of law, but it provides…

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Issue 61 of the newsletter can now be read in full here