Wonder

Influencer Marketing Industry: US

Delivered December 16, 2019. Contributor: Dagmawit W.

Goals

To understand the influence/influencer marketing industry in the US in order to inform the decision of hiring one. 

To understand the difference between influence marketing/influencer marketing and influencer campaign services. 

Early Findings

DefinitionsInfluence MarketingInfluence marketing, also known as marketing influence, is defined as "the set of techniques that tend to use the force of recommendation or prescription of influencers."
Influencer Marketing AgencyAn influencer marketing agency identifies influencers and platforms that would be most relevant of a brand's/company's purposes.
The agency drives the campaign, provides corrective actions, and analyze the result.
Influencer MarketingInfluencer is defined as a "form of marketing that focuses on targeting key industry leaders to drive brand message and awareness to a specific market of consumers."
Top Social Media Marketing AgenciesThe following are five of the top agencies as per third-party sites: The Manifest, UpCity, Google, and Clutch.
 LYFE Marketing 
 Disruptive Advertising 
 Boostability 
 SociallyIn 
 Bad Rhino 
Benefits of Hiring a Social Media Marketing Agency Business marketing. With effective strategies, social media marketing is a great way of informing the public on the products and services of a company/brand. 
 Building brand recognition. Social media professionals and experts have the ability to determine how to garner attention for a brand. They understand where to begin, the most effective platform options, and the relevant content.
 Getting clientele. By making a brand more accessible, agencies optimize their ability to convert visitors to loyal customers.
 Dealing with competition. In competitive environments, an agency would be key in placing a brand ahead of the competition.
Summary of our Early FindingsAs we carried out our research, we came across insights into social media marketing agencies. These agencies may also run influencer marketing campaigns. 
Continued research will focus only on influencer marketing agencies.

Proposed next steps:

You need to be the project owner to select a next step.

Our initial research was able to provide definitions and certain insights into the influencer marketing industry. We propose continued research in identifying the top 10-12 influencer marketing agencies. "Top" will be defined as those with large/top brands/companies as clients. We will determine whether what sets each apart is the advertising platform, creative solutions, or more sophisticated services methodologies they are using. For each agency, we will provide 3-4 insights into their clientele, achievements/awards, and their competitive advantage.

Additionally, we will provide 2-3 case studies of companies that attempted to run their social media platforms internally and eventually decided to hire an influencer marketing agency. In our research, we will provide insights into the eventual outcome/result of this decision.