OIM is the interments newest way for brands to have their products reach a wider audience due to the rise in social media activity and trust the public puts into influencers. Due to the change in how we interact with social media it is easier than ever to gain a following on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. consumers have also become wearier of brands direct marketing, feeling that if they see someone actively using the product that it is more trustworthy, and they would be willing to purchase it. brands have also become more cost conscious when considering marketing. leading them to reach out to influencers instead of celebrities as influencers often cost less that celebrities.

it is defined as a brand partnering with an online influencer to promote their offerings and boost brand performance. using influencers large following to get more eyes on their product and hopefully boost their sales.

brands will choose an influencer to work with based of of a multitude of factors including but not limited to, following, audience, reputation and demographic. example: if you are a brand that makes hair care products for 4C hair textures you would choose a black influencer with 4C hair and predominantly black following.

this goes the same way with influencers to, striving to build personal brands based around their unique characteristics to build a unique audience, you won't often see a crochet influencer promoting a bud light, will you?

there are risks when it comes to OIM though, as each influencer is a different unique individual content quality may vary. poorly made content could lead to consumers not wanting to buy the product being advertised or interact with the brand.

The rapid growth of OIM has caused major change in the pr and marketing space and is still currently evolving in real time.

but i think if you take the time to fully read through the article it will be worth it.

• Nano influencers (less than 10,000 followers): They have a small but highly engaged audience.
• Micro influencers (between 10,000 and 100,000 followers): They are specialists in specific niches and generate authentic content.
• Macro influencers (between 100,000 and 1 million followers): They have a large reach, although their level of interaction may be lower than that of micro influencers.
• Mega influencers (more than 1 million followers): These are celebrities or public figures with massive audiences and a great influence on public opinion.

each type of influencer gives different results and unique insights.

positives of influencer marketing.

1 - building trust and credibility. consumers trust influencers as they often see them as pros in a field or specialty.

2 - expanding reach and visibility. working with influencers lets you be seen by more people who may not have seen you otherwise.

3 - generating engagement and conversation. influencer campaigns are likely to generate positive discussion about a brand and its products. if done right. While there are positives there are also negatives.

1 - lack of authenticity in promotion. if it doesn't make sense for the influencer to be working with the brand it could be seen as simply performative.

2 - pr crisis to influencer behavior. when an influencer participates in behavior less than satisfactory for example racism. this reflects badly on a brands image.

3 - wrong choice of influencer. if the influencer doesn't work well with what the brand represents or is promoting and the promotion falls flat it can come off as a failure.

when doing influencer marketing you should have a strategy on your goals and what you want the campaign to accomplish, you should do extensive research on the influencer or influencers that you want on the campaign to ensure they are the best fit for you.

there is both success and failure in influencer marketing brands will always have both.

more or less it sort of told me what i already knew but it was still helpful.

target audiences include people with niche interests and also age groups. most influencers target younger generation such as Gen-Z or Millennials while some are more focused on older generations.

it's also important to keep a good relationship with the influencers that you are partnering with for promotion. not only for the trust of the influencer but of their following, having consistent partnerships with influencers lets their audience know that you are consistent and trustworthy.

depending on the influencers content and fan base the campaign will do good or bad, sink or swim.

the influencers brand can really affect a campaigns success and impact. the number of followers and the consistency of the creator is factor but the biggest is probably the creator's reputation with the public. if a creator is not well liked the campaign will not do great and the public will view the brand differently than they did before in a bad way.

the article starts by saying that in recent years influencer marketing has become more popular than ever for brands to promote their products to a wider curated audience through influencers. partnering up with influencers to promote products to their unique audiences. however, you should not be fooled by the glamour as a brand.

not all influencers will want to partner with you or even like your brand. finding the right influencer is hard because you'll need to find someone who will both like your product and work well with you on the campaign. as a brand your control over an influencers campaign is different than doing your own commercial because the influencer is their own person with their own type of content creation.

finding the right influencer can be tough but it's not impossible, you should find one that both shares the same values as your company but also has a good fanbase and that wants to work with you not just for you.

once you find one you should work together to best produce great content to best uplift the both of you.