The CCNYC Predicts The Future of Influencer Marketing
L-R: Mark Lennon, Tannis Spencer (moderator), Fola Adeoso, Jacques Bastien
source: The Creative Collective NYC
Hashtags and sponsored posts have flooded our timelines for the past few years advertising fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products from a variety of social media platforms. Social networks like Instagram, YouTube and Twitter are the best places to build a social following, but will they stand the tests of time? I attended The Creative Collective NYC's event “What Are You Working On”, which featured a panel discussion with creative entrepreneurs Jacques Bastien, Fola Adeoso, and Mark Clennon at the Squarespace HQ in New York City. They generously shared their experiences and insight on the strength of collaboration and the impact black creatives have in this creative climate. During the Q&A portion of the night, Paula in the audience asked our panelists:
Where will the next wave of self promotion and business marketing will go?
source: The Creative Collective NYC
The audience buzzed with curiosity and waited anxiously to hear their answers. The world of Influencer Marketing has become an industry that’s inarguably taken the world by storm. The term “influencer” has been coined as someone who has the ability to authentically persuade their audience to invest their dollars into a specific product or brand. No longer are the days where your favorite celebs are the face of a brand campaign. More and more, brands are turning to the “celebs” of the social media to attract consumers to buy their product. Influencers like Jackie Aina, Alissa Ashley and Aaliyah Jay, with millions of followers on multiple platforms have taken over the influencer scene and have built entire careers surrounding their social media presence.
So what will business marketing look like in the future?
Ad sponsorship: Jacques Bastien is owner of multiple companies including Shade MGMT, an influencer management agency. He believes influencer marketing by way of social media is s l o w l y dying and will transition itself to advertisements when it does. “I believe a lot of control will go to the talented creative with the skill set. Creatives who can create original work. I foresee even companies like Netflix allowing creatives [who meet a certain criteria] to upload original content on their platform. The profit will come from brands who will sponsor that content.”
Diversified Portfolios: “Brands don’t know who’s good or who’s not. They’re not connected. The power the Creator has is the ability to curate people who are the best of whatever they do.” Photographer Mark Clennon predicts that the Creatives chosen to partner with brands will come creative circles who are known for their good work. “Being able to have a rolodex of people you work with [is useful] because you never know when you’ll need to assemble a team. As a photographer I can become a producer because of direct relationships I have to other creatives. We have the power because we know who the real good creators are because we’re in that space. ”
Ownership: Creative entrepreneur Fola Adeoso remembers the days when she’d spend hours coding her Myspace page which of course, is now a thing of the past. Instead of coding Myspace, shw now applies those codes to her personal website. “Always have your own platform - whether it’s a blog, or website. You can always showcase your talent on your website. If Instagram were to one day ‘poof-be-gone’, a lot of us would have lost life-work. Make sure you always have your own platform.”
These are only predictions and no one can truly know how long influencer marketing on social media can last until it doesn’t. But there’s nothing wrong with staying ready so you never have to get ready! Thank you to The Creative Collective NYC for hosting events like these, Lord knows how hard I stalked my email to make sure I got a ticket! To stay updated with all of their events including their highly anticipated CultureCon, be sure to follow them on Instagram, and Twitter.
Thanks for reading,
Eve