We are the champions, We are the Nano—Influencers

By 2020 Ad blocking is estimated to cost publishers $35 billion in revenue. That’s an ominous forecast by Edeleman in their 2017 digital trends report. And to top it off the data on the growing number of ad blocking users is around 200 million! (Source: Page fair)

And we’re closing in to 2020 already.

Wastage in advertising; while it’s a widely known fact, it’s something we as marketing folk have to live with. All the algorithms in the world have not yet been able to fine-tune the target to specific people. Especially when we are seeking scale.

The reason is simple. We as humans hate being advertised to and we choose to block it or hide from it.

But on the flip side of it. We are all consumers as well. And we constantly seek brands and products to acquire. If advertising online is being shown the door, how do we build brand credibility?

In come the micro-influencers and nano-influencers. And a way of marketing through them that’s chosen as a way to facilitate the buying process or at least engagement with brands at some part of the consumer journey.

Wait a second. We thought, influencer marketing had it covered? But then, what’s this new thing now?

Well… of late Influencer Marketing has been facing a lot of flak and rightly so, because people resorted to scam tactics to fake their claim as influencers. So, it became devoid of the very element that was making it seem like it works.

Trust.

Micro or Nano influencers on the other hand are people like you and me. And by that, I mean we as consumers and how we have a role to play in influencing decisions of others. You might be thinking, how come you as an individual has any role amidst the heavy hitters and celebrities and influencers who boast of lakhs of followers and loads of engagement on their social media profiles and pages?

I would put it like this. It’s like the five fingers on our hands. Open they are individual and can’t make a dent. But bunch them together into a fist and you can hammer most things to a pulp. (Well figuratively at least.)

The digital world is offering ways to facilitate this common consumer as one big aggregated pie which together starts to make a dent or delivers a big bang for prospective customers.

Now think about the reviews you might have posted. The ratings you would have given. The branded content you might have shared. The reviews of others that you might have shared. The photos you might have clicked buying something, eating something, travelling somewhere… Most people would have done some form of sharing of their experiences in the digital world.

Now think about how it could be if there was a way to collaborate and bring out those very voices in tandem. You will begin to see a wave of opinions coming together as a coherent voice.

So, if it’s people like you and me who are micro/nano-influencers what are we doing in our lives about the influence? And how are marketing folk thinking of giving our voices a channel to talk?

We the consumers are already, employees, customers or fans of brands. And we form a niche community which is being called different names. Employee Advocacy. Customer Advocacy. Fan Advocacy. While the semantics may keep changing. The core of what digital and social media can do to organise, curate and put together to give a voice will not change. And that’s the power of the people networks. Together they can deliver devastating results.

If you are reading this and have some social media profiles. Then acknowledge to yourself with a pat on your own back that you are a micro/nano-influencer yourself. Your opinions matter. And you are the messenger adding your element of trust to the messages you are sharing

In people we trust.

Authored Article by Ajit Narayan, CMO, SOCXO