As social media influencing increasingly gains traction and appears to be well on the road to exploding into a multibillion-dollar industry, brand promoters wading into the uncharted waters are getting caught up in a conundrum, having to choose between the conflicting aspirations that are money and niche loyalty.
The influencers, whose power mainly vests in the massive followings they amass to their channels on different social media platforms, have become an integral part on modern-day marketing as they offer a direct reach to target audiences and their recommendations have been touted as carrying more weight than traditional advertising.
But as the industry witnesses the swift growth and continues to assert its dominance, the rush by promoters to grow audience numbers by increasing followership without a clear understanding of the sector they intend to occupy has emerged as a key concern.
For those who have overcome the hurdle and carved a niche for themselves, the next dilemma that kicks in is on how to overcome the temptation that comes when brands that are unrelated to the established specialty presenting mouth-watering deals. Do they take the money and dilute the loyalty their followers have toward their niche, or maintain fidelity to their field and watch the cash swim away?
“I think it’s the money, plus, a number of these emerging creatives don’t understand niching. It is ‘what can I get when I’m still hot?’ that drives them.
The problem with this model is that they don’t last because they dilute what their followers originally loved about them,” observes brand strategist and founder of marketing firm Sparks Corporates, Barrack Onyango.
Marketing experts say that while sticking to your specialty could to be a slow and painful process, it offers solid grounding and sustainability, unlike niche-hopping, which only gives short-lived wins.
“While it is essential to have a substantial following, it is equally crucial for influencers to define their niche – a specific area or interest they are passionate about. Niche influencers often have a more dedicated and engaged audience because they provide valuable, relevant content to a specific demographic,” advises media production and advertisement strategist Prakash Siddh.
He adds,“The problem arises when influencers chase deals and followership numbers at the expense of finding a niche. They end up with a broad, unfocused audience that lacks a common interest or reason to follow.”
According to digital marketing strategist Egline Samoei, brands also shoot themselves on the foot when they engage influencers without considering their niche. Often, she says, their marketing messages end up getting to the untargeted audience hence missing the value for their advertising investments.
“As a content creator and an influencer, you should be able to know when to say no to deals that don’t align to your niche. Companies should also be in a position to put into consideration their target audiences and an influencer’s prospects of future engagements so as to reap maximum value from the deals,” she states.
Online learning platform Coursera, in a study paper, notes that for those conflicted on how to identify a niche, they can pick one based on a number of parameters that span the category of content, demographics of age, location, and income among others, psychographics that include values, beliefs and interests, as well as considerations of the target audience.
According to Salary Explorer, a salary comparison and career resources website, influencing marketers in Kenya make monthly earnings of between Sh82,800 to Sh286,00, with the average being Sh180,000.
Last year, Azziad Nasenya, Anerlisa Muigai and Wabosha Maxine emerged as the top-paid influencers in Kenya, with rate cards indicating highs of up to Sh100,000 in charges for a single post on their social media channels.
Global data and business intelligence platform Statista has forecast that ad spending in the Kenyan influencer advertising market will hit $2.1 million (Sh333.7 million in current exchange rates) by end of this year, translating to an annual growth rate of 8.8 percent.
In the projection, the average ad spending per internet user in the influencer advertising market will stand at $0.1 (Sh16) during the year.
