#FuturePRoof guide tackles influencer marketing governance for public relations

A new #FuturePRoof project aims to give public relations a voice in the fast growing market of influencer marketing.

#FuturePRoof has published a guide that addresses the need for influencer marketing governance in public relations. It provides clear guidance for practitioners and influencers themselves.

It aims to give public relations a voice around the critical area of governance for influencer marketing. It’s a challenging area of practice that sits between marketing and public relations, and earned and paid media.

Scale of the influencer marketing challenge

There were more than 16,000 complaints made about 14,000 online ads and social media posts last year according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) Annual Report 2018.

According to MarketsandMarkets the global influencer market is currently estimated at £4.5 billion in 2019.

#FuturePRoof influencer marketing guide

Follow this link to access the guide: https://www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk/we-are-all-influencers-now.

The guide has been written by Scott Guthrie and I with contributions from Jake O’Neill, senior marketing manager, Vuelio; Rupa Shah, founder and director of Hashtag Ad Consulting; and Andrew Terry, partner and head of intellectual property & media, Eversheds Sutherland.

Tackling influencer marketing governance

The value exchange between an organisation and influencer is the driver of the relationship. It can be exclusive access to content, products and services, or financial remuneration.

The tension between earned and paid isn’t only a challenge for marketing and public relations practitioners. It has also led to influencers themselves breaching advertising and trading standards law.

In the UK influencer campaigns are governed by existing ASA and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) laws. Members of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) are also covered by their codes of conduct.

We’re all influencers now

The common perception of influencers is individuals on Instagram or YouTube flogging stuff. In fact, the market is maturing and is far more nuanced.

Influence is often confused with popularity. But influence is the ability to shape or change a person’s opinion or behaviour. Similarly, influence is often used interchangeably with advocacy, but influence is not necessarily positive. Brands can suffer the effect of negative influencers just as much as from positive ones.

Selling is only one outcome of working with influencers. Other outcomes include brand awareness, crisis communications, employee advocacy, and social change.

Who owns influencer marketing within brands?

The discussion about who owns influencer marketing is futile. It should be integrated across all areas of an organisation from R&D and new product development through to acquisition, and after sales.

In many ways the battle has already been lost to the marketing industry. Typically, influencers are treated as media and bought as part of a marketing campaign. In fact, public relations should have a role in influencer marketing because the bigger opportunity is to establish long term relationships.

“The public relations industry has been slow to offer leadership on influencer marketing to practitioners and influencers. We’ve been here before with search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, and content marketing. It’s important that PR doesn’t miss out again,” said Scott Guthrie, independent influencer marketing consultant.

Governance for influencer marketing webinar

Sarah Waddington, #FuturePRoof founder and editor, and I, will talk about the #FuturePRoof guide on a Vuelio webinar at 11am on 7 November. Please follow this link for more information and to register.