Influencer marketing isn’t going away any time soon – Babatunde
By Felicia Nwosu
Dotun Babatunde, a multi-disciplined creative and digital marketing communication professional, has asserted that influencer marketing is the next big game-changer in the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) space. He noted that it’s already revolutionising the way brands engage with consumers, and expected to deepen its penetration and play bigger roles in the advertising and marketing ecosystem in the future.
Itemizing some of the trends that will rule the marketing communication space in 2024, while featuring as one of the panelists at the recently concluded MARKETING EDGE Q4 2023 Virtual Summit themed ‘Integrated Marketing Communications: Trends to Watch Out for in 2024’, Babatunde noted that influencer marketing has occupied the center stage of marketing as a roadmap for cutting through the noise and capturing the attention of target audience. This, he added, is by offering brands robust ways to prioritise customer engagement and retention through User-Generated Content (UGC).
“Influencer marketing is here to stay; it is not going away anytime soon. But at the same time, there are certain things we have to put into consideration; that’s what I call the three R’s. It is in terms of the relationship with the brand, the relevance with the brand and more, of course, the reach. I don’t want to just look at an influencer because they have a huge reach; people are buying followers, people are also buying likes and buying engagement. How am I able to connect with an influencer that adds value to my brand, rather than just jumping on the newest trend?” he asked.
“You have to also consider value for money, because lots of these influencers don’t come cheap either. At the same time, how will I be able to get good content from them and get value for what I am paying for? It is not just about looking at content developers or influencers because of how big the number of followers they have or who is trending, but, more importantly, it’s how they put it over on the brand’s KPIs.
“I don’t want to have an influencer because they are the latest, I want an influencer that’s going to be able to be aligned with what my brand is here to talk about, what my brand is trying to achieve. We already know all the challenges that we are going to have to face, having to pay for our campaigns in dollars. It means that while the general cost of advertising is low, the actual cost of implementation is high because you have to pay in dollars,” he added.
Affirming that user generated content platforms like TikTok are here to stay, Babatunde, in his curiosity, wondered how brands will be leveraging this to optimise. He noted that contextual marketing is becoming more and more relevant now than ever before.
He pointed out the need to deepen internet penetration and inclusion to bring marketing to those in rural areas, mini urban centres that are outside the state capitals of most states, as well as embracing market expansion across the country with the infusion of culture and context to appeal to all consumers.
He also admitted that more than ever before, the privacy concerns and regulations are becoming more stringent with regulatory agencies such as Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and several others, which pose a challenge to the industry.
He noted the need for brands to create options to have both online and offline to enable people make their choice at where to have their experience during events.
“Not everybody can be everywhere at the same time. Why can’t I stay in my house and experience that same experience online from the comfort of my home? The future is going to always be the blend of the two. You cannot take one away from the other. You need to be able to do both offline as well as online experience when it comes to experience and activation. We are humans, no matter how good the technology is, we still want to connect with people as much as possible.”
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