In the complex world of modern commerce, businesses have to deal with the evolving concept of economic influence.
Traditional economic influence refers to the external pressures exerted on firms by the ebbs and flows of economic cycles. These pressures can stem from changes in consumer behaviour, shifts in market demand or broader economic trends.
Today, the “influencer economy” represents a seismic shift in the dynamics of economic influence, which is propelled by digital revolutions. The new economy has created a new profession, that of influencers, who are individuals with the power to affect purchasing decisions and shape perceptions through social media platforms.
Influencers’ ability to sway public opinion and consumer behaviour introduces a new form of economic pressure that businesses must navigate.
Influencers are generally younger adults, mainly Gen Zs born between 1997 and 2010. According to a recent research study, 54% of young Americans would become an influencer if given the chance.
Their desire reflects a deep economic pessimism that is gripping Gen Zs. Surveys conducted in the US confirm that 23% of this generation never expect to retire, while 59% do not own or expect to own a home in their lifetime.
The dreams of becoming rich in a relatively short time are often no more than a mirage.
Influencers’ dreams may be understandable: there are some examples of social-media superstars, from fashionistas and comedians to gamers, making hundreds of thousands of euros for a post promoting the wares of some brand.
Today, consumers spend more of their lives on social media, so business leaders see influencers as a means to increase their turnover and revenue.
Companies are spoiled for choice and increasingly focus on influencers to create content for narrower audiences, such as fashion tips for the over-60s or gardening for city dwellers. More businesses realise that influencers, or “creators”, as many prefer to be called, have become integral to how consumers shop. Younger generations of consumers and boomers rely on influencers to help them choose products to buy.
Scott Cook is an American billionaire businessman and co-founder of Intuit, a business software company. He once said “a brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is. It is what consumers tell each other it is”.
In today’s e-commerce environment, virtually anyone can get online to talk and show their experience with your brand, products and services. Today, that content drives what your brand represents to other consumers.
Political communication strategists will do well to learn lessons from e-commerce experiences
Remember when you last bought a product online or researched what restaurant to choose for dining out. What helped you find and form an opinion about that brand or product? Most likely, it was user-generated content.
Today, in addition to a brand’s content about products, many consumers write reviews online. There are bloggers, influencers and just everyday social media users sharing opinions, photos, how-to videos and lifestyle content involving products and services. The influence economy is essentially the emocratisation of product content across all these content creators.
Brands and retailers have traditionally focused on what they want to sell versus what consumers actually want from them.
To succeed, sellers must take the time to truly listen and gather insights from content interactions and experiences between these social media groups.
They must also take a data-led approach to know confidently what to prioritise to create a better customer and product experience.
Political parties are, in some ways, not very different from large businesses in how they communicate with people.
Ordinary people are today less impressed with what traditional political labels stand for or what politicians say they believe in.
Like all consumers, they rely on their own experience of what politicians can do to improve their lives. They vent their frustrations on social media when they feel they are being shortchanged by their leaders’ insensitivity to how ordinary people are affected by political mismanagement.
Rather than engage in mellifluous rhetoric, politicians must feel the pulse of people’s perceptions of how political action or inaction affects their lives. After all, for most people, political perceptions are equivalent to reality.
Political communication strategists will do well to learn lessons from e-commerce experiences where consumer-powered content is the catalyst that ignites consumer confidence, inspiration and loyalty.
We are living in a world where we are being forced to embrace the loss of control over what a brand represents. Forward-thinking business and political leaders must start preparing for and taking part in the influence economy now.