by Mattr Marketing | Apr 11, 2018
Some of the most followed and cherished Instagram accounts out there belong to animals. Grumpy looking cats, rescued foxes, hedgehogs wearing clothes; but none more so than the dogs of Instagram. There are tens of thousands of profiles belonging to these furry creatures of every size, shape, and personality. Chances are you, and everyone you know, follows at least one of these influential pups on social media. You see them everyday, always scrolling past their uploads liking their pictures and “awwing” at their adorableness, and in your mind, you don’t see them as “influencers.” But why? They have the following, they have the engagement, and just like every other influencer, they have an audience that feels truly connected to their lives. Here’s why you shouldn’t underestimate the dogs of Instagram.
Everybody Loves Them
It is just a fact that most of the world loves dogs and because of this, they have garnered quite the diverse audience. Unlike beauty or food influencers their audience is not niche and the demographics and psychographics of their followers varies tremendously, something rare in influencer marketing. Men and women, young and old–there is not a target group out there that can resist following these dogs. Their reach is far and wide, but their engagement is not to be ignored. According to a study by Collective Bias, pet influencers engage 10x as many users as human influencers. And another study found that brands saw up to 295% more comments on content with pets. With engagement like that, and reaches higher than many celebrities, it’s not hard to see how the dogs of Instagram are beloved by many, especially millennials, one of the larger groups contributing to the dogs’ reach and engagement. This is due largely to the fact that not only are millennials extremely active on social media, but 1 in 3 are pet owners themselves.
Their Opinions Are Trusted
Because millennials make up the majority of pet parents and are said to be 76% more likely to splurge on a pet rather than themselves, the pet products and services industry grew to nearly $70 billion last year. People take their pet purchasing decisions very seriously and look for experts in the field to help make these decisions. These accounts might be from the dog’s point of view, but they are run by some very devoted pet owners. Just as with any other influencer, lots of time and hard work is put into building these influential accounts. Anyone that dedicated to their dog’s Instagram accounts is more than likely choosing the best of the best for their pets. And it shows too! These are good looking dogs, whether they are old, just born, purebred, mutts, disabled, show dogs, or newly rescued, they are obviously being extremely well taken care of. Since these owners have this influential platform, they have had the opportunity to try many brands and give their honest opinions. Opinions that their followers trust and appreciate. So who better to turn to when deciding what food, leashes, or toys are best?
More than just dog brands
Although these little creatures are perhaps the best advocates for dog care and health, they surely don’t limit themselves to just that. Just like a travel influencer that promotes clothing or a mommy influencer that sponsors food, dog influencers sponsor much more than just dog related products. When looking at the audience data of some of these dogs, we found that their audience have interest in more than just pet products, including family, food, toys, and even technology. Instagrams like Ps.Ny have done sponsorships with drink brands like Bai and T2 Tea. Take a look at Jiff Pom, a certified celebrity, promoting everything from dog food, Target, and tech. This idea might sound strange, but because these dogs have so much personality, they find a way to seamlessly make it fit with their page. In influencer marketing, sometimes it’s important to recognize differences between the influencer and their audience. The audience is well aware that these type of brand partnerships would be coming from the viewpoint of the owners, it just helps to have their pets be the face of the campaign.
Needless to say, the time has come to stop ignoring these accounts and passing them off as something other than genuine influencers. Whether they are promoting dog specific brands, new t.v. shows, or even fun snacks and drinks, dog influencers could be the perfect opportunity to help gain brand awareness by getting in front of an audience that may never have seen your product otherwise. Behind the adorable faces, there is true power and a loyal and loving audience.
About MATTR
MATTR is the only full-service influencer marketing provider with detailed audience insights from PersonaMesh™. We go beyond demographics into psychographics such as values and interests so that your influencer campaigns align with your campaign targets.
by Mattr Marketing | Apr 6, 2018
AUSTIN, Texas – April 10, 2018 – Today Mattr announced the creation of a module within its influencer marketing platform that marketers can use to prove that they, and any partners they work with, are in compliance with federal social media marketing regulations.
Compliance with federal regulations has been challenging for marketers since the Federal Trade Commission introduced social media guidelines stating the disclosures necessary for sponsored posts in 2015. Since then, 90% of paid endorsements were undisclosed by the brand or influencer involved. In 2017, 93 brands and influencers were contacted by the FTC about undisclosed sponsored posts. However, this year the FTC has formed a dedicated team responsible for enforcing proper compliance, so the number is expected to rise.
Federal regulation compliance is an especially important issue for brands because ultimately they are the responsible party in any sponsored post relationship. A brand can be penalized if an influencer promoting their product or service doesn’t include the proper disclosures in their post.
Tamper-Proof Audit Trail
Mattr’s new module provides marketers with a solution to the compliance challenges they’ve faced over the past three years. Powered by blockchain-based Ethereum technology, the new module offers marketers tamper-proof compliance with FTC regulations, as well as with the various components of influencer marketing contracts. It both logs activities and notifies clients of compliance issues, providing immediate, actionable information.
- FTC Compliance – Mattr can offer brands peace of mind that any and all sponsored post disclosures, including those by influencers they partner with, have been made and are in compliance with the FTC guidelines. The technology behind the brand’s new module offers a transparent trail of proof that content was published, when it was published, and what exactly was published. This proof record is stored as a checksum on the public blockchain, meaning it can never be edited or deleted, and that any attempt to change the original content will also be recorded.
- Mattr Compliance – In addition to FTC Compliance, Mattr’s new module also can be used to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions included in contracts with influencers. Tracking the activities of paid influencers under contract is important to brands, but is typically a very manual process. Mattr’s module can automate the process and be customized to track influencer activities that are specific to their contracts, such as:
- Industry-specific regulations, such as FDA requirements for pharmaceutical companies
- Using special hashtags or keywords
- Not mentioning competitors
- Including custom tracking hyperlinks
“Mattr’s compliance module will help clients run more effective, more transparent influencer campaigns,” said Jack Holt, CEO of Mattr. “But it will also save them money by eliminating the need for internal compliance audits. Since data is stored in the blockchain, it’s totally tamper-proof.”
About Mattr
Mattr is leading the way for revolutionary insight into influencer audiences. Mattr searches beyond celebrities to discover brand-aligned mid and micro influencers with like-minded audiences. Our dedicated account and community management team brings ease and end-to-end assistance to the entire influencer campaign process. As a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Association, Mattr is using blockchain-based Ethereum technology to to innovate influencer marketing technologies. Learn more at http://www.mattr.co.
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Media Contact:
Kevin York
Kevin York Communications for Mattr
574-361-5599
[email protected]
by Mattr Marketing | Apr 4, 2018
Close your eyes and picture a cleaning commercial; Windex, Dirt Devil, Bounty, etc, it doesn’t matter. Now picture a cooking commercial. Who comes to mind advertising the product? It’s a woman, isn’t it? A middle aged, stay-at-home mother in an earth tone cardigan and perfect hair, most likely. Before you feel guilty for jumping to conclusions, know that it’s not your fault. Nearly every cleaning or cooking ad we see is centered around women. Now, I know what you’re thinking–this is just business. Women do a majority of the housework so they are who you should be marketing to. But as they have with most things, millennials are here to shake up the stereotypes in the marketing industry. Here is why you should be using dads for your cooking and spring cleaning influencer campaigns.
Why Men?
Before you roll your eyes at the idea, don’t worry; I’m not just suggesting this to make some sort of social commentary on gender roles. Sure it’s edgy and very in-style to use a “non-typical”, but this one actually makes sense! Every year we see the statistics on stay-at-home dads rising. The U.S. Census reported last year that nearly 2 million fathers are now remaining at home with the kids – 16% of the stay-at-home population, a percentage that continues to grow throughout the years. This means more men, specifically dads, are at home throughout the day taking care of the children, cooking, and housework. Of course, statistics show that women are still doing a majority of the housework, but the percentage of men taking on the chores can no longer be ignored by marketers. In fact, 43% of men reported doing food preparation and cleanup around the house in 2015 and fathers report to put in about nine hours a week on household chores, which may seem small, especially to any women reading, but this number has more than doubled since 1965.
In 2018 we are starting to see roles in the household vary more drastically between families. No one has a “normal” family dynamic, and that’s something brands need to be aware of. Men and women are equal in the home, which we see especially in millennial marriages. Reaching these men could open up whole new target for your brand. And even if women are still doing most of the housework, seeing a husband promote the latest toilet cleaner could be a refreshing new sight, much appreciated by both men and women!
Why Influencer Marketing?
As this idea of a traditional family dynamic shifts, so does the idea of traditional advertising. And you already know what we are going to say next…influencer marketing is the way to go. We talked in our last blog about how active moms are on social media. But shocking to many marketers, myself included, dads are just as active! Like moms, dads are following accounts that they are passionate about and they can relate to, and 69% take action from content they see. This means they are actually engaging with influencers online. Instagram usage by adults has grown by 2x since 2012. Not only are moms and dads following their passions and interests, but they’re using the platform to discover and interact with brands they care about. Millennial dads have also reported that they turn to the internet in their time of need as a parent.
If fathers are feeling clueless about what to buy, they could find trust and recommendations from influencers they follow, namely their fellow dads. This could be the perfect opportunity to leverage great dad influencers to show off why your cleaning brand is the best. Or to show some great simple recipes for family dinners! Don’t get distracted by the tens of thousands of mom bloggers on social media–dad bloggers are out there too! Adventurous dads, hip dads, gay dads, stay-at-home dads, and millennial dads all have influence throughout social media, and their engagement is through the roof! Josh Davis, Alan Lawrence, Aubrey McCoy, Devon & Rob, and David Clark are just a few of the great men on the platform with voices that can influence other fathers and help boost sales.
So we know now that fathers are taking on household work, they are active on social media, and there are plenty of great dad influencers to engage with. But there is perhaps a bigger reason why more dads needs to be represented online. Many millennial fathers talk about how they rely on the internet for information on parenting and household duties. However, they reported to feel underrepresented in this area online. Dads don’t see content relative to them since most brands in the household/childcare industry focus solely on mothers. This could be the perfect opportunity for brands to create that content fathers need to see through influencers. Creating relatable content for fathers, and young fathers especially, is important for any of these brands trying to reach a new and bigger audience. You need them, and it sounds like they need you too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to stop reaching to mothers, but broaden your horizon. Why not reach both?
Conclusion
When we think of cleaning we think of women and mothers. But more and more men every year are helping to take on the role as the “housewife”…or rather “househusband.” There are so many reasons why using fathers in influencer marketing is the way to go. Men are taking on this role and they are paying attention to online content to gain knowledge in this area. The market is there for you and most men are ready to embrace seeing themselves in this role in media. You have the chance to stand out here! Sounds like a win/win to me. Socially and logistically, using father influencers for cleaning and cooking products just makes sense.
About MATTR
MATTR is the only full-service influencer marketing provider with detailed audience insights from PersonaMesh™. We go beyond demographics into psychographics such as values and interests so that your influencer campaigns align with your campaign targets.
