by Mattr Marketing | Oct 16, 2019
The year is 2004. You wait patiently in front of the TV for that new scooter commercial to come on Nickelodeon so you can show your parents exactly what you want for Christmas. Meanwhile, your mom flips the channel to see the latest Great Wolf Lodge commercial trying to decide where the fam should travel for the holiday. But, gone are the days of scripts and actors showing you the coolest hotel destinations or circling the latest toys in catalogs. Social media, and specifically influencers, have changed many things in our consumer lives. Especially the way we do the holidays, and it’s time for all brands to notice.
Gifts
Perhaps the most obvious are the gifts that are making our wish lists. We are spending more time on social media than watching television or reading the paper or listening to the radio. And even if it is subconscious, your Christmas list is probably made up of things you have seen scrolling through Instagram. If you ask most Gen Zs what they are asking for for the holidays they will probably direct you to a James Charles video of his latest makeup palettes or maybe something from a former Bachelor contestant’s new clothing line. Word of mouth marketing is generating twice as many sales as direct advertising and people’s purchasing decisions are coming from those they trust, and content creators are high on the that list.
Travel
The holidays are one of the most popular times to take vacations. Did you know that searches to travel to Thailand grew by 158% after the Kardashians visited there back in 2014? Celebs and influencers online have a huge say in the hottest travel destinations. Children can have a huge say in a family’s travels, and 50% of Gen Z take their travel suggestions from destinations they find through Instagram. We are discovering new and exciting places around the world through travel influencers and many of them are dedicated to showing you the best times to visit, how to do it on a budget, and even how to travel with a family. What better way to become your own travel agent then to take tips from some experts?
Festivities
Have you seen Pinterest during the holidays? It’s like an influencer dream. Well, you shouldn’t underestimate its power. In fact, nine in ten pinterest users use their pins to plan purchase decisions. Recipe developers, homemakers, even party planners on social media have a huge influence over the way we are decorating, planning, and cooking during the holiday season. They encourage their audiences to step up their game when it comes to Christmas decor or the Thanksgiving meal spread. And remember, millennials began the tradition of ditching the traditional, so there are so many opportunities to leverage influencers to seamlessly work your brand into a new and fun holiday tradition.
Conclusion
Influencers predict trends, which is what makes them so powerful. Whether that trend is a new holiday meal, an exciting winter escape for the family, or the latest fashion pieces and tech gadgets to give as gifts, they are the greatest experts to turn to when predicting the holiday trends. Influencer marketing has stolen Christmas and helps dictate the way we are celebrating every year, making it one of the most important seasons for influencer campaigns, no matter your brand.
About Mattr
MATTR, leaders in influencer campaigns for highly regulated industries, 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 | Oct 3, 2019
It’s safe to say now that “influencer marketing” is no longer a new term. Most likely if you are a marketer, no matter your brand, you have not only heard of influencer marketing, but are finding more and more ways to implement influencers into your social planning. Influencer marketing has come a long way in the past years, but the truth is, we have a long way to go. Since most other advertising mediums have been around for decades longer, they have found more ways to get creative in their space. Who says influencer marketing can’t be the same way?
Brands Getting More Involved
This might sound contradictory to past blogs we’ve written, but there are actually ways brands can get more involved with influencers without crossing the influencer’s creative boundaries. One of the best examples of this might come from one of the largest YouTubers, David Dobrik and his partnership with SeatGeek. They go beyond just having David discuss what the app does and how it works. They have found a way to work seamlessly with his content to incorporate themselves into his videos, and surprisingly, not even in an annoying product placement type of way. They have helped him give his friends tickets to world series, to MMA fights, even helping him purchase cars for those in need. Their giving nature through this influencer has not only helped their awareness spread to millions and millions of people, but they have also made a name for their brand as a giving and charitable organization. SeatGeek has found a way to be a huge part of these videos online through heartwarming and impactful stories.
Becoming More Interactive
As we mentioned in a previous blog, influencer marketing is not synonymous with Instagram. In fact, it’s not synonymous with any social platform. Influencers have evolved from the idea of “word-of-mouth marketing” and when you look at influencer marketing in that light, many other doors start to open. Another way of utilizing influencers is through experiential marketing. It is a way for influencers and your brand to engage with your audience through personal interactions, in real-time. You can help a few micro influencers host house parties, or maybe have some hyper-local influencers show up to a new local store opening, or even having a large macro influencer at some pop-up shops or live events. The possibilities are endless to gain real world engagement, instead of a simple ‘like’.
The only risk through house parties and live events to showcase your product or service is that you do have to let go of more control. The conversations are open and honest so you have to trust your influencers and your product. But your audience will take notice of the effort and the authenticity of personal interactions like these. And that authenticity is what made influencers so impactful from the beginning.
Conclusion
We’ve said it time and time again: the beauty to being in a young space like influencer marketing is that there really are no rules. There are so many opportunities to be creative with your brand when it comes to influencers and there is no reason influencer marketing cannot expand its creativity just as every other type of marketing. The sky’s the limit and goes beyond just a simple in-feed Instagram post and caption. Now, we aren’t saying this doesn’t still work. But in a space that is becoming more and more saturated, now is the time to start getting more creative with your influencer planning before you just become another post to scroll through for viewers.
About Mattr
MATTR, leaders in influencer campaigns for highly regulated industries, 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 | Sep 18, 2019
Take it seriously, human
Over 100,000 Americans die each year from adverse drug reactions. So reporting adverse events (“AEs”) can be deadly serious. If you are managing an influencer campaign that can have comments, you absolutely must report AEs. You’ll be required to monitor and report them by the pharma; but should feel compelled to help your fellow members of the human race.
What exactly are Adverse Events?
“My hubby is diabetic and took this (drug for high cholesterol). A week later his blood glucose level is more stable than ever!”
The above is an example of a reportable AE, believe it or not! But the FDA’s definition is deceptively simplistic: “An adverse event means any untoward medical occurrence associated with the use of a drug in humans, whether or not considered drug related.”
It’s simplistic because in practice, AEs are far more nuanced. To summarize, there are four types:
1. Life threatening
2. Serious
3. Suspected
4. Unsuspected
No need to get into each of these beyond their labels but know they are deep with nuance and a good deal of subjectivity. The most typical AEs resemble the following:
“I lost a bunch of hair 3 months after starting (drug).”
“My daughter felt dizzy and horrible just after taking (drug).”
The usual answer from pharma risk managers is this: “if you think it may be an AE, report it.” Head over to the FDA for a full definition if you’d like to read up on each of them.
The big “no-no”
Depending on the pharma who owns the prescription drug you’ll either have to report it to them or directly to the FDA, which has an online submission process. If you happen to be external to the pharma you’ll need to go through fairly extensive training on AEs and how to report them.
In most all cases, AEs must be reported within 24 hours. Most pharmas will require you to check comments more than once per day, so you’ll really want a solid partner or platform.
The one big no-no is deleting the comment, or asking the influencer to delete it, after it may have been seen by the audience. And no, you can’t easily get away with it! Pharmas will have the option to audit comments you’ve collected and will compare them to what they see online.
Nike said it right
Just do it. If you have the means, leverage a platform like Mattr’s, which provides comments and will alert you if keywords are found. If you don’t have a solid platform, you’ll be doing it manually, which means you’ll have to convince the pharma you have the manpower. You’ll have to download all of them, too.
Adverse events and reactions are such a serious matter. Monitor and report even if you don’t think the pharma is looking closely – a fellow human might thank you for saving their life.
by Mattr Marketing | Sep 10, 2019
Eliminates Regulatory Barriers to Influencer Marketing for Pharma Companies
Austin, Tex. – September 10, 2019 – Today Mattr, the leading technology enabled full service influencer marketing provider, announced Campaign Manager – Pharma (CM-P), the first influencer marketing solution designed specifically for the pharmaceutical industry.
Two pharmaceutical companies are already running campaigns using CM-P.
CM-P is the latest solution from Mattr developed specifically to address the marketing challenges facing highly regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals.
Regulatory compliance has long made marketing difficult for companies selling pharmaceuticals. With such strict regulations in place, pharmaceutical companies struggle to adopt and incorporate the latest innovative marketing tactics. Influencer marketing is the latest example of this challenge.
Social media content published by pharmaceutical companies must go through onerous approval cycles prior to publishing, so many companies have hesitated to work with influencers, fearing they’d lose content oversight. Additionally, once content is published, community engagement on the content must be closely monitored. Certain comments could require Food & Drug Administration notification by the company. Failing to give that notification could result in penalties.
“We’ve actually had several pharmaceutical companies tell us that they didn’t think influencer marketing was an option for them until they found Mattr,” said Jack Holt, CEO and co-founder, Mattr.
CM-P, developed specifically for the pharmaceutical industry, solves the influencer marketing challenges facing pharmaceutical companies.
Adverse Effect Comment Moderation
The solution’s adverse effect comment moderation system automates community engagement monitoring and alerts, allowing pharmaceutical companies to easily abide by FDA regulations. If a comment is left on an influencer post that could warrant FDA notification, an alert is sent prompting the partnering pharmaceutical company to review the comment.
Additionally, the non-compete monitoring function can also be used by pharmaceutical companies to ensure influencers they work with don’t violate competitive restrictions included in the parameters of their relationship. Competitor handles and hashtags can be entered into the system to monitor usage, making it easier to quickly discover violations of influencer contracts.
Branded vs. Unbranded Campaigns
CM-P was developed to manage both types of campaigns pharmaceutical companies run: branded campaigns, which explicitly name a drug brand, and unbranded campaigns, which operate similar to a public service announcement and do not name a drug brand.
Content Review and Approval
CM-P features an easy to use environment for content review and approval. Since content faces such strict scrutiny prior to publishing, CM-P enables an influencer to upload content for approval from the pharmaceutical company prior to publishing or submission to its system for approval. This ensures that all content tied to the pharmaceutical brand is in compliance with federal regulations – and gives the company the opportunity to reject any content that may violate federal regulations.
“Based on what we’ve seen in our competitive research, Campaign Manager – Pharma is unique in that it’s uniquely developed with the tools and expertise needed for the pharmaceutical industry,” said Holt. “We put significant resources into gaining a deep understanding of the regulations they face. We wanted to make sure pharmaceutical companies would be very comfortable partnering with us since most have probably never done influencer marketing.”
CM-P also includes all the other benefits that Mattr’s core influencer marketing platform has provided to brands over the past six years:
- PersonaMesh Audience Matching – many influencer marketing platforms will align an influencer’s demographic and socioeconomic profile with the brand looking to work with them, but Mattr’s technology goes a step further, finding matches for the audience of influencers.
- Cost Per Engagement Model – this performance-based model ensures that brands are only paying for the results they receive from working with an influencer.
- Full Service Influencer Campaigns – Mattr offers the option of full service, white glove influencer activation and management, freeing brands from the time investment necessary to run influencer campaigns.
“Mattr is a company for highly regulated industries,” said Holt. “We’ve seen the barriers that prevent companies in industries like pharmaceuticals from running influencer campaigns. Over the past few years we’ve done significant research and development to eliminate those barriers. Campaign Manager – Pharma is the latest example of that. We’re very excited to be able to help pharmaceutical companies work with influencers to tell the stories of the medications they’re creating.”
About Mattr
MATTR, leaders in influencer campaigns for highly regulated industries, 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 | Sep 4, 2019
There is constant talk around the state of influencers in relation to what is happening on Instagram. With algorithm changes and the idea of likes disappearing, many marketers are worried about what this means for their influencer campaigns and many influencers are worried about what this means for their livelihood. But, we have to get rid of this idea that that the words “Instagram” and “Influencer” are synonymous with one another. Influencers existed long before Instagram did, and they will exist long after.
Instagram is not the end-all be-all
Social media is hard to predict, and Instagram has every right to make every rule in the book that makes influencer marketing feel impossible. Instagram right now knows they have the power. That marketers will do anything and everything they can to continue running campaigns through their site, because it’s Instagram! And it’s universally considered the best. And sure, right now Instagram dominates, but let’s not forget that there was also a time when Myspace dominated, and Facebook, and Snapchat, and etc. etc. This is not the end all be all of social media spaces. The reason they have stuck in there for so long is because they have been such an easy tool to use and to market on. But once that is not the case, it will not be long before a competitor rises. Instagram’s fall may seem impossible right now because of its popularity, but it’s social media and like all social media it can lose its “cool factor” in a matter of days.
Influencers aren’t giving up
For many, this is not a part time hobby; this is a full-time career that they have put their blood, sweat, and selfie game into. Influencers are influencers because they set trends in their categories. They are not ones to be afraid to step into unknown territory. This could be the case when it comes to other social media platforms. Remember several years ago when Vine was all the rage? You had Vine influencers with 4 million followers that maybe had 200 followers on Instagram. But the influencers that were smart and took seriously the threat of the app being deleted were proactive and took their talents to greener pastures. And surprise surprise, the good ones survived! Many of the top Vine creators went to YouTube and Instagram where their audiences followed and made the breakup with Vine a little less hard to deal with. Most good influencers are probably already building credible followings on other social media sites anyways.
Where influencers go, the others will follow
People enjoy following influencers. They have become this more approachable celebrity, like your best friend’s big sister, or your cool cousin. They are someone you feel comfortable dming and asking where they got that new jacket or how they can afford to go on the trips they take. At the same time, they are also living a heightened sense of reality; a life people envy and strive for. This is what makes their possessions desirable and why it’s so interesting to keep up with their lives. People want to be like them, and they feel like it’s possible to. Influencers have perfected walking that thin line between relatable and untouchable. These audiences have grown over the years and they look forward to hopping on Instagram and seeing what that influencer is doing or wearing today. When you become invested in the lives of an influencer you are going to follow their lives over to other platforms.
Influencers Find a Way
If you really think about it, influencers have technically existed before any social media, since the idea of an “influencer” actually comes as a much bigger extension of word-of-mouth marketing. A well-connected and influential person will exist and impact an audience no matter what medium they are speaking through. So in conclusion, there is nothing to worry about. As Jeff Goldblum once said, “life finds a way”. And as will influencers.
About MATTR: MATTR, leaders in influencer campaigns for highly regulated industries, 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.
