It’s not just the online personalities, but your friends, family,
passing comments, online reviews and so much more.
We’re surrounded, every day, by different influences.
Whether it’s social communities on Reddit, the rise of B2B
influencers, unexpected partnerships or simply listening to
your audience, join us as we delve into the many faces of
influence, diving straight into what matters most in 2024.
THE CHANGING FACE
OF INFLUENCE
From Love Island and your high school
teachers, to purchasing power and the
sway of Group Chat recommendations,
we find influence in all areas of life.
DID YOU KNOW?
The idea of influence actually dates back to the
first century AD. In ancient Rome, Gladiators were
at the forefront of public entertainment, helping
them to achieve celebrity status amongst
their peers. As a result, manufacturers turned
to Gladiators for product endorsements.
If champions were enjoying your wine over
your competitors, surely the citizens of Rome
would enjoy it too? Here, we see the first known
example of individuals having purchasing power
over their communities.
INFLUENCER
MARKETING SIZE
THE MEANING OF INFLUENCE
2022
2023
2016
1.7B
16.4B
21.1B
THE MEANING OF INFLUENCE
HAS CHANGED
We’ve come a long way since influencers first broke onto
the social scene in the late noughties. Create content > post
it > influence. Job done.
In 2024, influencing is not a linear process. Multiple
touchpoints (both on social and in real life) means the
journey is longer and more fragmented. A consumer might
start off unaware of a product but be hit with a single
piece of paid partnership content from an influencer.
From there, the consumer views the brand profile, showing
some interest. They’ll read some online reviews – maybe
a Subreddit too. They’ll chat to their friends, see another
influencer post about the product and check the reviews
again. Finally, it gets to pay day, and they’ll purchase the
product in-store. Consider them influenced.
That’s why at eight&four, we consider the entire ecosystem
of influence in our planning. This ranges from social
creators and ambassadors to your community and brand
partnerships. All of whom have the power to drive mass
levels of influence in different areas, in different ways.
Given the speed at which B2B
grows, using influencers to
connect with audiences seems like
an obvious choice for businesses
looking for success. Until recently,
the B2B world has largely written
off influencer collaborations, with
many being slow to accept just
how powerful these partnerships
can be. Part of the problem lies
in knowing exactly what counts
as influence – and how to make
them work for your business.
Influence in the B2B spectrum
comes from multiple places –
customers, media, employees
and thought-leaders to mention
a few. Such individuals usually
have a sizeable social media
following, guaranteeing impact
in a specific sector. While the
process might be similar to B2C
(e.g., vetting, content generation,
awareness), it’s no longer a copy
and paste – there are some key
differences to be aware of.
THE
BRAND
POV
GETTING
DOWN TO
BUSINESS
When we think of social
creators, we often first think of
B2C influencers – those trying
to endorse a product to their
community of consumers. Social
creators cover so much more.
Recently, we’ve seen the rise of
movements like de-influencing
and an explosion of AI influencers
on our feeds. Brands are starting
to branch out and work with the
unexpected.
But an area gaining significant
momentum is B2B influencer
marketing.
We’re talking less
traditional platforms..
think LinkedIn! B2B
taps into those
spaces where
industry experts are.
THE BENEFITS
49% of C-Suite marketers believe
Influencers help the brand achieve
a more credible, believable, and
trusted opinion than it can by itself.
36% of brand teams suggested
working with Influencers helped them
improve their product or business
through valuable expert feedback.
48% believe the authentic two-way
communication that Influencers create
with their customers cannot be replicated
to the same level directly with the brand.
Source: The Global Rise of B2B Influencer Marketing - Ogilvy, 2023
SOCIAL CREATORS
PLATFORM
These people aren’t
your typical content
creators. Brands
should consider the
gravitas and impact
that an individual
can bring to a certain
topic, and how they
can drive intrigue
around it.
CONTENT
Closed APIs on
platforms like LinkedIn
mean attribution is
difficult. Establish
what success means
to the brand early on.
MEASUREMENT
22%
64%
of 16-24-year-olds
said they have
engaged with
‘de-influencer’
content since the
start of the cost
of living crisis.
of 16-24-year-
olds said they had
decided not to
spend with a brand
as a direct result of
engaging with
‘de-inlufencer’
content.
OBSERVATION:
Small businesses tend to be reluctant to try new
marketing platforms – many of them question if TikTok is
the right platform for them.
BRAND INSIGHT:
To change this perception, TikTok needed to involve real
businesses and tell real success stories in the content.
SOLUTION:
TikTok curated and produced content to inform small
business owners how to use the platform to grow their
business and the benefits of using TikTok Promote. First,
they identified and collaborated with successful small
businesses on TikTok. Content was then filmed by the
business owners, then edited and published on their
business pages and adapted for paid social.
RESULT:
Leveraging small business owners helped craft authentic
CASE STUDY: TIKTOK EDUCATION
OUR POV
B2B influencers are becoming an
important piece of the influence puzzle.
While measurement & attribution can be
hard to quantify and B2B fees might be
worthy of fainting, we see untapped value
in working with industry experts. They must:
EMBRACE EMOTION
Real people create real impact
BE INVESTED IN THE PARTNERSHIP
Beyond the financial
INTEGRATE ACROSS ALL AREAS
Social, marketing, feedback
TIKTOK EDUCATION X
SMALL BUSINESSES
OBSERVATION: Small businesses tend to be reluctant to try
new marketing platforms – many of them question if TikTok
is the right platform for them.
BRAND INSIGHT: To change this perception, TikTok needed
to involve real businesses and tell real success stories
in the content.
SOLUTION: TikTok curated and produced content to inform
small business owners how to use the platform to grow their
business and the benefits of using TikTok Promote. First, they
identified and collaborated with successful small businesses
on TikTok. Content was then filmed by the business owners,
then edited and published on their business pages and
adapted for paid social.
THE RESULTS: Leveraging small business owners helped craft
authentic narratives that effectively contextualised TikTok’s
added value for these enterprises.
LONG-TERM,
BUT LACKING
IN CREATIVITY
When we think of ambassadors, we
think about long-term partnerships
– brands, working with genuine
advocates to help create authentic
content and sustain exposure to
warm audiences on social.
What’s apparent though, is that
brands are struggling with this
concept. One-off partnerships
and shorter campaigns offer more
flexibility and scope for creativity.
Long-term partnerships need to
maintain a level of consistency
which means the approach to
content is different. Instead, we’re
seeing the creative output via
the influencer/brand pairing – as
opposed to the content produced
by the talent.
AMBASSADORS
OUR POV
Ambassadors continue to be
instrumental to brands, but to
gain maximum value out of
these partnerships, brands
need to think outside of the box.
Supercharging creativity is all
about avoiding typically “safe”
content or predictable topics.
So, keep your audiences interested,
engaged, and surprised through
the content output.
• SURPRISE AND DELIGHT AUDIENCES
• EXPLORE DIFFERENT SPACES: THINK
ABOUT WHERE YOUR AUDIENCE IS
• RELEVANCY IS KEY FOR GENUINE
PARTNERSHIPS
Creativity can be found within
the unexpected… darling.
Taking social by storm, makeup
brand Charlotte Tilbury recently
announced a landmark partnership
with the F1 Academy, in a bid to
empower young women to chase
their dreams. Capitalising on the
brands “dare to dream” messaging,
Charlotte Tilbury will be supporting
fifteen young drivers, aged 16-25.
The Charlotte Tilbury car will be
driven by Lola Lovinfosse – a French
driver hoping to inspire the next
generation of women in motorsport.
The partnership was met with an
overwhelmingly positive response
on social, with many noting that it
was a celebration that girls can go
racing AND be ‘girly’ at the same
time.
Time for a victory lap, Charlotte
Tilbury!
CHARLOTTE TILBURY
X F1 ACADEMY
No one should underplay the
level of influence that a group of
NetMums has when it comes to
advising on the right way to
co-sleep with a newborn. These
are real people, giving their real
opinions, en mass. They represent
multiple perspectives from
individuals who are completely
impartial, as opposed to a brand
or influencer who might be paid for
their review. Communities highlight
the astounding power of the
collective.
An important concept to consider
when looking at communities, is the
idea of Digital Campfires.
COMMUNITIES
Digital Campfires have not only
become a force defining how
younger audiences connect, but
also how they experience and shape
broader culture. While it’s crucial that
we don’t underestimate the level of
influence in these spaces, there are
some watch outs:
1.
These are consumer spaces.
Brands and advertisers should
be mindful of how they access
and use them
2. Listen to the conversation: and
don’t underestimate it. Natural,
integrated experiences should
be the heart of any brand
activity in said campfires. Young
consumers are smart. They don’t
tolerate inauthenticity.
3. Understanding and measuring
the true impact of your activity
will be difficult. Many social
listening & reporting tools will not
support analysis of these spaces
– so deciding what ‘success’
looks like is key.
DIGITAL
CAMPFIRES
Coined by strategist Sara Wilson,
these are “micro-communities of
people communicating together”
via private spaces e.g., Facebook
Groups, WhatsApp chats, Instagram
Close Friends & Broadcast channels,
and of course Reddit. But if we dive
into this further, there’s more to the
story.
Social platforms are continuing
to report robust growth. What
they’re not reporting is that a key
demographic is retreating from
major platforms. Young people are
craving privacy online, looking for
respite. As a result, we’re seeing
them gravitate towards more
intimate destinations, creating
more Digital Campfires. A seemingly
attractive alternative.
THE POWER
OF THE
COLLECTIVE
WHICH BRANDS ARE ALREADY TOASTING
MARSHMALLOWS ROUND THE FIRE?
ITV X TWITCH
THE BRIEF: As young people drift away from traditional broadcast
platforms, ITV wanted to draw Gen Z viewers to its on-demand service,
ITV Hub, by producing a one-off immersive, inclusive experience based
around its 2021 “Drama vs Reality” campaign.
THE IDEA: A one-off live stream event hosted by Iain Stirling featured
popular streamers, battling through custom-branded challenges
based around key ITV programming, all for their team.
The audience had to declare their loyalty to #TeamReality or
#TeamDrama and engaged in the experience through authentic
conversations and talent interaction.
THE RESULTS: By facilitating an inclusive environment where anyone,
anywhere, could join in, ITV was giving back to the audience and
engaging with them in a meaningful way, while meeting its brand
awareness goals.
118K livestream viewers
16K clicks to ITV HUB
20% increase in brand awareness for ITV HUB
CASE STUDY: ITV X TWITCH
OUR POV
It’s not simple or straightforward to reach
audiences within Digital Campfires. When it
comes to brands, there could be big payoffs
– loyalty, retention, and long-term love – if
done right. Here’s what we think:
UNDERSTAND WHAT DRIVES THE COMMUNITY
Conversations are complex and the noise is
rich with diverse opinions.
BUT NOT AS
YOU KNOW IT
Our final area to look at is brand partnerships – but not as you know
it. In recent months, we’ve seen a rise in unexpected, unconventional,
and downright weird marriages between brands.
Whether it’s Crocs partnering with Disney’s movie Cars, or e.l.f
Cosmetics creating a limited-edition collection with Chipotle
(including an eyeshadow palette inspired by burrito toppings),
brands are thinking outside-the-box. Nothing is off the table.
“I want to go viral”. Famous last words.
Truth is, there’s no guaranteed way to go viral on social. Virality is
completely unpredictable. It doesn’t just depend on how good, or
funny your content is. There’s a lot at play – platform algorithms,
audience sizes, current culture. Sorry to burst your bubble.
There are, however, ways to increase your chances
of going viral. We’re going to look at what it takes:
PUT COMMUNITY AT THE HEART
Listen to your audience on social. Understand
the conversation and what drives it.
REACTIVITY AND SPEED
Jump on topical moments or trends
that feel relevant for your brand.
URGENCY
Use this to increase purchasing power
or footfall in a short space of time.
SOCIAL VIRALITY:
WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
WHO’S DOING IT WELL?
HEINZ X ABSOLUT VODKA
It really does pay to listen to your audience. A masterclass in doing so
can be seen in the Heinz X Absolut Vodka collaboration from 2023.
After launching their first-ever range of pasta sauces in 2022, Heinz
Director of New Ventures asked “OK, what’s next?”.
Social listening highlighted the trending vodka pasta recipe, which
gained traction after model Gigi Hadid cooked it. Heinz (whose heritage
lies with tomatoes not vodka) moved quickly and partnered with
Absolute, an icon in the world of spirits - a sure-fire way to disrupt the
established pasta sauce category.
The product quickly overtook ketchup to become Heinz top-selling
product, and the response on social was huge. Heinz saw over 7.2M
video views on TikTok, 550 pieces of content and a huge uplift in
engagement and UGC.
CASE STUDY: HEINZ X ABSOLUT
To create a partnership
that can grab attention and
engage users, brands need
to balance authenticity with
the unexpected, paying
close attention to what their
audience cares about. Brands
should keep social spaces
at the forefront of planning,
creating an experience on
social that feels unique.
OUR POV
SOCIAL IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR
SHAPRING CULTURAL DISCOURSE
Listen to the conversation
UNEXPECTED MARRIAGES WILL WIN
TIME CAMPAIGNS STRATEGICALLY
Launch partnerships around key dates
It’s clear that influence comes in many different shapes and is
evolving at an incredible pace. For brands and advertisers, there’s a
unique opportunity to show up in different spaces and build love with
audiences. Though promising, influence isn’t without its watchouts –
which should be considered when planning to ensure experiences
feel natural and integrated. Brands who listen to their audience will
succeed, prioritising authenticity and harnessing the power of influence
to cultivate long-lasting loyalty.
If you need any guidance on leveraging influence
on social, our specialised teams are here to help.
Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you:
ines.casas@eightandfour.com
BECKY EVANS
Influencer Manager
WORK WITH US
CONTRIBUTORS
ANNIE HARTE
Social Strategist
INES CASAS
Social Director
TO CONCLUDE