22 Reading the News 1

UNIT 1
Influencer Marketing
PRE-READING TASKS
1. Read this excerpt from a blog about influencer marketing. Would you like to read
for more information from this blog? Why or why not?
What is influencer marketing?

At a fundamental level, influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that

uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a
dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. Influencer
marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built
up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social
proof to your brand’s potential customers.

2. Have you ever bought any products based on the review of an influencer? What
are the differences between a mega and micro influencer?
3. What is your own experience of any influencers or any products they endorse?
Share your experience with a partner
4. In your opinion, what kinds of product/service/activity would influencers often promote?

Beauty products Charity Fashion/clothing line

Technical devices Supplement diet Books/educational programs

READING FOCUS
Focus on the newspaper: INTRODUCING A TOPIC
Sometimes articles introduce a new idea of a product. To do this, the writer must give
detailed explanations.
1. Read the article as if it was the first time you had heard of influencers. Can you
understand what an influencer job is after reading the article without your prior
knowledge of the topic?
a. Who are influencers and where do you find them?
b. What makes influencers different from celebrities in product endorsement?
c. When did influencer marketing begin?
d. How can someone become an influencer? How do they stay in business?
2. Do you think the author did a good job explaining the effectiveness of influencers
in marketing? What would you add?
 Reading the News 1 23

Why Consumers Care About Influencers, and Why You Should Too?

More than half of people globally have bought something in the past six months
based on the recommendation of an online influencer.

By Jason Falls February 10, 2021

1
What do you think of when you hear
the word “pudding”? For most people, it
probably brings up some childhood memory
of after-school snacks. But one group
of people who may have a very different
answer is women who love their curly hair.
Pantene Pro-V Curl Defining Pudding is a
popular finishing-touch item in the brand’s
Gold Series of hair care products. It helps
curly hair stay moisturized, retaining its
natural curl without frizzing. influencer effort based on their number of
followers was more than 2.5 million people.
2
According to several dozen product The proof is indeed in the pudding.
reviews I read, it also smells good and leaves 4
hair shiny. The Curl Defining Pudding These numbers are strong, if not
was often mentioned by influencers in outstanding. More important for the brand,
Pantene’s Gold Series campaign in the early the main talking points and unique selling
summer months of 2019. The Procter & propositions were called out by each of the
Gamble brand chose 25 Black women who influencers. The specific products in the
were Instagram influencers, with content line, including the Curl Defining Pudding,
centered on beauty, hair and lifestyle. Four were mentioned. The fact that the Gold
of the influencers had a good number, but Series was developed by a team of Black
not millions of subscribers on YouTube. scientists was prominent in many of the
Each was engaged to place at least one posts. The influencer campaign did exactly
sponsored post apiece on each channel. The what the brand team hoped to accomplish:
goal was to drive awareness of Pantene’s create greater awareness of the Gold Series
Gold Series Collection, which includes the Collection within the intended target
Curl Defining Pudding. audience.
5
3
This was a Winfluence campaign,
At the time of the campaign, the not just an influencer marketing one. It
online influencers’ audiences ranged leveraged online influencers, but in a
from ChiziDuru’s (@chiziduru) 122,000 targeted manner with strategic purpose
Instagram followers to Lisa-Jean Francois’ that moved the business forward. It wasn’t
(@lisaalamode) 36,000. (Duru also had just buying sponsored posts on famous
381,000 YouTube subscribers, which were Instagrammers’ accounts and hoping
enough to place her on both lists of Pantene people would think you were cool by
Gold Series influencers — Instagram and association. Another factor that makes this
YouTube.) In total, the potential reach of the a Winfluence campaign is its construction.
 24 Reading the News 1

8
Even the largest advertiser in the world — Read that again. Not because of a
Procter & Gamble — with its bleeding- recommendation from a family member, a
edge marketing approaches, didn’t spend friend or an online review. More than half
marketing dollars on mega-influencers of people globally have bought something
with millions of followers. It focused on in the past six months based on the
mid-tier and even smaller influencers with recommendation of an online influencer.
engaged audiences who could persuade Consumers also confirm another assertion
those fans to take action. we’ve discussed: It’s not always about
popularity. An influencer’s ability to
Fish where the fish are connect with them in a meaningful way
is a better indicator of persuasive success
6
So let’s take a look at why Procter & than how many followers they have or
Gamble is investing their considerable how famous they are. Edelman’s namesake
resources in influence marketing online. president and CEO, Richard Edelman, told
They’re doing it because the internet is Ad Age while discussing the report,
where consumers decide to buy products. “Influencers matter. They’re credible.”
People who buy hair care products don’t
watch TV commercials, look for an ad in 9
The indicators are there. So is the data.
the Sunday paper or flip through magazines Consumers give a damn about influencers.
anymore. Instead, they’re looking for Enlightened brands know this and give a
information online. And more than any damn about them, too.
other company in the world, P&G knows
to fish where the fish are.
7
People don’t trust traditional media.
And people demand trust. For several
years now, the Edelman Trust Barometer
has been the bible on understanding
consumer trust. And the special report
on brands may as well have been a big,
flashing neon sign that said, “Consumers
Trust Influencers!” In it, 63% of people
said they trust influencers’ opinions of
products “much more” than what brands
say about themselves. And 58% — almost
six out of ten consumers — confirmed
they had bought a new product in the past
six months because of an influencer’s
recommendation.
Reading the News 1 25

UNDERSTANDING THE ARTICLE

1. Why do corporations like P&G hire influencers to promote their haircare
product? Look and the list of reasons below. Skim the article and then check which
ones are mentioned.

a. As a way to tell the customers about the new product £

b. As a way of getting attention £
c. As a way to promote the company £
d. As a way of feeling popular £
e. As a way of connecting with potential customers £
2. Can you add any more reasons to the list above?

3. Has the article changed your viewpoint of influencers and influencer marketing
in any way? If so, why?

VOCABULARY WORK
1. Guessing from context. Read the following words taken from the article from i to
v, guess their meaning by circling the suitable answer A or B.

i. Retain (para. 1) A. Maintain B. Continue to hold

ii. Leverage (para. 5) A. Balance between two B. Use something to maximum

things advantage
iii. Bleeding-edge (para. 5) A. New, experimental B. Dangerous, unsafe

iv. Assertion (para. 8) A. Confident statement B. Belief

of fact
v. Indicator (para. 8) A. Trend or fact to prove B. Trend or fact to measure the
something level of something

2. Complete the sentences below with a word from Exercise 1. You may need to
change to the plural form.

a .................................. are substances that change colour when they are added to acidic
or alkaline solutions
b. This book began with the .............................that it is the optimists who get things done.
c. Under the constitution, the provinces ……………………….. all the powers not
delegated to the federal government.
26 Reading the News 1

d. You can ........................................ private sector investment through loans.

e. However, in many cases....................................... software is pushed out to help validate
it and try out new features.

EXAM PREPARATION TASKS

1. Words and phrases explanation

Explain the following words and expressions, as used in the article.

a. finishing-touch item
…………………………………………………………………………………………

b. drive awareness
…………………………………………………………………………………………
c. The proof is indeed in the pudding
…………………………………………………………………………………………
d. target audience
…………………………………………………………………………………………
e. the bible on understanding consumer trust
…………………………………………………………………………………………
f. give a damn about
…………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Comprehension questions

Read the article and answer the following questions.

a. What kind of product does the author mention in the article? How does it differ
from other similar products?
…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

b. What did P&G do to promote their new product?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………
Reading the News 1 27

c. What kind of influencers did P&G hire for their campaign?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

d. What did influencers do to increase sales?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

e. Was their ad campaign successful? Why or why not?

…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
f. What does the author mean by saying “fish where the fish are”?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
g. Why do customers trust influencers more than TV commercials or newspaper ads?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
h. Why does the author take P&G as an example of an enlightened brand?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
1. “Influencers make us feel individual”. How far do you agree with this statement?
2. How popular is influencer marketing in your country?
3. What kind of marketing strategies do you think will be popular on the Internet
in the future?
 28 Reading the News 1

EXTRA READING
How Influencer Marketing Took Power, and What the Future Holds

By Kay Van Antwerpen December 8, 2020

have to break through the noise. Arguably

the most successful way to do this is to
seamlessly integrate yourself into the
social media experience alongside your
users. Don’t intrude upon their experience
— rather, become part of the experience.
6
This new philosophy is the reason
influencers have become essential.
Image credit: Violeta Stoimenova | Getty Images
The ideal influencer
1
In the last decade, the rise of social 7
For those without an influencer budget,
media rewrote marketing norms most of let’s get you up to speed: The most important
us had taken for granted. The relationship function of a social media influencer is,
between advertising, brand development, essentially, to eliminate blatant advertising
and storytelling looks different today than and invisibly bridge the gap between the
it ever has before. advertiser and consumer. Ideal influencers
2 are people who:
While marketing teams used to gauge
success in search impressions and website • Are already using and enthusiastic
clicks, that’s not entirely the case anymore. about your product.
Impressions are never bad, of course, but • Cast a wide social media net that
they fail to indicate how closely your includes your target audience/consumer
ad campaigns are resonating with your demographics.
audience. • Are already capable of creating
3
conversations about purchasing choices
Audience attention and engagement is with your target.
the new goal. • Is capable of both creating conversation
4 around your product, and influencing
Consumers are often unengaged with
their followers to make a purchase based
traditional advertising formats. Your ad
on perceived knowledge, authority, or
campaign may appear in front of millions
position (whether or not there is tangible
of people, but how many of them actually
authority is irrelevant - these decisions
consciously internalized the message you
are made based on style, branding, and
were sending?
popularity, not connoisseurship).
5
The present-day consumer is flooded 8
In old-school marketing terms, an
with television commercials, billboards, and
influencer is a multiplier — a single person
banner ads all grabbing for their attention.
who is capable of returning multitudes of
They’ve learned to subconsciously tune
purchases to your company.
them out. To reach your audience, you
 Reading the News 1 29

9 14
This may sound unusually risky to those As an example, The Pasta Queen — a
steeped in old-school marketing tactics. To single chef — built a following of over a
an extent, you are giving up some control quarter-million followers in less than three
over your online conversation by putting and a half months.
the power of your brand in the hands of an
15
influencer. However, the trust built with In another instance, Dunkin Donuts
consumers by having this sort of two-way (rebranded now as simply Dunkin) snagged
relationship with a brand representative Tik Tok superstar and self-proclaimed
pays back in dividends. Dunkin Cold Brew junkie Charli
D’Amelio. In addition to sponsoring the
10
There are also many, more traditional influencer, Dunkin renamed its cold brew
methods to gauge the efficiency of an “The Charli.”
influencer, including:
16
As a result, Dunkin’s app downloads
• Quality of content spiked 57 percent above the previous 90-
• Rise or fall in page views day average, and the app itself set a new
• Search engine rankings record for active daily users. There was
• Improved reputation a 20 percent spike in cold brew sales on
• Consumer awareness. the first day, and a 45 percent spike on the
second day.
Why TikTok is a path to the future
11
What an uncertain economic future
Tik Tok isn’t part of the Facebook/ means for influencers
Google duopoly, so it’s often overlooked
despite being the seventh largest social 17
Of course, there’s another elephant in
media platform in use with 800 million the marketing room. Covid-19 has changed
users. It’s a shame, because Tik Tok is the way all businesses operate. Influencers
exceedingly friendly to businesses — both are no exception.
small-time entrepreneurs and corporations
alike. 18
Fortunately, influencer advertising
seems to run on par with the rest of
12
Its user interface is almost perfect for the advertising world. While there was
storytelling and brand development. For an advertising downtick in early 2020
starters, it removes the option to intrude (businesses wanted to avoid appearing
on user experiences — there are no static insensitive to the worldwide crisis, and
banners, no forced pre-roll, no GIFS — were already seeing a boost in natural
everything is immersive. If you run a video traffic during lockdown initiatives) the
ad, it will appear in a user’s feed alongside gears of advertising seem to be spinning as
the other users they follow. usual once again.
13
Tik Tok is about how you tell your story 19
If anything, the biggest hurdle to
and how you connect with your audience overcome is the change of spending
and community. The best storytellers with priorities. Because many consumers have
the best stories rise to the top. As its Global lost a fraction of their income, discretionary
Business page tells marketing leaders: spending is down while they focus on
“don’t make ads, make Tik Toks.” groceries and other household necessities.
30 Reading the News 1

20
The problem here isn’t necessarily will likely push new ways to stay in
a lack of work for social media influencers, communication with socially distanced
instead its a creative barrier. friends.
22
21
Instead of marketing to buyers with The point is, the need for advertising
a wad of spending cash in their pocket, is there — it’s just that the problem
influencers now must find new angles marketing agents are solving has changed.
to sell necessary products. Beauty We’re no longer selling to a world with
representatives have to sell their makeup discretionary income — we’re selling
and hair products to people who primarily products based on necessity, self-care,
appear before clients through zoom calls, and comfort during lockdown.
or work in pajamas. Tech influencers

Extra Reading Tasks

1. Read the article and write some key points that you can grasp from the article.
2. Discuss the following questions with your partners:
a. How have social media changed the way people do marketing nowadays?
b. What is the function of a social media influencer? What should an ideal
influencer do?
c. What good and bad effects does the uncertain economic future have on
influencers?