🎓 When influencer overexcitement backfires

Overexcited language (e.g. “LOVE THIS!”) increases engagement for micro-influencers by 38% but reduces it for macro-influencers by 31%.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 March 19, 2024 | [Read Online]( When influencer overexcitement backfires Overexcited language (e.g. “LOVE THIS!”) increases engagement for micro-influencers by 38% but reduces it for macro-influencers by 31%. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=When%20influencer%20overexcitement%20backfires%3A%20Overexcited%20language%20%28e.g.%20%E2%80%9CLOVE%20THIS%21%E2%80%9D%29%20increases%20engagement%20for%20micro-influencers%20by%2038%25%20but%20reduces%20it%20for%20macro-influencers%20by%2031%25.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Ftips.ariyh.com%2Fp%2Fwhen-influencer-overexcitement-backfires) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 26,681 marketers who use science, not flawed opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( Today’s insight is brought to you by… [Modash]( Influencer outreach isn’t a “sexy” topic, but it’s an essential part of influencer marketing. How do the most successful brands reach out to influencers? - Do they use DMs, or emails? - Do they personalize, or use templates? - Do they follow-up? How many times? Ryan Prior from Modash [surveyed 51 influencer marketing managers]( to learn all of this (and more) 👇 [Read how they do it]( Want to sponsor Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know](. 📝 Intro You’re working with an influencer to promote your product. They share with you two drafts of a post they’re going to write about you: - One version calls your product “SENSATIONAL!”, and sounds extremely excited and hyped - The other version calls it “A great product” that they enjoyed, and is much more down to earth Which one should you go for? Here’s what the scientific evidence says. P.S.: Influencer following size matters more than you think. Micro-influencers tend to [drive the most sales](, while larger ones [maximize engagement](. Want to access hundreds more insights like these? [Explore Ariyh insights here](. Overexcitement boosts micro-influencers’ engagement but hurts macro-influencers Topics: Social Media For: B2C Research date: October 2023 Universities: LUISS Guido Carli University 📈 Recommendation If you’re working with micro-influencers (less than 100K followers), encourage them to use excited, high-energy language (e.g. vivid words like “Obsessed!”, emojis, capital letters, exclamation marks). As long as the message feels genuine, they can also use promotional language (e.g. “Order it here now”). If you’re working with macro-influencers (over 1 million followers), they need to be careful about seeming overexcited, as it comes across as inauthentic. Instead, use informational messaging that educates their audience rather than promotional language (e.g. “Find out more here”). You will get more engagement and visibility. 🎓 Findings - Engagement on sponsored posts by micro-influencers increases when they use very excited and evocative language. The same language lowers engagement when used by macro-influencers. - In 4 experiments and an analysis of 20,923 Instagram and TikTok sponsored posts, researchers found that: - A 10% increase in the excitement of the language led to 5.4% higher engagement for micro-influencers, but 8.4% lower engagement for macro-influencers - A sponsored post for granola with excited language received 36.8% more engagement when posted by a micro-influencer (20K followers) and 31% less engagement when posted by a macro-influencer (660K followers) - An overly excited post endorsing a restaurant with a “Try it” message made people 16.3% less likely to choose the restaurant. When using “Learn more about it” the negative effect disappeared - The negative impact of overexcitement in macro-influencers’ posts can be reduced when: - The post includes good and bad judgments - The post is informative (e.g. “Learn more about this”) vs promotional (e.g. “Try this”) 🧠Why it works - When we see a post, we observe [the language]( used (e.g. “Amazing” vs “Nice”) and whether the post includes [exclamation marks and emojis]( to judge how energized and excited the person posting is. - While we consider a brand using macro-influencers to be [popular and reputable](, their posts also seem more [like advertising](. Because we see them as professionals at influencing, when they seem too energized or excited, it feels like an [exaggerated]( attempt to persuade us. - In contrast, we consider micro-influencers to be average people (this is also why [they’re more persuasive]( in boosting sales). When they post high-energy content, we think they’re genuine and [trust them]( more. - Generally, we’re suspicious if it looks like someone’s [trying to persuade us](. When content is informative, rather than promotional, it builds trust and makes us less suspicious that it’s an attempt to persuade us. 🍪 [Cookieless Now Summit]( at Google UK | Speakers from Nestlé, Reckitt, Haleon, and InfoTrust The "cookieless future" is no more. We're in the cookieless NOW. Join InfoTrust at Google's London offices on 10 April for the Cookieless Now Summit. - Learn how to embrace marketing measurement without third-party cookies - Get actionable first-party data strategies you can apply now - Hear from industry leaders at Reckitt, Haleon, Nestlé, Google, and more. Seating is limited; reserve your seat now. [Claim your seat]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The research focused on social media engagement and buying intention - it did not measure whether this would translate into actual sales. - The study looked at text on Instagram posts and spoken content on TikTok videos - it didn’t factor in other cues to excitement or energy (e.g. background music and visuals). - The research looked at macro- and micro-influencers on average. Macro-influencers who are considered more trustworthy, do less content or are posting about a brand they’re known to use would likely seem more genuine in their posts regardless of their tone. - The research looked exclusively at influencers - it’s not clear how these findings would impact brands’ own social media accounts or individuals’ personal brands. 🏢 Companies using this - While most brands use influencers on social media, companies don’t currently seem to encourage or discourage influencers from using excited language based on the size of their following. - Generally, companies tend to give less guidance to micro-influencers, and more to macro-influencers. - 85% of sponsored posts analyzed in this study used at least one word in the top quarter in terms of excitement. 80% of posts used other ways of highlighting excitement, like emojis, capitalization or exclamation marks. Tech macro-influencer Marques Brownlee (~5m followers) correctly focuses on informational content, such as unboxings and reviews, rather than hard selling tactics. ⚡ Steps to implement - Choose your influencers based on the goal of your campaign - while macro-influencers are great for maximizing reach, micro-influencers are more [effective at sales](, and mid-size influencers [maximize engagement](. - Macro-influencers work well for informational messaging - regardless of their excitement level. These posts can include words like “learn” and “discover” instead of sales-oriented words like “buy” or “special offer”. - Micro-influencers’ posts are most effective when the influencer seems excited or energetic. You can do this by adding emojis, exclamation marks and capitalization and choosing bolder, action-oriented language. - You can make your influencers seem more authentic and genuine - key to driving sales - by having them [include friends and family]( in their posts. - Make sure your influencers are posting original content that [feels genuine](. Ideally, posting [45 times a month]( is ideal for maximizing engagement. 🔍 Study type Online experiments and market observation (text analysis of 20,923 Instagram posts and audio analysis of 654 TikTok videos) 📖 Research [How High-Arousal Language Shapes Micro- Versus Macro-Influencers’ Impact](. Journal of Marketing (October 2023). 🏫 Researchers - [Giovanni Luca Cascio Rizzo](. LUISS Guido Carli University - [Francisco Villarroel Ordenes](. LUISS Guido Carli University - [Rumen Pozharliev](. LUISS Guido Carli University - [Matteo De Angelis](. LUISS Guido Carli University - Michele Costabile. LUISS Guido Carli University Remember: This is a new scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 How was today’s insight? [Loved it]( | [Great]( | [Good]( | [Meh]( | [Bad]( Here’s how else Ariyh can help you: - 📈 Access 100s of insights and learn how other evidence-based marketers apply them, with [Ariyh Pro]( - 📘 Supercharge your business with Ariyh’s [Playbook of Pricing & Promotions]( or [Playbook of Ecommerce]( - 🎓 New to Ariyh? If this was forwarded to you can subscribe below for $0 [Subscribe]( [fb]( [tw]( [ig]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © 2024 Ariyh Calle Bailen, 11 Barcelona, Barcelona 08010, Spain [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv](