Influencer Marketing on the Internet

Influencer marketing has become an important part of businesses’ promotional strategy and is poised to generate  more than $11 billion through the end of 2022 alone.

New data shows that influencer marketing is among the tools that businesses can use to increase brand recognition by more than 70%. The question to ask is what return for each dollar spent on influencer marketing? Google reports that searches for “influencer marketing” have increased by more than 460% since 2016, and that almost all survey respondents (90%) feel that influencer marketing is effective.

Manufacturers are recommended to start using influencers to get in front of buyers. This is the opportunity for the manufacturer to tell a success story about their brand and aim the story at news from the market segment that is driving sales and shows success. Influencer marketing gives manufacturers the opportunity to tie their brand to industry trends that are driving visibility.

The influencer industry has learnt that they must provide news that the silent majority will note and this segment is the drive behind sales. A tiny number of social media readers engage with the story and the products and report on these activities. They confirm likes and shares about the storyline and product.

Now the most influential group are called content creators or trendsetters. They have followers or fans and monetize this by making a partnership deal with the brand. The days of the celebrity-status macro-influencers is waning and the age of “micro-influencers” for B2B manufacturer is growing. The difference is they have the credibility and reach to assist businesses in sharing their message.

For influencers to work you have to know who is actually buying your products. You want to know what those products mean to those who are buying them and how they impact their business or lifestyle. Micro-influencers help you determine if there are additional audiences – particularly those that remain untapped – that you should be targeting for a new stream of revenue and customer engagement for your brand.

Influencers can provide a lot of value with targeted promotions to your key audiences. The best way to start is by focusing on your target audience, and what influencers the audience closely align with your brand’s goals and business objectives.

Influencer marketing, done right, has proven to drive an increased demand for your products, in a short period of time. Be careful that you have adequate manufacturing capabilities and warehouse inventory to meet this increased demand for future growth needs.

Prominent influencers have become very powerful, with 90% of consumers trusting influencers more than the most famous celebrities. This shows the incredible power that influencers can provide to their brand partners. Surveys are reporting that only 40% trust advertisements shown alongside search results and just 30% believe the messages conveyed in online video advertisements.

Influencer marketing is a potent option for manufacturers to use as they look to expand and accurately reach their target audience. There is enormous potential to leverage the rising micro-influencer community to drive brand growth and visibility in new channels and in new, more direct ways.

SUSTAINABILITY

We all need to embrace and practice sustainability in the packaging industry.

In the end, everyone has to rely on packaging to get products like food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to market.

 

Good packaging ensures products are safe and healthy for the public. Ensuring the product is safe to use by the end of predicted shelf life is very important.

 

The right packaging machinery is essential to meet the needs of consumers. Knowledge of materials and their performance is being studied today with more use of recycled materials. The industry wants faster speed, and the new materials are not there yet. The medical industry is going to have to be careful because of the stability of requirements for sterile barrier packaging, and validation of all devices ensuring they meet regulations and standards. It is going to be a "go back to school", or testing process, to ensure we do not compromise the products.

 

Numerous states have already debated packaging issues and now have EPR bills [Extended Producer Responsibility] in two states. Other states are addressing issues like recycled content mandates, labelling and toxic chemicals in packaging, with California leading the way.

 

The state of California is looking at passing the Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. It would require all single -use plastic packaging and single-use plastic food ware be reusable, refillable, recyclable or compostable by 2030. This proposal would have imposed a one cent on every piece of plastic packaging sold into or out of the state of Florida.

 

In Florida, we have 14 incinerators burning all types of waste. The University of Florida Engineering department is introducing the Robust Regenerative Gasification project at future municipal dumps to produce Eco-Ethanol™. They are using this chemical to remake plastics. This ensures our products and foods can be sold with little fear of contaminating the state by being dumped into land fills and contaminating ground waters. Sustainability in the packaging industry needs intelligent thought and decisions be made in order to be successful.