Content and influencer marketing are facing a challenge as they mature, said Ryan Pitylak, CEO of agency Unique Influence. The use of content and influencer marketing by brands is not devaluing the cred of those channels with consumers, in spite of stories of fake news and bot manipulation of social platforms, he told Velocitize Talks.
“If influencer marketing drifts to what affiliate marketing was in the past, where people were creating content just for the purpose of getting a buck, you’re ruining the spirit of what influence marketing can be about,” said Pitylak. “We need to make sure we don’t go down that path.”
The passions of influencers come through, as long as they are creating content that really comes from their authentic pursuits, but organic growth is harder to achieve now, and brands don’t always know how to promote it to people it will resonate with, he said.
Social influencers should not feel threated by the expansion of artificial intelligence or voice response systems as curation devices, said Pitylak. Automation and devices such as messenger bots are another way to guide consumers to content, he said.
“What an AI will never give you is that kind of authenticity you get from a creator,” said Pitylak. AI is only surfacing human content, such as reviews, he said: “It’s another signal, but it’s complemented and will continue to be complemented by what real humans have to say.”
“We’re not so far afield from this reality that people want human connection at the end of the day,” said Pitylak. “Influencers will stay because of that.”
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