4 Insights Learned From Analyzing 55 Influencer-To-Consumer Brands

Influencer marketing platform, Mavrck analyzed 55 influencer-to-consumer (ITC) brands to learn more about the proliferation of ITC brands and why this trend is taking the influencer marketing space by storm. Read on for four key insights from their research, says Abby Katz, senior marketing manager,  Mavrck.

As brands continue to find new ways to harness the full potential of influencer marketing, influencers, too, are pursuing new ways to monetize their influence.

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In addition to earning revenue from partnerships, influencers also collect money from fans through donations, paid subscriptions, and crowd-funding campaigns. Some influencers also offer added services that complement their social media expertise. While photo and video presets are popular offerings, the services that influencers provide have expanded far beyond a package of Instagram filters, like VSCO. These services include ebooks, online coaching, podcasts, hosting retreats, merchandise, running influencer marketing agencies, and building influencer communities. All of this contributes to the continued growth of the influencer economy.

One of the newest ways in which influencers are monetizing their influence is selling directly to consumers. The proliferation of influencer-to-consumer (ITC) brands is on the rise, as influencer-founded companies such as Glossier achieve unicorn status and prove that ITC brands can thrive.

Learn More: How To Calculate Influencer Marketing ROI

Mavrck analyzed 55 ITC brands and these are the four most compelling insights gathered from our research:

1. Influencers Have More Engaged Communities Than Their ITC Brands Do On Instagram

When comparing influencers’ followings to their respective ITC brands’ followings on Instagram, influencers have 4.4x larger audiences than their brands do, and generate 2.2x more engagements per post, supporting the notion that 68 percent of people go to Instagram to interact with creators directly.

As a result of this heightened engagement with influencer-owned accounts (vs. brand-owned), influencers often use their personal accounts to gather consumer insights and feedback around new product launches.

2. YouTube Influencers Generate More Website Traffic to Their ITC Brand Websites Than Instagram Influencers Do

Influencers whose primary platform is YouTube generate 2.6x more website traffic to their brand.com per month than influencers whose primary platform is Instagram.

This also supports the hypothesis that video is a more effective way of selling and communicating multiple selling points, as compared with static images that can usually only highlight a single attribute.

3. Mega-Influencers Generate More Traffic to Their ITC Brand websites Than Macro-Influences Do

Mega-influencers generate 2.23x more website traffic to their ITC brands per month than macro-influencers, which could be a direct result of the difference in obstacles that mega- and macro-influencers face when launching their own brands (i.e., time, resources, money).

However, when comparing influencers and their brands’ followings to their ITC brand website traffic, there is no correlation (i.e., having a higher following on a personal or brand account does not correlate to more website traffic), which makes sense, given that there is typically no correlation between social engagement and business outcomes.

4. The Majority of Influencers With ITC Brands Created Capsule Collections Before Launching Their Own Brands

60 percent of influencers worked with an established brand or retailer to create a capsule collection before launching their own brands. Inevitably, this experience gives these influencers an advantage over influencers who are “self-starters,” as they are able to rely on resources and learnings from those partnerships.

Influencers who are categorized as “self-starters” have to launch their ITC brands independently, raising personal funds, building capital, obtaining resources, and fostering their own learnings instead of leaning on larger brands with more experience.

Learn More: Syndicating User and Influencer-Generated Content Beyond Brand Borders

What’s Next for the ITC Industry? Growth.

As brands continue to unlock the full potential of influencers, and as more influencers move into the space, it’s likely that we will begin to see more influencers enter the ITC brands spectrum, progressing from collaborations, to partnerships, to collections, to, ultimately, launching their own ITC brands. Brands have an opportunity to get involved by providing guidance to influencers derived from their own business-building experiences.

With venture capitalists, social media platforms, and legacy brands continuing to support influencers in their brand-building ventures - both from technology and monetary standpoints - it’s likely that we will see more and more influencers launch their own brands, whether that be in the ITC or influencer-to-influencer (ITI) spaces.