WatchPro – August 2019

and negotiation processes can be
on an individual influencer basis,
it quickly becomes apparent that
effectively scaling up this approach
across hundreds, or even thousands
of influencers, is anything but
straight-forward.
This doesn’t seem to be deterring
marketers though. In the same 2019
Influencer Marketing Report from
Zine, 83% of respondents said they’ll
increase their influencer marketing
budgets in 2019. 49% of those
said they plan to put that budget
increase towards micro and mid-

tier influencers. This means more

vetting, more analytics collection and

thus more resources needed to see

campaigns through.

At the same time, some brands

are choosing to continue working

exclusively with a few dedicated

influencers who have a proven

track record of engaging their

target market. In the short term this

strategy may prove fruitful, yet there

is also the risk that these captive

audiences will quickly become bored.

Whatever approach you choose to

take, one thing is for sure; influencer

marketing can no longer be ignored.

If done well, it can deliver meaningful

results in the form of heightened

brand awareness, engaged

audiences and ultimately increased

sales. Of course, it can all go horribly

wrong too.

About the author: Tom Mulraney is a

1 0-year veteran of the watch indus-

try. He is the publisher and editor

of The Watch Lounge, a digital maga-

zine with a unique take on the world

of luxury watches. http://www.thewatch-

lounge.com

and biggest retailers are now investing in it
and become more expert?

Anish Bhatt: Instagram is saturated, but
that is because it is the same ideas being
done again and again; the same marketing
strategies being regurgitated. People get
bored of that. Six years ago if I posted a picture
of a watch in front of a supercar, everybody
thought that was really cool, now it has been
done so many times. Nobody can stay in one
place. It is like swimming, if you stay still you
drown.

WatchPro: If I was an independent jeweller

used to providing for my family from one

store, I would be terrified at the thought of

spending £50,000 on social media marketing

without knowing how effective it will be.

Anish Bhatt: It is a balance. In my opinion

the biggest cost is not the money but the

time to learn what to do. Even if you are not

doing the social media execution yourself,

you should be in a position to know if it is

working if you hire somebody else. If you

do not know about analytics, if you do not

know how impressions work, if you do not

know how to digest and process digital

information from a campaign, then how

do you know if they are doing a good job?

Simply taking somebody’s word for whether

a job is good or not is dangerous. Even if

they are doing a good job, there will still be

doubts about whether they should be doing

better.

WatchPro: Are you feeling old in the social

media world?

Anish Bhatt: There is certainly a lot of

young talent. The more talent working in

social media, the better it is for everybody.

Competition is good because it pushes

everybody to do better and do more.

INFLUENCER MARKETING / WATCHPRO WORKSHOP

watchpro.com / AUGUST 2019 / WATCHPRO 39