Reading the News 1 1

UNIT 1
Influencer Marketing
PRE-READING TASKS
1. Read this excerpt from a blog about influencer marketing. Would you like to
read for more information from this blog? Why or why not?
What is influencer marketing?

At a fundamental level, influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that

uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a
dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. Influencer
marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built
up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social
proof to your brand’s potential customers.

2. Have you ever bought any products based on the review of an influencer? What
are the differences between a mega and micro influencer?
3. What is your own experience of any influencers or any products they endorse?
Share your experience with a partner
4.In your opinion, what kinds of product/service/activity would influencers often promote?

Beauty products Charity Fashion/clothing line

Technical devices Supplement diet Books/educational programs

READING FOCUS
Focus on the newspaper: INTRODUCING A TOPIC
Sometimes articles introduce a new idea of a product. To do this, the writer must give
detailed explanations.
1. Read the article as if it was the first time you had heard of influencers. Can you
understand what an influencer job is after reading the article without your prior
knowledge of the topic?
a. Who are influencers and where do you find them?
b. What makes influencers different from celebrities in product endorsement?
c. When did influencer marketing begin?
d. How can someone become an influencer? How do they stay in business?
2. Do you think the author did a good job explaining the effectiveness of
influencers in marketing? What would you add?
 2 Reading the News 1

Why Consumers Care About Influencers, and Why You Should Too?

More than half of people globally have bought something in the past six months
based on the recommendation of an online influencer.

By Jason Falls February 10, 2021

1
What do you think of when you hear
the word “pudding”? For most people, it
probably brings up some childhood
memory of after-school snacks. But one
group of people who may have a very
different answer is women who love their
curly hair. Pantene Pro-V Curl Defining
Pudding is a popular finishing-touch item
in the brand’s Gold Series of hair care
products. It helps curly hair stay
moisturized, retaining its
natural curl without frizzing. influencer effort based on their number of
followers was more than 2.5 million
2
According to several dozen product people. The proof is indeed in the
reviews I read, it also smells good and pudding.
leaves hair shiny. The Curl Defining
4
Pudding was often mentioned by These numbers are strong, if not
influencers in Pantene’s Gold Series outstanding. More important for the brand,
campaign in the early summer months of the main talking points and unique selling
2019. The Procter & Gamble brand chose propositions were called out by each of
25 Black women who were Instagram the influencers. The specific products in
influencers, with content centered on the line, including the Curl Defining
beauty, hair and lifestyle. Four of the Pudding, were mentioned. The fact that
influencers had a good number, but not the Gold Series was developed by a team
millions of subscribers on YouTube. Each of Black scientists was prominent in many
was engaged to place at least one of the posts. The influencer campaign did
sponsored post apiece on each channel. exactly what the brand team hoped to
The goal was to drive awareness of accomplish: create greater awareness of
Pantene’s Gold Series Collection, which the Gold Series Collection within the
includes the Curl Defining Pudding. intended target audience.
5
3
At the time of the campaign, the This was a Winfluence campaign,
online influencers’ audiences ranged not just an influencer marketing one. It
from ChiziDuru’s (@chiziduru) 122,000 leveraged online influencers, but in a
Instagram followers to Lisa-Jean Francois’ targeted manner with strategic purpose
(@lisaalamode) 36,000. (Duru also had that moved the business forward. It wasn’t
381,000 YouTube subscribers, which were just buying sponsored posts on famous
enough to place her on both lists of Instagrammers’ accounts and hoping
people would think you were cool by
Pantene Gold Series influencers —
association. Another factor that makes this
Instagram and YouTube.) In total, the
a Winfluence campaign is its construction.
potential reach of the
 Reading the News 1 3

Even the largest advertiser in the world — 8

Read that again. Not because of a
Procter & Gamble — with its bleeding-
recommendation from a family member, a
edge marketing approaches, didn’t spend
friend or an online review. More than half
marketing dollars on mega-influencers
of people globally have bought something
with millions of followers. It focused on
in the past six months based on the
mid-tier and even smaller influencers with
recommendation of an online influencer.
engaged audiences who could persuade
Consumers also confirm another assertion
those fans to take action.
we’ve discussed: It’s not always about
Fish where the fish are popularity. An influencer’s ability to
connect with them in a meaningful way
6
So let’s take a look at why Procter & is a better indicator of persuasive success
Gamble is investing their considerable than how many followers they have or
resources in influence marketing online. how famous they are. Edelman’s
They’re doing it because the internet is namesake president and CEO, Richard
where consumers decide to buy products. Edelman, told Ad Age while discussing
People who buy hair care products don’t the report, “Influencers matter. They’re
watch TV commercials, look for an ad in credible.”
the Sunday paper or flip through 9
The indicators are there. So is the data.
magazines anymore. Instead, they’re
Consumers give a damn about
looking for information online. And more
influencers. Enlightened brands know this
than any other company in the world,
and give a damn about them, too.
P&G knows to fish where the fish are.
7
People don’t trust traditional media.
And people demand trust. For several
years now, the Edelman Trust Barometer
has been the bible on understanding
consumer trust. And the special report
on brands may as well have been a big,
flashing neon sign that said, “Consumers
Trust Influencers!” In it, 63% of people
said they trust influencers’ opinions of
products “much more” than what brands
say about themselves. And 58% — almost
six out of ten consumers — confirmed
they had bought a new product in the past
six months because of an influencer’s
recommendation.
4 Reading the News 1

UNDERSTANDING THE ARTICLE

1. Why do corporations like P&G hire influencers to promote their haircare
product? Look and the list of reasons below. Skim the article and then check
which ones are mentioned.

a. As a way to tell the customers about the new product □

b. As a way of getting attention □
c. As a way to promote the company □
d. As a way of feeling popular □
e. As a way of connecting with potential customers □
2. Can you add any more reasons to the list above?

3. Has the article changed your viewpoint of influencers and influencer

marketing in any way? If so, why?

VOCABULARY WORK
1. Guessing from context. Read the following words taken from the article from i to
v, guess their meaning by circling the suitable answer A or B.

i. Retain (para. 1) A. Maintain B. Continue to hold

ii. Leverage (para. 5) A. Balance between B. Use something to

two maximum advantage
things
iii. Bleeding-edge (para. 5) A. New, experimental B. Dangerous, unsafe

iv. Assertion (para. 8) A. Confident statement B. Belief

of fact
v. Indicator (para. 8) A. Trend or fact to B. Trend or fact to measure
prove the level of something
something

2. Complete the sentences below with a word from Exercise 1. You may need
to change to the plural form.

a...................................are substances that change colour when they are added to acidic
or alkaline solutions
b. This book began with the.............................that it is the optimists who get things done.
c. Under the constitution, the provinces ……………………….. all the powers not
delegated to the federal government.
Reading the News 1 5

d. You can........................................private sector investment through loans.

e. However, in many cases.......................................software is pushed out to help validate
it and try out new features.

EXAM PREPARATION TASKS

1. Words and phrases explanation

Explain the following words and expressions, as used in the article.

a. finishing-touch item

final styling product.

 item with the lastest changes

b. drive awareness

direct attention (hướng sự thay đổi)

 influence peopl’s perspective/viewpoint

c. The proof is indeed in the pudding
The true quality is validated through experience
d. target audience
people who are aimed at
 the consumers aimed at
e. the bible on understanding consumer trust
a great understanding a reliable source of the customer’s faith
f. give a damn about
care about

2. Comprehension questions

Read the article and answer the following questions.

a. What kind of product does the author mention in the article? How does it differ
from other similar products?

- The author talks about a hair care product called Pantene Pro-V Curl Defining
Pudding. It is a well-known haircare product due to its marketing campaign its
specialized for black women hair

b. What did P&G do to promote their new product?

- They reached out to black female influencers to push their new haircare product
6 Reading the News 1

c. What kind of influencers did P&G hire for their campaign?

- Low and mid-tier content creator who attracted a large number of followers to push their
product on a certain platform

d. What did influencers do to increase sales?

- Spread and increase awareness in the targeted audience by making influencer talk
about the main points and distinctive proposition.

e. Was their ad campaign successful? Why or why not?

- Their ad campaign was successful all thanks to marketing strategies and also build
their trust with the customers.
f. What does the author mean by saying “fish where the fish are”?
- What they meant is that the brand knows where to find focus on the right intended
potential audience to promote the product.
g. Why do customers trust influencers more than TV commercials or newspaper ads?
- Because these influencers know how to establish connections between the audience
and them.
 Because customers tend to act online, more over infulencers are often more reliable
and connected compared to tv commercials or newspapers.
h. Why does the author take P&G as an example of an enlightened brand?
- Because the data shows that their marketing works and a proof to why followers
care about influencers.
 Because P&G is aware of the importance of influencers in convincing the
customers to buy the product.
Note: convince – believe

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
1. “Influencers make us feel individual”. How far do you agree with this statement?
2. How popular is influencer marketing in your country?
3. What kind of marketing strategies do you think will be popular on the Internet
in the future?
 Reading the News 1 7

EXTRA READING
How Influencer Marketing Took Power, and What the Future Holds

By Kay Van Antwerpen December 8, 2020

have to break through the noise. Arguably

the most successful way to do this is to
seamlessly integrate yourself into the
social media experience alongside your
users. Don’t intrude upon their experience
— rather, become part of the experience.
6
This new philosophy is the reason
influencers have become essential.
Image credit: Violeta Stoimenova | Getty Images
The ideal influencer
1
In the last decade, the rise of social 7
For those without an influencer budget,
media rewrote marketing norms most of let’s get you up to speed: The most
us had taken for granted. The relationship important function of a social media
between advertising, brand development, influencer is, essentially, to eliminate
and storytelling looks different today than blatant advertising and invisibly bridge the
it ever has before. gap between the advertiser and consumer.
2 Ideal influencers are people who:
While marketing teams used to gauge
success in search impressions and website  Are already using and enthusiastic
clicks, that’s not entirely the case about your product.
anymore. Impressions are never bad, of  Cast a wide social media net that
course, but they fail to indicate how includes your target audience/consumer
closely your ad campaigns are resonating demographics.
with your audience.  Are already capable of creating
3 conversations about purchasing
Audience attention and engagement is choices with your target.
the new goal.  Is capable of both creating
4 conversation around your product, and
Consumers are often unengaged with
influencing their followers to make a
traditional advertising formats. Your ad
purchase based on perceived
campaign may appear in front of millions
knowledge, authority, or position
of people, but how many of them actually
(whether or not there is tangible
consciously internalized the message you
authority is irrelevant - these decisions
were sending?
are made based on style, branding, and
5
The present-day consumer is flooded popularity, not connoisseurship).
with television commercials, billboards, and 8
In old-school marketing terms, an
banner ads all grabbing for their attention.
influencer is a multiplier — a single
They’ve learned to subconsciously tune
person who is capable of returning
them out. To reach your audience, you
multitudes of purchases to your company.
 8 Reading the News 1

9
This may sound unusually risky to those 14
As an example, The Pasta Queen — a
steeped in old-school marketing tactics.
single chef — built a following of over a
To an extent, you are giving up some
quarter-million followers in less than three
control over your online conversation by
and a half months.
putting the power of your brand in the
hands of an influencer. However, the trust 15
In another instance, Dunkin Donuts
built with consumers by having this sort of
(rebranded now as simply Dunkin)
two-way relationship with a brand
snagged Tik Tok superstar and self-
representative pays back in dividends.
proclaimed Dunkin Cold Brew junkie
10
There are also many, more traditional Charli D’Amelio. In addition to
methods to gauge the efficiency of an sponsoring the influencer, Dunkin
influencer, including: renamed its cold brew “The Charli.”
16
 Quality of content As a result, Dunkin’s app downloads
 Rise or fall in page views spiked 57 percent above the previous 90-
 Search engine rankings day average, and the app itself set a new
 Improved reputation record for active daily users. There was
 Consumer awareness. a 20 percent spike in cold brew sales on
the first day, and a 45 percent spike on the
Why TikTok is a path to the future second day.

11
Tik Tok isn’t part of the Facebook/ What an uncertain economic future
Google duopoly, so it’s often overlooked means for influencers
despite being the seventh largest social 17
media platform in use with 800 million Of course, there’s another elephant in
users. It’s a shame, because Tik Tok is the marketing room. Covid-19 has
exceedingly friendly to businesses — both changed the way all businesses operate.
small-time entrepreneurs and corporations Influencers are no exception.
alike. 18
Fortunately, influencer advertising
12
Its user interface is almost perfect for seems to run on par with the rest of
storytelling and brand development. For the advertising world. While there was
starters, it removes the option to intrude an advertising downtick in early 2020
on user experiences — there are no static (businesses wanted to avoid appearing
banners, no forced pre-roll, no GIFS — insensitive to the worldwide crisis, and
everything is immersive. If you run a were already seeing a boost in natural
video ad, it will appear in a user’s feed traffic during lockdown initiatives) the
alongside the other users they follow. gears of advertising seem to be spinning
as usual once again.
13
Tik Tok is about how you tell your 19
story and how you connect with your If anything, the biggest hurdle to
audience and community. The best overcome is the change of spending
storytellers with the best stories rise to the priorities. Because many consumers have
top. As its Global Business page tells lost a fraction of their income,
marketing leaders: “don’t make ads, make discretionary spending is down while they
Tik Toks.” focus on groceries and other household
necessities.
Reading the News 1 9

20
The problem here isn’t necessarily
will likely push new ways to stay in
a lack of work for social media
communication with socially distanced
influencers, instead its a creative barrier.
friends.
21
Instead of marketing to buyers with 22
The point is, the need for advertising
a wad of spending cash in their pocket,
is there — it’s just that the problem
influencers now must find new angles
marketing agents are solving has
to sell necessary products. Beauty
changed. We’re no longer selling to a
representatives have to sell their makeup
world with discretionary income —
and hair products to people who
we’re selling products based on
primarily appear before clients through
necessity, self-care, and comfort during
zoom calls, or work in pajamas. Tech
lockdown.
influencers

Extra Reading Tasks

1. Read the article and write some key points that you can grasp from the article.
2. Discuss the following questions with your partners:
a. How have social media changed the way people do marketing nowadays?
b. What is the function of a social media influencer? What should an
ideal influencer do?
c. What good and bad effects does the uncertain economic future have
on influencers?