How Instagram influencers turn followers into dollars

At Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in early 2017, waiting to board his flight back to Paris, Olivier Billon noted a forty-something man beside him wearing an expensive Panerai watch and asked how he got to know the brand. The answer surprised him: Instagram. But it also filled him with pride: Mr Billon is a pioneer of influencer marketing — where brands engage those with millions of followers on social media, whether with experiences, gifts or money, to promote their goods.2017年年初，在莫斯科谢列梅捷沃国际机场(Sheremetyevo International Airport)候机返回巴黎的奥利佛•比朗(Olivier Billon)注意到身旁坐着位佩戴名贵沛纳海(Panerai)腕表的四十多岁男子，并问其是如何知晓这款腕表的来龙去脉的。对方的回答大出其意料：竟是通过Instagram！但这样的回答也让他很是自豪：比朗是“意见领袖（即网红）影响力营销”(Influencer Marketing)风潮的引领者——让各大品牌与那些粉丝达数百万的网红通力合作（不管是通过亲身体验产品、免费赠送还是支付酬劳），来推销自己旗下产品。

Mr Billon, fresh out of elite French university Sciences Po, worked on early influencer campaigns first for cosmetics company L’Oréal and then through his consultancy Ykone, founded in 2009 when he was 24. He was convinced, he says, that his friend Betty Autier’s blog — with 400,000 views a month when Mr Billon started his business — “could be of great interest for brands”.比朗从精英云集的法国政治学院(Sciences Po)毕业后，最初是为化妆品巨擎欧莱雅( L’Oréal)工作，而后通过自创的咨询公司Ykone（2009年自己24岁那年创建）从事网红早期营销宣传造势活动。他说自己坚信密友Betty Autier的博客（比朗创业伊始，该博客每月点击量高达40万）“会让各大时尚品牌展露浓厚兴趣”。

With his choirboy-like manners, Mr Billon advises companies how to create and maintain an engaging presence on social media, from events and product launches designed to be worth sharing — with mandatory hashtags and branded photo opportunities — to ad hoc activities for influencers. His first clients were L’Oréal Professionnel, Chanel couture and Dior couture. “My first project within the watch and jewellery industry was for the launch of the Dior VIII watch in 2011,” he says. For that, he orchestrated “a two-day experience and presentation of the watch for a group of international influencers in Paris” on behalf of the brand.无论从具体活动以及值得共享的产品推介（强制性主题标签和带有品牌标识的晒照）、还是专为网红举办的专门活动，比朗以真诚的态度给各家时尚公司支招如何成为与维系社交媒体的宠儿。他的首批客户就包括了欧莱雅染护发公司(L’Oréal Professionnel)、香奈儿(Chanel)时装与迪奥(Dior) 时装等重量级公司。“我在腕表及首饰行业的首个项目是为2011年推介迪奥Dior VIII腕表。”他说。为此，他代表迪奥公司精心策划了“为巴黎一些国际知名网红举办了为期两天的亲身体验活动与介绍会。”

Influencer marketing was then becoming relevant to the industry as a more mature — and wealthier — audience took to social media; at the same time, luxury goods companies introduced more accessible product categories for younger users. It is now, according to Mediakix, an “influencer marketing agency”, a $1bn market.越发成熟与阔绰的消费者痴迷上社交媒体后，网红营销逐渐与时尚界合为一体；与此同时，奢侈品公司也为年轻一代消费者提供更为价廉物美的各式产品。据网红营销能力咨询机构Mediakix统计，如今每年的网红营销额达10亿美元。

“When I started it was all about the blogs. Now it’s all a different story with Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram,” says Mr Billon. Instagram is a community of 800m people sharing and liking each other’s photos, and 75 per cent of Instagram’s users said they had been inspired by a post to take actions such as visiting a website or buying something online, according to a 2015 survey. “Instagram has brought transparency. It is easy to assess the size and quality of the influence by checking the numbers and identities of the influencers’ followers,” he says.“本人初创伊始，社交媒体仅是各式博客。如今随着Snapchat、YouTube以及Instagram等社交媒体异军突起，整个格局发生了天翻地覆的变化。”比朗说。Instagram如今拥有8亿用户，粉丝们彼此分享与点赞各自上传的照片；而2015年的一项调查表明：75%的Instagram用户说自己正是受启发于某个晒照才去游览相关网站或是成为剁手党一员。“Instagram让一切成功实现了透明化。通过研究网红拥有的粉丝群及其具体身份，我们就很容易评估出网红影响力的广度与深度。”他说。

Outside his office, it is Paris Couture Week and influencers — with their Instagram-ready outfits and sponsored luxury goods — abound.而在比朗的办公室外，巴黎时装周(Paris Couture Week)正在火热进行，身穿Instagram晒照行头以及奢侈品公司赞助配饰的各式网红随处可见。

The rise of influencers is linked with fundamental changes in the economics of the luxury sector and the technology of the wider world. A 2017 study by consultants Bain indicated that millennials already make up 30 per cent of luxury consumers. At the same time, dressing down — signalled by increased spending on luxury casualwear — has gone up.网红的崛起与奢侈品产业经济学的质变以及其它行业科技的突飞猛进发展息息相关。贝恩咨询公司(Bain)2017年的研究报告表明：千禧年后出生的一代人已占据奢侈品消费总人数的30%。与此同时，休闲风越刮越盛，其标志就是消费者花在奢侈休闲装束的费用与日俱增。

Luxury companies’ investments in influencer marketing have also been prompted by the growing popularity of ad blocking software, nullifying their spending on digital adverts. There are 615m devices which have ad blocking software, according to PageFair, a tech business, which says it serves “unblockable” ads.奢侈品公司在网红营销方面大把烧钱，广告拦截软件大行其道也是重要推手，因为此举可让各大时尚公司的网络付费广告白白忙活。据高科技公司PageFair统计：目前全球有6.15亿台电脑安装了广告拦截软件，而PageFair自诩提供反拦截广告服务。

Alongside this, companies began to conceive of advertising as an enjoyable experience rather than an interruption. Paid posts on blogs were the first to do this, and such “native content” has spread to magazines and newspapers. A study conducted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association — whose members are media agencies and global companies — found that word of mouth, even digital, can drive sales anywhere from five to 200 times more than paid advertising.此外，各家公司如今开始认为广告宣传是愉悦体验而非消极障碍。博客上的付费帖子就是首批饯行者，这样的“原汁原味内容”如今已拓展至报刊杂志。口碑营销协会(The Word of Mouth Marketing Association)的研究表明：相比付费广告，口碑（即网络上的口碑）能让产品销售额飚升5-200倍。口碑营销协会的会员都是媒体机构与国际大公司。

“The young generation is an important market because it is a big market and it is the market of tomorrow,” says Jean-Claude Biver, chief executive of TAG Heuer and president of luxury conglomerate LVMH’s watch division. Mr Biver notes that, thanks to recent partnerships with ambassadors such as footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and model Bella Hadid, who have 118m and 16.5m Instagram followers respectively, millennials have grown significantly as part of TAG’s customer base.“年轻一代已成为举足轻重的消费市场，因为这是个很大的市场，发展前景不可限量。”豪雅(TAG Heuer )CEO兼奢侈品巨擎路威酩轩(LVMH)腕表部主管让•克洛德•比韦(Jean Claude Biver)说。比韦注意到：在豪雅腕表的消费人群中，千禧年后出生的一代人增长尤为迅猛，这一切都要归功于全球品牌大使——足球巨星C罗(Cristiano Ronaldo)以及超模贝拉•哈迪德(Bella Hadid)最近与公司签订的合作协议，两大巨星拥有的Instagram粉丝数分别高达1.18亿与1650万。

Tariffs vary enormously according to the length and type of projects, as well as the parties involved. Influencers seeking to elevate their status might be willing to work for free for a desirable high-end brand in exchange for an experience that will provide content for their media channels. Sometimes the brand secures media coverage about the influencer as part of the collaboration’s agreement.网红获得的具体酬劳因合作时长、合作类型以及合作对象而大相径庭。醉心提升自己影响力的网红或许愿为自己心仪的高端品牌免费代言，以换取在社交媒体上奉上自己亲身体验的素材。作为协议内容之一，品牌公司有时会确保网红获得足够的媒体关注度。

An influencer with 100,000 followers on Instagram can charge around £2,000 per picture, while celebrity influencers with between 4m and 20m followers can charge £5,000-£13,000, according to Hopper, a company offering an “Instagram planner and scheduling tool”. Selena Gomez’s social media posts to her 132m followers, however, are worth $550,000 each, Hopper says.据Hopper公司统计：拥有10万Instagram粉丝数的网红每张照片酬劳约为2000英镑；而拥有400万-2000万粉丝数知名网红的酬劳是5000-13000英镑。Hopper公司负责“策划在Instagram造势事宜以及安排旅游行程”。但Hopper说，拥有1320万粉丝数的塞莱娜•戈麦斯(Selena Gomez)，其在社交媒体的每张晒照酬劳高达55万美元。

From the perspective of watch and jewellery houses, collaborations are more successful when the influencers develop a genuine affection for the items they have been gifted and wear them beyond the contractual period. In this sense, Olivier Billon recommends that brands work with influencers “who have a real passion and interest for a brand and commit to create authentic posts”, rather than choosing them on the basis of crude numeric figures.而在腕表及首饰品牌公司看来，网红们若真心喜欢上了代言品牌、且在有效合同期满后依然“爱不释手”，彼此的合作就会更上一层楼。奥利维尔•比龙(Olivier Billon)劝告说，从这种意义上说，品牌公司要与“痴迷自家品牌、并致力于晒出真实可信美照”的网红合作，而不是仅凭网红的大致粉丝数决定合作对象。

Mr Billon explains the importance of focusing on “achieving high engagement rates (above 5 per cent) in likes, comments and shares” and adds that often micro-influencers (those with fewer than 50,000 followers) offer higher levels of engagement. “It’s peer-to-peer marketing. Influencers may not be our friends, however they are constantly present when we look at our social media feed.”比龙说关注“点赞、点评以及共享等方面实现高互动率”(high engagement rates)至关重要，并补充说那些小网红（micro-influencers，粉丝数少于5万）与粉丝的互动率往往更高。“这是点对点营销法(peer-to-peer marketing)，网红或许并非我们的朋友，但我们游览社交媒体讯息(social media feed)时，他们通常在线。”

Selectivity is important for influencers too. “I do what I do out of enthusiasm, and often simple egotism,” says Chiara Ferragni. Ms Ferragni is a self-made social media celebrity, with 11m followers on Instagram, and is now chief executive and creative director of a small empire born out of her blog, theblondesalad.com. In 2017 Ms Ferragni and her sister Valentina’s collaborations generated €6m and are expected to grow by 80 per cent in 2018, while Ms Ferragni’s shoe line reported $20m in revenues in 2016.而对于网红来说，专一与否同样重要。“我做这一切完全出于真心喜欢，而且往往是以自我为中心。”嘉拉•法拉格尼(Chiara Ferragni)说。法拉格尼是白手起家的超级网红，其Instagram粉丝数高达1100万，如今是自创同名品牌的创意总监与CEO，该品牌就脱胎于自己的博客theblondesalad.com。2017年，法拉格尼与妹妹瓦伦蒂娜(Valentina)合创的品牌实现了600万欧元的销售额，今年有望实现80%的增长率，而法拉格尼推出的系列鞋早在2016年就实现了2000万美元的业绩。

Together with her co-founder, Riccardo Pozzoli (now a minority stakeholder with no operational role), she executed a plan to build a personal brand with carefully selected partnerships and iron discipline. Ms Ferragni minutely lists and files everything she needs to act upon on her phone, which rarely leaves her hand, and instead of being represented by one of the leading modelling agencies, which have stepped into the influencers’ business, she has her own talent manager.法拉格尼与联合创始人里卡尔多•波佐利(Riccardo Pozzoli)一起，用精挑细选的合作者与铁一般的纪律把创建个人品牌的计划付诸实施。里卡尔多•波佐利如今已是小股东，不参与公司经营事务。法拉格尼在形影不离的手机上把自己需做之事仔细罗列与归类好，然后运用自己的人才管理师，而不是聘请知名模特公司做形象代言人（而这已是网红行业的新常态）。

“I prefer to concentrate on long-term partnerships rather than one-off projects,” she says. Ms Ferragni has collaborated with Cartier since 2014 for the launches of the Amulette necklace, the new smaller version of the Love bracelet and the Panthère watch (duly hashtagged #ad on her Instagram account).“我更喜欢长期而非一次性合作关系。”她说。自2014年以来，法拉格尼已与卡地亚(Cartier )合推了Amulette项链、Love最新款小型手镯以及猎豹腕表(Panthère)（适时在其Instagrm账号上晒出带有主题标签的美照）。

She also has a longstanding partnership with the emerging jewellery brand Nétali Nissim. Ms Nissim says that one of Ms Ferragni’s Instagram posts where she is wearing gifted Nétali Nissim items generates between 5,000 and 10,000 visits to the brand’s website. Ms Nissim credits the brand’s social media activity for its introduction into retail spaces.她还与新创首饰品牌Nétali Nissim签订了长期合作协议。尼西姆说法拉格尼在Instagram上每晒一张佩戴设计精巧的Nétali Nissim首饰的美照，自家网站的访问量就会增加5000-10000次。尼西姆在社交媒体为自家品牌大肆造势就是为了助力销售。

Cartier (where I formerly worked) is a prime mover in the influencer sphere. Before Valentine’s Day 2017, the maison partnered with 50 social media influencers to promote the Love bracelet — a lighter and more accessible version, priced at £3,600, of the bestselling original.卡地亚（我昔日曾在此高就）是网红营销领域的主要推手。2017年情人节前，它与50位网红合作推销Love手镯（比最畅销的老款更为轻盈、也更为便宜，售价为3600英镑）。

At an event in April 2017, Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier’s chief executive, said that the campaign had reached 45m people — predominantly young — while “more mature customers discovered the novelty in store”. He added that “influencers were carefully chosen according to talent and affinity with the maison rather than fame”. Cartier now splits its communications spend almost equally between “classic” advertising and events, influencers and social media.2017年4月的一场促销活动上，卡地亚CEO Cyrille Vigneron说宣传活动的“受众”达4500万（绝大多数为年轻人），而“更为成熟老练的顾客则去实体店体验购买推出的新奇款式”。他还补充说，“网红们都经精挑细选——依据是其能力大小以及与公司的关系密切程度而非单纯名气”。卡地欧如今把广告宣传基本对半分——“传统”广告宣传以及依靠网红在社交媒体进行宣传。

Mr Billon, however, warns brands against solely relying on content generated by influencers. A brand’s mystique, which can be conveyed in blog posts, might be jeopardised if simply shrunk to square-formatted pictures accompanied by a few words and hashtags on Instagram. He says that “it’s a matter of striking the balance between influencers’ and brands’ created content” and questions whether it is appropriate for customers to discover elaborate and expensive creations through influencers.但是，比龙警告各大品牌公司不要单纯依靠网红在社交媒体的宣传。品牌的神秘感可以经由博客文章传递，但若只借助Instagram上固定格式的美照（只有只言片语以及主题标签），就可能会很危险。他说“重要的是实现两者的平衡——网红与公司在社交媒体打造的内容”与消费者通过网红发现名贵精巧款式是否合适的实际问题。

He is privy to brands’ concerns as he has worked with most of the important luxury houses. Some still hold out against influencers, however: Hermès, the leather goods and fashion house, resists collaborating with influencers if it involves payments, gifts or ad hoc experiences.他对各大品牌公司的关切点一清二楚，原因是他与多数奢侈品巨擎合作过。但有些公司至今仍对网红并不待见：一旦涉及具体酬劳、免费赠送或是临时体验产品，皮草制品与时尚巨擎爱马仕(Hermès)就坚决不与网红合作。

Influencers’ posts have starting to attract regulators’ attention. The US Federal Trade Commission released guidelines in March 2017 and sent letters to influencers in September warning them to disclose paid-for social media posts with a view to protecting consumers.网红在社交媒体的大肆晒照已引发管理机构的关切。美国联邦贸易委员会(The US Federal Trade Commission )2017年三月颁布了相关规定，并于去年九月给各网红去信，警告其需披露在社交媒体的晒照是否有偿，以保护消费者合法权益。

However, if concerns arise about possible violations, the FTC guidelines state that brands are “ultimately responsible for what others do on your behalf”. In order to co-operate with the FTC, Instagram introduced a “paid partnership” tag in June 2017.但是，若是产生侵权事宜，联邦贸易委员会规定各大品牌公司“最终为其代言的网红行为负责”。 2017年6月，Instagram推出了“付费合作伙伴”(Paid Partnership)标识，为的就是与联邦贸易委员会进行合作。

Pelle Sjoenell is worldwide chief creative officer at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the advertising agency that orchestrated merchandising campaigns for singers Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. He urges companies to reconsider millennials and the communications strategies aimed at them. He believes that there are “too many celebrities and influencers trying to sell us things”, which will eventually disengage the audience: “[Brands cannot expect] to tag along without looking like they are jumping on the bandwagon.” They should not neglect “the long-form, knowledge, expertise, depth” when appealing to millennials either, rather than assuming a single post will do.Pelle Sjoenell是广告代理商百比赫(Bartle Bogle Hegarty)全球首席创意官，百比赫精心策划了小天王贾斯汀•比伯(Justin Bieber)与阿莉安娜•格兰德(Ariana Grande)的宣传造势活动。他敦促各大品牌公司重新斟酌千禧年后出生的一代人以及有针对性的宣传策略。他认为“太多的名人与网红都在想方设法兜卖代言的产品”，而此举最终会与网民渐行渐远：“品牌公司若要指望粉丝如影随形，就得装出同样是随大流者。”它们若要吸引千禧年后出生的一代人，不应忽视“长期格式、专业知识以及是否有深刻见地”，而不是仅以晒出的一张美照充数。

Sometimes influence is not enough. Kristina Bazan, 24, was one of the first bloggers whom high-end watch and jewellery houses trusted, and she has amassed 4m followers on social media since 2012. When she told her father she wanted to start a blog, kayture.com, he demanded a business plan and monthly meetings to monitor her progress, turning it into a career from the off.有时候，光有影响力远远不够。今年24岁的克里斯蒂娜•巴赞(Kristina Bazan)是首批时尚博主，颇受高端腕表与首饰品牌待见；自2012年来，她的社交媒体积攒的粉丝数已达400万。当初她告知其父开办博客kayture.com的想法时，对方要求其说出企划书，而且每月与其会面以监督其具体进展，此举使其一开始就树立了打持久战的思想准备。

It is still working well — Ms Bazan attended the extravagant relaunch party for the Cartier Panthère watch in Los Angeles in May; flew to the Cannes Film Festival as L’Oréal ambassador, wearing Chopard jewellery; and has filmed a project for watch brand IWC. But like many other influencers, Ms Bazan is embarking on a new venture: music. So why music now? She takes a deep breath: “I miss the profound.”巴赞的博客依然办得风生水起——巴赞参加了卡地亚去年五月在洛杉矶举行的全新推出猎豹腕新表的盛大派对；随后作为欧莱雅形象大使、佩戴萧邦首饰(Chopard)飞赴戛纳电影节(Cannes Film Festival)；并为IWC万国表拍摄了广告片。但与其他网红一样，巴赞如今开始试水全新行当——音乐。那么为何选择如今这个时间点呢？她深吸一口气后说道：“我缺乏深层次的东西。”