The Engagement Rate

An industry bulletin for marketing pros.

Post of the week

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Influencer & brand wins of the week 🏅

💄Sephora leads innovation 

Sephora topped the list for most innovative cosmetics brands, followed by Dove and e.l.f., based on a survey of 7,806 consumers ranking brands by their innovation in meeting expectations across various sectors, with Mattel, Ozempic, McDonald’s, Amazon, and WeChat leading in other categories.

Comments - an essential marketing strategy

For many brands, the comments section is starting to become more essential than the videos themselves. And it’s not a brand’s own comments section either, but rather it’s the leaving of breadcrumbs scattered across other videos by creators that garner traction. You’ve seen it across TikTok in particular, from PepsiCo to Duolingo, and it’s clear that you’re missing a trick if this is not in your marketing strategy. 

Just last week, American Eagle got over 50,000 likes commenting on a video made by Emily Zugay, who redesigned a new logo for the brand. “The comments section has become an essential part of the brand’s TikTok strategy of “show[ing] up and us[ing[ the platform in the same vein as [its] consumers,” said Craig Brommers, American Eagle’s chief marketing officer. “TikTok has made commenting ‘cool’ and it has allowed us to find our ‘voice’ on the platform and show off our personality… [and] have learned that more positive interactions with customers equates to direct follower growth. 

According to Sprout Social, TikTok’s algorithm pushes videos that generate a lot of comment activity out to more users on ‘For You’ feeds, giving brands an excellent way to expand their presence to newer audiences. Mostafa ElBermawy, CEO and founder of growth marketing agency NoGood, talks about the effectiveness of dropping breadcrumbs of comments in comparison to spending a lot of capacity to curate the “perfect joke or a slam dunk” for a video. But it’s not without being present can you nail in landing a good impression. Reading the room and showing a good understanding of the cultural zeitgeist is what will determine success. In our next edition, we’ll cover examples and best ways to execute a solid comments strategy. Stay tuned… 

LinkedIn’s taking on influencer marketing 

Last week, LinkedIn announced something new: now, advertisers can pay to boost posts from regular users, even those with lots of followers. It's kind of like what Instagram and TikTok have been doing, turning popular users into brand promoters. LinkedIn hopes this move will give its revenue a boost, especially since it hasn't been growing much lately.

This change comes as LinkedIn looks for ways to grow. Despite having over 1 billion users, revenue has been going up by less than 10% each year since 2022. But it's a tough market out there—most of the money spent on influencer marketing goes to Instagram and TikTok, leaving LinkedIn with just a small piece of the pie. Experts say it might take some time for LinkedIn's new advertising feature to really catch on. Here’s why it matters:

👉LinkedIn influencers have key decision makers in their audience

LinkedIn influencers have significant sway over CEOs, CMOs, CFOs, and other decision-makers, influencing their purchasing decisions, making LinkedIn a prime platform to target key industry figures and executives seeking information before making buying choices.

👉The opinions of LinkedIn influencers carry weight

LinkedIn influencers often have a greater impact and reach compared to those on other platforms because they deliver longer-form, expert-driven content that resonates deeply with their professional audience.

👉LinkedIn is the right fit for many brands

LinkedIn influencers are often a better match for businesses with a professional, formal brand image, especially those in complex or specialized niches like B2B, where LinkedIn's focus on business professionals makes it easier to find influencers who can help distinguish the brand and generate leads, with 80% of social media generated B2B leads coming from LinkedIn according to Oktopost.