The Future Of Virtual Influencers – Podcast
December 14, 2021 - 3 minutes read - Digital Marketing, PodcastVirtual influencers – have you heard of them?
If not, you should start paying attention.
You will start to see them more and more in 2022 and beyond.
I recently recorded a podcast episode for DigitalMarketer on this new trend of virtual influencers.
It’s a bite-size episode that gives you everything you need to know about virtual influencers and their impact on marketing.
In case this is a new concept to you…
A virtual influencer is a computer-generated fictional character that is used in social media marketing as a substitute for a human “influencer”. Source: Wikipedia.
Yes, that’s right, they are basically robots that exist on the internet, but they are making real money as influencers. Well, their human owners are.
Welcome to the world of AI influencers.
This is actually quite fascinating and it’s really easy to go down a rabbit hole of virtual influencers.
The two pictured in this photo are Shudu (left) and lil Miquela (right)
What’s really crazy is how human-like many of them are.
In fact, the virtual influencer Shudu is so human-like that in March 2018, despite Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brand not knowing whether Shudu was a real person or not, the company reposted her content on their own platforms and exposed her to over 8.1 million followers.
These virtual influencers are getting hired by companies like:
Samsung, adidas, Prada Group, Dior, Calvin Klein, and so many other well-known brands.
They are seen as less of a flight risk than human influencers, because, well, they don’t make as many human-like mistakes.
They won’t get caught drinking a competitor’s soda or embroiled in some scandal.
Brands are embracing them and paying big $$$ to this new wave of virtual influencers.
I’m really curious to see where this goes and how many more brands will hire these virtual influencers in the future.
What are your thoughts?
Would you or your clients ever consider hiring a virtual influencer?
Is this really the future of Influencer Marketing?
You can listen to my 14-minute DigitalMarketer podcast episode on virtual influencers on Apple Podcasts here.
Or listen on Spotify here.
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