Marketing activities moved to social media have dramatically changed the nature of marketing. Remarkably, 63% of US consumers have reported that they tend to purchase products taking into account the recommendations of social media influencers.
Marketing activities moved to social media have dramatically changed the nature of marketing. Remarkably, 63% of US consumers have reported that they tend to buy products considering the recommendations of social media influencers.
Social media has recently become a platform not only for promoting specific brands and products, but also for promoting green products and companies, and informing people about the climate crisis. Many companies are designing or using products and processes that are less harmful to the environment. Automatic dimmers, electronic sensors, windows with higher thermal performance, and compact fluorescents are just a few simple examples. Technologies that save energy and water, recycling programs, zero waste systems, and environmentally friendly building designs are becoming indispensable for tourism businesses. Green influencers stand out as the new generation of mentors who introduce companies' green practices to customers.
At first glance, it might seem that influencers with many followers are more effective in terms of marketing, but this does not reflect the truth. The issue is not the number of followers, but the engagement rate. The engagement rate expresses the interest followers show in the posts. Customers find influencers who focus on a specific area and have fewer followers more convincing and show more engagement. Therefore, companies have started to prefer influencers who specialize in certain areas. A subtype of specialized influencers are green influencers who promote green products and companies along with a sustainable lifestyle and eco-consciousness.
Many tourism companies are looking for more effective ways to collaborate with expert influencers who focus on a specific area to reach target customers. Green influencers, as expert influencers, recommend sustainable lifestyles and green products and encourage their followers to protect the environment. For example, influencers can share informative posts about the effects of climate change or introduce a product or company that is less harmful to the environment.
Despite the increasing prevalence of green influencer marketing among practitioners, how it should be defined and measured remains unclear. This points to a serious research gap. Therefore, this research aimed to conceptualize, measure, and test green influencer marketing.
This research makes an original contribution to the literature by conceptualizing green influencer marketing and developing a scale for its measurement. This research also makes a fundamental contribution to the literature by revealing how green influencer marketing directs followers to environmentally friendly tourism products.
What Does Green Influencer Marketing Suggest?
Do you want to be a green influencer? Follow the two dimensions suggested in this study. Start with posts that promote environmental sustainability. For example, you can share a post about recycling methods at home for housewives. After you have a loyal follower base, you can introduce environmentally friendly products and companies. Are you looking for a marketing partner? Look at whether influencers follow the above two dimensions. Remember, sustainability first, then environmentally friendly product.
The basic propositions of green influencer marketing are as follows: Create a loyal follower base. But how? Instead of reaching everyone, focus on individuals interested in specific areas. The way to become a green influencer is to reach environmentally friendly followers. Remember, the quality of interaction is more important than the number of followers. To achieve this, you need to reach followers who are genuinely interested.
So How Do Environmentally Friendly Followers Become Loyal Followers?
Follow the suggestions below:
- Make posts aiming to reduce food, water, and energy waste!
- Create awareness about climate change with your posts!
- Support zero waste and minimalist lifestyle with your posts!
- Announce and support campaigns aiming to improve the environment!
A warning! Do not introduce environmentally friendly products without creating an environmentally friendly follower base. This will damage the perception of authenticity and reality. You can start marketing after you have a highly interactive environmentally friendly follower base. At this stage, companies will offer you marketing partnerships.
Follow the suggestions below.
- Share the contents of environmentally friendly businesses and products.
- Give priority to businesses using recycling systems.
- Share the contents of businesses that use the least energy and resources in product design.
- Prepare contents promoting the advantages of buying environmentally friendly products.
Sustainability first, then environmentally friendly product
The findings have revealed that green influencer marketing has a two-dimensional structure, namely environmental sustainability-focused impact and environmentally friendly product-focused impact.
Environmentally friendly product-focused impact refers to the extent to which social media influencers introduce green products or environmentally friendly companies in their content.
Environmental sustainability-focused impact refers to the extent to which social media influencers introduce environmental sustainability in their content.
This finding will help influencers and companies adopt a holistic perspective. Sharing content related only to environmentally friendly products is not sufficient for effective marketing. Content informing followers about environmental sustainability should also be shared. It should not be forgotten that the perception of authenticity and reality is extremely important.
In summary, green influencer marketing directs customers to buy environmentally friendly tourism products by promoting environmental awareness among followers and creating personal interest alignment between the influencer and the follower. As a result, the findings have revealed the nature of the marketing activities carried out by green influencers and provided insights about the outcomes of green influencer marketing.
Study link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2023.2273755
Kılıç, İ., & Gürlek, M. (2023). Green influencer marketing: conceptualization, scale development, and validation: an application to tourism products. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.10
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