Page 12 - AdNews Sep-Oct 2021
P. 12

                  Feature
The number of social media users in New Zealand increased by 2.8%, or 110,000, in 2020 and 2021, according to Hootsuite’s Digital 2021 report. This took the number of social media users in the country to 82% of the total population in January this year.
Hootsuite also found that 22.7% of New Zealanders follow influenc- ers on social media compared to 21.6% of global internet users who follow influencers and experts on social media. Additionally, 31.3% of New Zealanders use social media for brand research.
The Social Club, New Zealand’s “biggest independent” social media agency, noticed an increase in spend on influencer marketing during the pandemic, a trend seen around the world.
“We really experienced a surge in our spend on influencers and also social media in New Zealand,” says The Social Club co-CEO Melanie Spencer.
“It was really the place where brands could communicate with their communities, entertain, inform and inspire. We found a lot of brands were like, ‘Holy moly, this is really the only way we can connect with our communities, or one of the best ways to connect with our community.’
“That trust was there with the inf luencers who already had a relationship with the brand so that’s why there was that surge.”
The Social Club, which was acquired by specialist social media agency Socialites Group last year, has close to 12,000 influencers on its database across Australia and New Zealand.
Spencer says the influencer mar- keting space in New Zealand is still “bubbling” with a noticeable increase in demand coming from both local and international brands.
Influencers are much scarcer in New Zealand and have smaller followers due to the population size. However, The Social Club account director Courtenay Clark says the quality is on the same level with influencers in other markets.
“In New Zealand it’s so impor- tant to think about the audience first and not the who but the why,” says Clark.
Top left: Courtenay Clark. Top right, on next page: Clare Winterbourn. Bottom left:
New Zealand influencer Kaitlin Chapman. Bottom right:
New Zealand influencer Varsha Reddy.
   




















































































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