Introduction
10 years ago, the Internet was just there to share emails and chat with your network. But in today's world, it has evolved drastically.Have you heard about AI influencers?
The first time I heard about AI influencers, I was shocked and laughed. But if you know the impact of AI influencers on the business, you will surely be amazed. In this article, I will be discussing the rise of AI influencers.
What Are AI Influencers?
AI influencers are a relatively new generation of social media influencers who are AI-generated personalities developed through artificial intelligence & machine learning. Unlike ordinary influencers who are actual human beings, AI influencers are either virtual or digital beings capable of interacting with audiences on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.These virtual influencers are personified figures who look, act, or even sound like humans and for this reason, many of their followers may not easily find the difference.
They can share status updates, reply to fan messages, and become marketers, working with brands to advertise their products and services.
AI influencers are the latest generation created manually and programmed to act like real people. They have advantages like never going off message, being available 24/7, and being programmed to target particular audiences.
They have become increasingly popular recently, particularly on Instagram, because of their well-coordinated images and the consistency of their character. There are some of these characters who have millions of followers and thus are significant in influencer marketing.
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1. Lil Miquela (@lilmiquela)
Lil Miquela is one of the most popular A.I. influencers, loved by millions of followers on Instagram. The actress was developed by a creative studio called Brud. Her real-life-like character is that of a young Brazilian-American living in Los Angeles who is a model and singer of 19 years old. Lil Miquela actively shares fashion and music content as well as social justice problems and is beloved among Gen Z and Millennials. She has worked with the most prestigious fashion companies for instance Prada, Calvin Klein, and Samsung.2. Shudu (@shudu. gram)
Shudu is recognized as one of the world’s first Digital supermodels. British photographer Cameron-James Wilson created this perfect black woman and focuses on high fashion. For fashion houses, she worked as a model for Balmain and Fenty Beauty and has been featured on magazine covers.3. Bermuda (@bermudaisbae)
Bermuda is an AI personality created by Brood, the same company behind Lil Miquela. She is a blonde, very conservative, and slightly funny girl who sometimes debates political topics and portrays herself as a blogger living in a luxury world. Her blog sometimes combines fashion and lifestyle with a touch of politics, making her one of the most disliked AI personalities on the Instagram platform.4. Imma (@imma. gram)
Imma is a pink-haired virtual model living in Tokyo, Japan. She has impressed people by posting futuristic and artistic content in which she shows traditional Japanese culture with a contemporary style. It is safe to say that Imma is now one of the most popular and sought-after AI influencers in the Asian market, her previous collaborations include IKEA, Porsche, and Nike.5. Blawko (@blawko22)
Blaco, another creation of the Brud, is a tattooed streetwear-loving influencer with an AI inserted into his life, often expressing his opinions on relationships, culture, and modern-day anxiety. Due to his tough look, Blaco targets those interested in urban wear and sports casual style.How to Create AI Influencers?
Developing an AI influencer involves a mixture of artificial intelligence, creative designs, and based on social media strategy.Here is a process as follows:
1. Conceptualization and Character Design
To get started in designing an AI influencer, one is required to choose the look, age, gender, fashion accessory, and niche of the influencer. During this phase, there is normally a creative team comprising digital artists, character designers, and writers who develop a story culture, habits, characters, and principles for the influencer.2. Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Once the character-building process is complete, the artificial intelligence features will be applied. AI influencers are programmed to automate by commenting and posting on a scheduled basis and even engaging with followers through national language processing.3. Branding and Social media presence
AI influencer, one has to have an active account on various social media platforms to acquire followers. These accounts are set to continuously share interesting content that can be in the form of photos, videos, stories, or reels. Just like traditional influencers, the personality, tonality, and visual theme of each AI influencer are created and targeted to a specific audience. They are also affiliated with human influencers, brands, and digital marketing teams.4. Storytelling and Content Strategy
The important thing to know is to look at the kind of stories that are being played by an AI influencer to his or her followers. It is crucial to share viewers' attention and engage them in watching the videos that tell about daily life, fashion choices, or social causes. A team content strategy makes the AI character so well that it looks like a real character with a good story so that an audience can relate easily.You May Also Like: 40 Digital Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
How do AI influencers make money?
You will be surprised to know how AI influencers are making more money than most human influencers.1. Brand Collaborations and Sponsorships
Like human influencers, artificial intelligence influencers promote brands through products and services. Since AI influencers are designed to match a company's image, they usually sign profitable collaborations. The main reason why brands are more attracted to AI influencers is that they can never go wrong with the rules and can easily stay away from controversies. The level of partnership can range from simple product endorsements to large-scale advertising campaigns with global brands.2. Affiliate Marketing
AI influencers also benefit from affiliate marketing as they are also paid commissions. They post individual affiliate links in their content and entice followers to buy a product or service from partnered companies. If the followers make a purchase using these links then the AI influencer earns some commission on those sales. Users can be highly influenced by AI sales because of their continuous presence on Social media sites.3. Merchandising
Some AI influencers boost their extra income by offering stickers, caps, or other similar products with an AI logo, apparel, digital goods, etc. For instance, Lil Miquela has her line of apparel wear and other accessories such as T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. AI influencers can also market services such as music or art NFT collectibles.So here you can get an idea of how technology becomes smart.
4. Sponsored Content
AI influencers also make money by creating sponsored posts and stories on social media applications. Companies approach them for all sorts of deals that require them to present brand information to their audience in a natural way. Due to this, most AI influencers will not get bored like humans, and hence, they post frequently, resulting in a lot of sponsored posts, which leads to more profits for the influencer.5. Digital Appearances
AI influencers can also attend virtual events such as fashion shows or models for a brand in a music video. Although their creators can lease their image or character to be displayed in virtual worlds, it will contribute to expanding the revenues. Such virtual events have become quite common especially in the metaverse because it allows AI influencers to interact with the audiences in real-time.6. Licensing and Endorsements
The use of AI influencers can sell its image and character specifically to ads, promotions, marketing, endorsements, or even other interactive experiences. The second type of licensing enables brands to capture the influencer’s image in a video advertisement, billboard, or any other form of advertisement. One of the advantages of AI influencers is that they are completely controlled by their marketers and thus, the brand image is constant and safe for brands that are worried about their image.7. Content Syndication
Another way through which AI influencers can monetize is by selling their content to other application developers. For instance, their picture, a video, or their entire campaign can be repurposed and shared across media channels or social networks. This opens venues for making revenue through earning royalties basis, whereby brands or media outlets purchase the license to employ the prepared content.FAQs
Are AI influencers better than human influencers?
It depends on what people think. AI influencers can sometimes be just as important or even more influential than humans depending on the circumstances. They are consistent, do not get tired, and can be set up to maintain the brand identity without any changes. However, they lack a human-like connection with followers, which can be easily found. Therefore, the efficiency can be explained by the target audience and the type of advertising and marketing campaign.Can AI influencers reply to a follower’s post or message in real-time?
Of course, there are AI influencers who use different AI techniques, one of which is NLP, to engage with their audience in real time. They respond to comments and engage with followers in real-time with meaningful conversations, which sometimes sets them apart from human influencers as they are very persistent and quick to respond.Does AI disclose that they are not real people?
Most AI influencers make it clear that they are AI, and most of their online profiles contain a disclaimer informing clients that they are AI influencers. However, some followers initially do not know whether they are AI or human. Ethics require that AI influencers must declare to the public that they are not real.Conclusion
In conclusion, AI influencers are becoming very important in the field of digital marketing. Their contribution to marketing is revolutionary. It depends on the marketer how well they can use these tactics.AI is continuously contributing well which results in more productivity. Those who are using this well, are far away from the competition. So it’s up to you how you can maintain a balance between humans and technology.