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Social Media Influencers & Golf

golfunfiltered

golfunfiltered

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Social media influencers, whether you like the name or not, have become a valuable marketing tool for brands across the golf spectrum. There is no questioning the fact that social media plays a major role in sales, driven mainly by these personalities. And, of course, influencers have received their fair share of criticism recently.

What are your thoughts on this trend?
 
I think it's a smart move by brands to associate themselves with influences or social media personalities, they're able to reach a large number of people very quickly. The one nice thing, though some people seem to forget it based on some comment sections, it allows the consumer to pick and choose who they follow, unlike commercials which may not seem to have substance to some.
 
Can't blame anyone for making a buck doing what they love (Influencers), and can't blame the OEMs for using a cost-effective tool for sales.
 
I generally loathe "influencers" because I immediately think of the 23 yros who have never worked a day in their life but get sponsors because they show pictures of their ass every day. When it comes to golf, I'm less annoyed. Even when golf companies capitalize on beautiful women with millions of followers, those women have freaking game and earned their followers. And as long as the affiliation is known--PXG pays me, Callaway pays me, etc.--then I don't see how its any different than using celebrities in commercials, just like McDonald's use to do with games of horse between MJ and Bird.
 
My guess is that if celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kim Kardashian, LeBron James etc....started posting golf related photos to their instagram accounts, this would motivate lots of people to try golf.
As for golf equipment companies activity for their own corporate social media accounts, I don't know if that makes any significant difference one way or the other.
 
I think thats where most OEM sponsorship dollars are going to go in the future. Look at YouTubers like Peter Finch - full apparel, bag, and 14 club sponsorship. How many touring professionals have that level of sponsorship? On the surface that seems weird, but he gets roughly 2 million views per month. How many times do you see Peter Malnati on TV every month? Heck, even Brooks Koepka? I think it makes good sense to spend sponsorship dollars on these people, because they're more likely to comment on their apparel and clubs than someone like Dustin Johnson. TaylorMade is connecting him with their other athletes, which is improving his content and therefor improving their return on investing in him. I think Peter Finch probably works a lot harder for TaylorMade than DJ does, and while having DJs on your roster is important I think that fact isn't lost on them.
 
I guess I don't really care. It's a weird job though. Are people that gullible? I don't follow any influencers or even know who they are. It's another form of advertising and marketing, which is fine.
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
I think thats where most OEM sponsorship dollars are going to go in the future. Look at YouTubers like Peter Finch - full apparel, bag, and 14 club sponsorship. How many touring professionals have that level of sponsorship? On the surface that seems weird, but he gets roughly 2 million views per month. How many times do you see Peter Malnati on TV every month? Heck, even Brooks Koepka? I think it makes good sense to spend sponsorship dollars on these people, because they're more likely to comment on their apparel and clubs than someone like Dustin Johnson. TaylorMade is connecting him with their other athletes, which is improving his content and therefor improving their return on investing in him. I think Peter Finch probably works a lot harder for TaylorMade than DJ does, and while having DJs on your roster is important I think that fact isn't lost on them.
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Good points. Although, since Finch became sponsored I rarely watch any of his videos. I may be an outlier though.
 
Good for those that are able to make it work. It's a smart move for businesses to utilize and it can be a genius way for individuals to make money also.
 
I am good with it as long as the person that is the influencer is an actual golfer. The way things are going in social media is not one that I am all that interested in, but, sure seems full of 20 year olds just trying to make a buck and get free stuff along the way. I am sure in the years to come, the ones that are actually honest and care about a product/service/company etc will still be in "business".
 
DonJuan said:
Good points. Although, since Finch became sponsored I rarely watch any of his videos. I may be an outlier though.
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He never really did equipment reviews so it didn’t bother me as a subscriber when he got a club deal. It’s a little weird when people like Mark Crossfield do club reviews while they’re sponsored. Just call it a commercial.
 
I follow a few on instagram and twitter, but I can say that they do not have any DIRECT impact on my purchases. But I honestly can't say they don't have a subconscious impact on thought processes and eventual purchases.

With the way our culture is going it makes sense for OEMs to advertise there as I would guess a) the cost is lower than what sponsoring a tour player used to be and b) most of us spend more time looking at our phones than we do a TV. So would guess ROI makes it worth it.

For the actual "influencers" I don't blame them in the slightest, if someone came to me and said they were going to pay me 60% of my current salary and cover costs for me to go golf all the time...would be hard to pass up.

So good for them, but I would worry, like I do about many industries in what happens in the next 5-10 years. Is this something you can do long term, or will interests change/you age out and are left trying to find a new career with very little real world skills and nothing in the way of experience at a later stage in life?
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
I think thats where most OEM sponsorship dollars are going to go in the future. Look at YouTubers like Peter Finch - full apparel, bag, and 14 club sponsorship. How many touring professionals have that level of sponsorship? On the surface that seems weird, but he gets roughly 2 million views per month. How many times do you see Peter Malnati on TV every month? Heck, even Brooks Koepka? I think it makes good sense to spend sponsorship dollars on these people, because they're more likely to comment on their apparel and clubs than someone like Dustin Johnson. TaylorMade is connecting him with their other athletes, which is improving his content and therefor improving their return on investing in him. I think Peter Finch probably works a lot harder for TaylorMade than DJ does, and while having DJs on your roster is important I think that fact isn't lost on them.
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My questions would be has Peter Finch Jr any social media influence actually influenced you to make a purchase?

If many answer yes then it is money well spent. For me personally, I’m not going to game a bag of gear because Peter Finch or Paige Spirinac game them.


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Social Media Influencers & Golf

Social Media Influencers & Golf

j_sizzle9 said:
My questions would be has Peter Finch Jr any social media influence actually influenced you to make a purchase?

If many answer yes then it is money well spent. For me personally, I’m not going to game a bag of gear because Peter Finch or Paige Spirinac game them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I tried the TP5 (mostly) because of him switching.

You could easily argue that no one makes any purchases based on endorsements, but the amount of money OEMs spend on their endorsements leads me to believe that there is a return to be had somewhere. Why would TM pay him £50,000 per year (completely random number) if he didn’t bring to them £50,001 worth of business?

As for Paige Spirinac, I don’t think I would look very good in her apparel.

Edit - if you think of THP as social media, I’ve made a lot of purchases based off of what I’ve read and been involved with here. Are JB and Canadan influencers?
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
I tried the TP5 (mostly) because of him switching.

You could easily argue that no one makes any purchases based on endorsements, but the amount of money OEMs spend on their endorsements leads me to believe that there is a return to be had somewhere. Why would TM pay him £50,000 per year (completely random number) if he didn’t bring to them £50,001 worth of business?

As for Paige Spirinac, I don’t think I would look very good in her apparel.
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When you say no purchases made based on endorsements, are you only referring to social media influencers or all endorsements (including PGA players)?
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
He never really did equipment reviews so it didn’t bother me as a subscriber when he got a club deal. It’s a little weird when people like Mark Crossfield do club reviews while they’re sponsored. Just call it a commercial.
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I know he didn't really do reviews, but it still made me lose interest. I don't know why. Same thing with Crossfield, although I didn't really watch him much.
 
j_sizzle9 said:
My questions would be has Peter Finch Jr any social media influence actually influenced you to make a purchase?

If many answer yes then it is money well spent. For me personally, I’m not going to game a bag of gear because Peter Finch or Paige Spirinac game them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Depending on the size of the deal vs. views, it is almost the equivalent of purchasing ad space for a tv commercial. Just getting the name out there you could say. Portraying a certain image they want their brand associated with. I know I have rarely purchased anything that I can think of based on a TV commercial. But, see enough ads and that brand is on your brain when you are contemplating a purchase of any sort.
 
I watch Crossfield all of the time. I have bought some clubs based on his findings and numbers (Never bought a Titleist club). I also bought a Foot Joy rain jacket because I liked the way it looked. Just my two cents. I have also bought clubs/products based on what I see and read on THP.
 
BuckNasty said:
When you say no purchases made based on endorsements, are you only referring to social media influencers or all endorsements (including PGA players)?
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I guess all together
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
I tried the TP5 (mostly) because of him switching.

You could easily argue that no one makes any purchases based on endorsements, but the amount of money OEMs spend on their endorsements leads me to believe that there is a return to be had somewhere. Why would TM pay him £50,000 per year (completely random number) if he didn’t bring to them £50,001 worth of business?

As for Paige Spirinac, I don’t think I would look very good in her apparel.

Edit - if you think of THP as social media, I’ve made a lot of purchases based off of what I’ve read and been involved with here. Are JB and Canadan influencers?
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Fair enough. Obviously based off of you along TM is getting their monies worth from Finch.

I think purchasing based off a THP review/Social Media is a little different as this is considered unbiased feedback IMO.

I’ve never seen you but I agree you wouldn’t look good in Paige Spiranac apparel.

radiman said:
Depending on the size of the deal vs. views, it is almost the equivalent of purchasing ad space for a tv commercial. Just getting the name out there you could say. Portraying a certain image they want their brand associated with. I know I have rarely purchased anything that I can think of based on a TV commercial. But, see enough ads and that brand is on your brain when you are contemplating a purchase of any sort.
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Interesting take. Thinking of it that way makes much more sense. Just a different type or TV commercial for those people who talked to that particular influencer.

I guess if someone feels a connection to that influencer they might be more likely to try what they use.

Changed my mind. Carry on! Lol



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Directly I have never purchased anything just because of a social media post. Indirectly I have tried some things out that I may not have and some of that has led to purchases.

I don't care who is hocking apparel, I have a Nike discount so that is my main choice for that.
 
If the OEMs think they can help them, more power to them. It doesnt effect my decision on what gear Im going to buy though. To me, if some hot golf girl on IG is posting about some new gear she got which she claims to love, to me shes nothing more than a girl who plays golf and posts sexy pics on IG.
 
For those who have made club or ball purchases based on a review or influencer coverage, did you do so right-out or did you also validate through a fitting?
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
I guess all together
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I can't speak from the influencer side, but during our discussion with Yags at the MC he mentioned that after wins by Bryson/Rickie they see a material increase in sales directly following the event (and I'm sure they see other impacts through using them both in marketing items and having them play well on tour). The interesting thing they did note is those same increases in sales have not been seen when Lexi wins on the LPGA tour.
 
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