Influencer marketing for your digital strategy
- December 16, 2021
How many times have you scrolled through your Instagram or Facebook today?
How many texts have you sent since you woke up? What was the first thing you did when you picked up your phone in the morning? Maybe open an app?
The world has changed, our habits have changed and marketing has adapted.
The speed and agility of information available have changed the balance of power between brands and people.
In a world defined by consumers, we believe that influencer marketing converges on a core factor – trust. And let’s tell two more truths:
- We all follow at least one influencer on social media.
- We’ve all been influenced to buy or try a product thanks to their content, haven’t we?
What is "influencer marketing"?
Influencer Marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves a partnership between a brand and independent digital content producers (a.k.a. influencers) with influence over audiences of a certain size.
The goal of this partnership is to establish a bridge between the brand and the target audience of the influencers, which can represent a strong positive impact on the brand’s digital marketing strategy if done in the right way, since influencers have the ability to cause an effect on the brand’s image.
Influencer Marketing is a strategy that is increasingly used by companies to boost their awareness and sales.
Now explained in small words… it is nothing less than using a person -or a program that people know and trust- to help promote the company’s products. The whole idea is the following: if that person I know and trust uses that product, why shouldn’t I?
A very practical example is, all kids who play ball want Nike shoes, do you think it’s because they’re cooler and more comfortable than Adidas? Don’t condemn us now! We are not making any statement! But the point is, kids want Nike shoes because Cristiano Ronaldo wears Nike shoes, as simple as that. Cristiano Ronaldo, the best player in the world, wears those shoes, I want to wear them too!
Influencer Marketing on Content Strategy
One of the main benefits is the costs. Influencer marketing involves relatively low costs and the results are very positive and measurable, which makes it one of the most used strategies by brands.
Influencer Marketing impacts the image and reach of a brand, and can favor it in the eyes of a large number of people and thus influence their buying journey.
It has been seen that consumers are more influenced by people they recognize, admire and trust than by what the brands transmit themselves.
This type of strategy has given TOP results for companies. Influencer Marketing allows segmenting marketing and communication actions, choosing the most profitable target audience through the selection of influencers that best fit the company’s profile.
Influencer Marketing Statistics
Still not convinced? If those benefits aren’t enough for you, check out what the numbers say:
- Influence marketing is expected to reach $13.8 billion by 2021
- 90% of marketers consider influencer marketing effective
- 67% of brands use Instagram to do influencer marketing; 45% use TikTok; 43% Facebook; 36% YouTube; 16% LinkedIn; and 15% Twitter
- For every dollar invested in influencer marketing, brands earn $5.20
- 54% of influencers are willing to work with brands that respect them
- 89% of marketers consider the ROI of influencer marketing to be equivalent to or higher than other marketing channels
- 91% of millennials trust online reviews as much as friends and family
- 3725 billion people use social media daily
Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
Who are the "influencers"?
Basically, influencers are “ordinary” people, just like the consumers themselves, constituting the perfect link between brands and a specific audience (which respects them and trusts them).
People want information that is useful and/or entertaining, without advertising (especially about something that doesn’t interest them!).
You’ll notice that most of the time, influencers are dedicated to delivering value to their audience, and only at the end do they advertise or try to sell something…
Regarding the areas of expertise, there are influencers for the most diverse subjects: fashion, beauty, lifestyle, nutrition, cooking, entrepreneurship, sports, humor, etc.
How to apply Influencer Marketing in digital strategy
Influence Marketing is not an exact science. However, successful campaigns imply a whole planning that, in our opinion, goes through the following general lines:
Goal Setting
As with any other campaign, it establishes:
- What are the goals of your campaign?
- Who is the target audience?
- What are the expected results?
Search and Selection
Make a selection of influencers, using Google and search tools on social networks.
Influencers are usually ranked by the number of followers to make this selection. Pay attention to the influencer style that best suits your target audience and budget!
Below, we give you some tips to make a better decision.
Choose the right influencer
After a first survey, it is then up to the companies’ marketing managers to choose the most suitable influencers according to the established objectives.
There are 4 different types of influencers, based on the number of followers:
- Mega Influencers – with over 1 million followers, they are a great choice for bigger brands, with more financial resources, and who want to be globally recognized or associate their products with an influencer.
- Macro Influencers – between 100,000 and 1 million followers; they usually have a wide audience, but still manage to maintain engagement. They work great for brands that want to advertise to a specific, albeit large, niche market.
- Micro-Influencers – between 10 thousand and 100 thousand followers; they are usually experts in a particular market sector (e.g. fashion, sports, travel, etc.) Their community is characterized by loyalty and engagement, which can result in a higher conversion rate. In the eyes of the public, they tend to have greater authenticity and, therefore, credibility.
- Nano-Influencers – between 1,000 and 10,000 followers; they are the latest influencer type. Basically, they are “ordinary” consumers who have an above-average influence within their community. They tend to have little (or no) experience in working with brands professionally.
The 3 Rs of Influence
To make your choice easier, you should consider the 3 Rs of Influence:
- Relevance: Is the influencer someone important in your brand’s audience segment?
- Reach: Does the quantity and quality of people the influencer reach fit into your brand’s ideals?
- Resonance: Is the content the influencer produces relevant to your target audience? Does it really make a greater connection with people? Does it generate powerful engagement and positive results?
Campaign types
Social media gives shelter to many types of influence marketing. Some classic formats you can bet on are:
Giveaways
Giveaway campaigns are very popular for their simplicity and mutual benefits. All the influencer has to do is ask their followers to enter their email, to like a post or to comment on it, or answer a question, for example, in order to win a prize.
Social media takeover
In the so-called social media takeover, the influencer has access to the brand’s social media for a certain period of time, producing content for them.
Comissions
In this type of agreement, the influencer is paid or otherwise rewarded whenever a sale is made through their social media.
Sponsored Content
The influencer creates and publishes content that promotes your brand on their social media. Remember that the secret of successful influencer marketing is to give the influencer freedom to promote the product with their own style, as this is what captivates their followers, so in no way should you try to define what will be published.
Offers and presents
In this type of influencer marketing, you send or offer a product to an influencer in the hope that they will gratefully advertise it.
Brand ambassadors
Brand ambassadors are influencers with whom you work continuously and who, as their name suggests, stand out for your brand, promoting your products on their social media on a daily basis.
How to Measure Influence Marketing Results
With the campaign already underway, you should measure the results regularly so that they can be optimized according to the stipulated goals.
You can, for example, create a specific hashtag, like #LogrisePartner, to keep track of what your influencers are doing.
If your goal is to increase sales, giving codes (vouchers) or tracking links to your influencers to share with their followers will help you understand how many sales are being generated by them.
At the end of the campaign, take stock of the experience!
And you, are you totally in favor of Influencer Marketing or still not convinced about its potential?
Let’s influence the world together? 😀
Read on: Lookalike Audience: the best way to optimize digital campaigns
