What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is now a common form of online marketing. It's been a buzzword for some time now, and it's been referenced regularly in the mainstream media. Yet, there are still people who don't really understand what influencer marketing is. Indeed, some people encounter the expression for the first time and instantly wonder “What is influencer marketing? ".

At a fundamental level, influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses influencer product recommendations and endorsements. These influencers have a dedicated social following and are considered experts in their niche.

Influencer marketing works because of the great trust that social influencers have built with their followers. Their recommendations serve as a form of social proof to potential customers of your brand.

Influencer marketing is a hybrid old and new marketing tools. It takes the idea of ​​celebrity endorsements and places it in a modern content-driven marketing campaign. The main differentiator in the case of influencer marketing is that the results of the campaign are collaborations between brands and influencers.

But influencer marketing isn't just about celebrities. Instead, it revolves around influencers, many of whom would never consider themselves famous in an offline environment.

In this article, we have decided to introduce you to the prerequisites for influencer marketing. But before you start, here's how to improve the conversion rate in your online store.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing involves a brand collaborating with an online influencer to market one of their products or services. Some influencer marketing collaborations are less tangible than that – brands simply work with influencers to improve brand recognition.

Influencers, unlike celebrities, can be anywhere. They can be anyone. What makes them influential are their large followings on the web and social media. An influencer can be a popular fashion photographer on Instagram, a well-read cybersecurity blogger who tweets, or a respected marketing executive on LinkedIn.

In any industry, there are influential people, you just have to find them. Some will have hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of followers.

But many will look more like ordinary people. They may only have 10 subscribers, less in some cases. Yet, they will have acquired the reputation of being the experts in their field.

They are the reference people who provide the answers to people's questions. According to their area of ​​expertise, these are the people who publish the most engaging social posts on their specialty topics.

The current state of the influencer marketing landscape

Standing out in 2014 on Instagram was easier than it is today. If you were lucky enough to be featured on Instagram's featured page or your look was just distinctive enough, then your chances of being selected as an influencer were high.

After enough brand partnerships, some have turned social media influencer marketing into a full-time career.

But things change, right?

We are influenced by what we see and aesthetics are no different. Bright images are more common now, as well as food neatly set against interesting backgrounds. When the “typical look” of influencer marketing no longer becomes unique, what happens next?

To be an influencer fashion among this younger demographic, you may no longer need to rely solely on perfectly shot photos. Instead, relaxed poses and limited edits are now welcome on the wire.

Keep in mind that the article only covered a subset of influencers: younger Instagram users. On the contrary, this change over the past five years should show how the only constant in influencer marketing is change.

What works in influencer marketing

Think carefully about your approach to influencer marketing

• Be organized, develop a strategy, plan and budget, devote time to research
• Decide on your approach to finding influencers – find them organically, subscribe to a platform, or work through an agency
• Be patient and human – people talk to people, not companies talk to companies

Develop a schedule

• Does the influencer prefer monthly/quarterly/biannual calls or newsletters?
• Incorporate it into your PR calendar, product release schedule, etc.
• Send emails on behalf of key executives. Plan executive travel schedules and arrange face-to-face meetings

What influencer marketing is not

Influencer marketing isn't just about finding someone with an engaged community and offering them money so they can say good things about you.. That's what viral celebrities are for. Influencers are people who have spent time building their own brand and growing their following.

They will naturally be protective of their reputation and the people who trust them. These are people who have the patience and focus to succeed in social media, one organic follower at a time – people like this aren't interested in doing influencer marketing just for the money.

Nor is influencer marketing about quick results. It's the same kind of slow and steady approach as social media and content marketing, where your campaign isn't about directly selling your products. Instead, it's about demonstrating your authority, credibility, and thought leadership within your industry. It’s about becoming synonymous with everything you offer.

With social media marketing, it's all about acquiring the type of followers who will be loyal and engaged. It is therefore tempting to think that joining forces with an influencer will be an easy way to enter the hearts and minds of their followers, it is not so simple, However. Because to ally yourself with influencers, you have to earn their trust and respect.

How to create an influencer marketing strategy?

Like any marketing tactic, an influencer program requires deliberate targeting and planning. You won't find strategic success just by sending free stuff to everyone who asks or to your existing friends and acquaintances.

1. How to find influencers and how to pay them

Like any strategy, research is the first step. Choose the platform you want to focus on first. You can always expand to other platforms later, but if you're just starting out, stick with one. Ideally, your brand should already be present on this network or seek to develop there.

If you're not sure where to start, social listening can help you identify where people are talking about your industry and your brand, and it can help you find the most influential voices in your industry on every platform. .

The industry you operate in is also important when considering implementing an influencer marketing strategy. Beauty and fashion brands shine on Instagram and YouTube. The video game industry dominates on Twitch.

During your research phase, look at the type of influencers you are interested in. Are you looking for celebrities with a huge following? Or micro influencers with less than 2000 followers? Maybe something between 5 and 10 subscribers is more your preference. Whatever you decide to focus on will determine your budget.

Compensation also varies wildly, so be sure to look at common rates for these types of influencers. Micro influencers tend to focus on a few topics and accept the products.

Some micro influencers work independently while others may be represented by an agency or network. While big accounts and celebrities will need compensation and might even go through a talent agency.

2. Establish a budget and a management strategy

Now that you have an idea of ​​what influencers should be paid, you need to create your budget. Also, be sure to factor in the time it takes to plan, execute, and review your influencer program. Running a successful influencer marketing campaign is not a " set-it-and-go ". This will involve careful monitoring and follow-up.

Unlike a more automated advertising strategy, influencers are human and frequently balance multiple partnerships, so some may fall behind in their commitments to post on time or make mistakes in your requested tags or calls to action.

You will need to have time to become more familiar with these relationships to cultivate them and to refine your approach through experience of what works and what doesn't work in your niche.

3. Decide on the objectives and the message to convey

The two most common reasons for using influencer marketing are to increase brand awareness and increase sales. However, instead of defining these general goals as your two objectives, it will be more effective to launch your strategy by refining the needs of your brand.

Maybe you want to increase your customer base in a younger demographic. Or you want to expand to a new user group with a new product. Or you want to ignore trends and use influencers to talk about your brand values.

Influencers have the ability to reach very specific audiences. Instead of relying on thousands of followers, influencers will help ensure that a highly targeted audience that may be interested in your product reads and engages with your content.

Influencer content that features a conversational tone and a personal narrative helps differentiate these posts from the type of feature or sales-focused ones a brand might do for the same product on its own feed.

Your message is just as important as your goal. While you don't want to stifle an influencer's creativity and uniqueness, you also don't want them to post anything unrelated to your campaign.

Figure out how you want to structure your influencer marketing campaign and message so you can stick with it later.

4. Influencer Outreach: How to Contact Influencers

Back to the first step: research. With a plan set around your network, your goals, and the types of influencers you want to target, we come back to researching how to find the right influencers to work with.

As you do this research, keep the following in mind:

• Does the influencer already post similar things to your service? For example, if you are a restaurant and want to promote a new menu, you should look for influencers who regularly post about restaurant meals and the food they eat.
• Are they legit? This means scrolling through their feed and clicking on posts. A low engagement rate relative to the number of followers and spammy comments are signs of a fraudulent account.
• Have they worked with similar brands before? Depending on the type of influencer you're looking for, a seasoned influencer might show you a press kit containing a portfolio of their work. The more you invest in an influencer, the more you will want to check it out.

5. Review and refine your strategy

Even if your influencer marketing campaign is ongoing, you should still have pre-determined dates when you will measure its progress. The next part of this guide will explain how to track your results. Not all campaigns are successful, but I hope you learn with each one.

How to measure the performance of an influencer marketing campaign?

The areas of measurement will be very dependent on your objectives. Many will be unrelated to your influencer marketing campaign. Some of the most common areas of measurement include:

1. Audience reach
2. Impressions
3. Engagement (comments, likes, shares)
4. Sentiment
5. High quality content
6. Conversions:

• Growth of your subscribers
• Mention of the brand
• Traffic to a specific landing page/website – Form Fills
• Subscriptions to a newsletter / Subscription
• Growth in the number of users of your product / service
• Sales increase

Conclusion

Influencers are here to stay, but the way the influencer marketing world looks and works has changed a lot in a short time, and five years from now can be drastically different from today. This guide will help you get started building your strategy, but like any social strategy, it's important to be ready for change.

Yet, while there are unique considerations for working with influencers, setting up a campaign is the same as most marketing campaigns: research, set a budget, set goals, find your influencers, and review and revise.

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