INFLUENCER MARKETING – what exactly is it and what can it give a brand?

It’s marketing activities based on the recommendations of an individual (influencer) to a given audience. It’s communication by people who are well-known in a given group, who inspire trust and are an authority. The influencer’s positive image translates directly into a product/service.

Influencer marketing is often talked about as if it were a new phenomenon, but it is not new. Instead, its scale is steadily growing in Poland and around the world. The very mechanism of using recognizable people in advertising or promotional campaigns or using ambassadors has been known for decades. Studies in show that more than 90% of consumers trust other people’s recommendations more than messages sent directly by brands. If a well-known person identifies with a company, uses a particular brand such communication is very persuasive to its fans and followers.

Why does it work? We are dealing with the halo effect, well-known in psychology. It is the automatic attribution of positive qualities to a given object based on the first impression. If someone speaks nicely we assume that he is an intelligent person. The second powerful psychological mechanism is authority. We are guided by the opinion of authority figures by taking shortcuts when choosing a course of action. It is people with success in a particular industry, or who have education and specialization, who provide a signpost. They quickly pass on knowledge that is “unavailable”, thus we succumb to their suggestions and even demands.

Today, influencers are the ones who influence public opinion and audiences much more strongly than traditional celebrities. They are the ones who set trends and are often decisive when it comes to consumer decisions. Brands, cooperating with online opinion leaders get authentic, tailored and engaging content and wide reach in the target audience.

How to choose an influencer?

It’s not just reach, number of fans and subscriptions that count! Pay special attention to how the influencer communicates with his/her audience/followers. The message of our brand, our values should be consistent with the influencer in question. When selecting, pay attention to whether:

1. Mentioned your brand;
2. Has written about products and services in the industry;
3. Collaborated or not with other brands in the sector;
4. Number of fans, shares, likes, qualitative verification of content;
5. Reach (number of views, fan verification);
6. Speaks positively about the brand;
7. Has a good reputation among Internet users.

Don’t focus only on high reach influencers! Statistics show that the more fans – the less engagement and trust:

• 1 – 1000 people – engagement averages 90%;
• 1,000 – 4,000 people – engagement averages 6%;
• 400 – 100 thousand people – engagement is 3% on average;
• 100 thousand and more – engagement is 0.1% on average.

What are the most common ways to work with influencers?

1. Product placement – The key to executing product placement that will be viewed with pleasure and be memorable to the viewer is to make sure the storyline is consistent. Avoid incongruous product shots that don’t fit the story and overly pushy messages.
2. Dedicated episode, branded content-. An episode fully dedicated to a brand or a particular product. Here it is necessary to take care of a good scenario that will catch the attention of the viewer but will not be “cheap advertising”
3. Test/review-. A review prepared by an influencer or youtuber, where he will show the product, its advantages is a great value for both the brand and the viewers gathered around the channel. Often live product tests are used which further strengthens the message, and Internet users can interact directly.

To plan a campaign and measure its effects, it is worth using external tools such as Senitone, Socialblad, sumorank, brand24.