THE PROS AND CONS OF INFLUENCER MARKETING
Faced with the constant shift in communication methods, brands need to be creative in developing efficient processes that can reach demanding consumers without being seen as intrusive advertising. Passing through an influencer makes the campaign credible, and becomes a more authentic and close message, relayed by a thought leader.
Besides, consumers have changed their behavior towards the media, with Millenials (youths aged between 16-30 years) are 63% likely to connect every day on social networks and consume less and less traditional channels such as radio or TV. Social networks, therefore, present itself as a real challenge for brands. Influencer marketing happens to possess the needed features to bridge this gap. Although this strategy has been in use for many years, influencer marketing has exploded recently and have become essential when setting up effective communication campaigns.
What is influencer marketing?
The definition of influencer marketing remains quite vague for many brands that do not yet know why or how to use it. However, Influencer marketing Can be seen as a communication strategy that allows a brand to disseminate information through influential people on the web and social networks.
What is the key principle?
To improve the brand image or brand awareness through targeted communication with a qualified audience.
Unlike the buzz technique, influencer marketing allows for proper control of information dissemination and better definition of content. It is organized in 3 key stages:
- determine the target and potential audience of the brand
- identify influencers who have a similar audience
relay information by these influencers
Three main types of influencers stand out:
- Mega-influencers or celebrities: very popular, they have a large community and allow greater visibility and notoriety
- The macro-influencers: their audience is much more engaged and close to their interests, they bring relevance and coherence
- Micro-influencers: they have few subscribers, but are appreciated for their authenticity and their proximity.
Why use influence marketing?
Global digitalization has become unavoidable and brands – aware that the Internet is fast changing everything – are trying to reach a quality audience instead of relying on quantity. Influencer marketing is a discipline whose benefits and benefits are very different from other marketing styles used.
Influencers know their audience, hence they can better communicate and engage with them. They may be undoubtedly weaker than that of some media, but they are much more specific and likely to interact with their affinity with the influencer makes them receptive to their ideas. A message from an Influencer is seen as more authentic and attractive than information coming from a conventional communication channel such as a radio spot or an advertising banner.
Influencers are not only the ambassadors of the brands they value but also the opinion leaders and real relays of information whose legitimacy outperforms the more traditional media.
If you are wondering about what benefits influencers get for your brand, here are a few answers to your questions.
Develops your reputation: The first advantage of using influencers is its ability to create brand awareness. And yes; the influencers relay your message to their community which is generally very developed, and active. As a result, your message will have a significant reach, with a targeted audience. The idea is to develop your reputation.
Interaction with your community: Influencers is the direct link between your brand and your customers. The influencers’ community is made up of active and faithful followers. With each publication of the influencer, the community reacts very quickly and give an opinion on the products or brand they are promoting. Sometimes if there are too many questions, the influencers respond to their community through live video for example.
It enables you to receive real-time feedback from your customers quickly. This interaction also will allow you to adjust the editorial line decided with the influencer (if you find that it is not suitable) but also to obtain valuable information on your product line to guide it in the right way.
Develop a new form of communication: By going through an influencer, your brand develops a better brand image The truth is, influencers are less intrusive in terms of communication. If they share the products of your brand, it is because they think they can be useful to their community. And their fans know it. That is why when an influencer puts your brand forward to their community, they do not feel spammed by intrusive ads.
In addition, one must follow their accounts to receive product updates and notifications. If people see and accept their post, that means they want it, and therefore they are necessarily interested in such Influencers; hence they won’t look at their posts as spammy of intrusive.
This form of communication develops on different channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, but also on YouTube channels of influencers.
You will, therefore, develop a less intrusive relationship with your customers through the services of Influencers.
To Increase Your Sales: When you use an influencer, beyond developing your reputation, it is also to highlight your products and possibly get sales. The influencers talk about your brand. They promote your products and therefore send customers to your website where they can shop. They also provide you with positive advice on how your products will increase your sales. Customers are turning more to influencers for guidance and information on the products they want to buy. They feel convinced and can rely on the opinion of someone outside the brand. Hence, your partnership with an Influencer will have more impact than a classic advertisement. Besides, it will also be less expensive.
Boost your emotional connection: Your prospects identify with the influencer, with whom they have a strong emotional connection. So they trust him. By regularly promoting your brand, this emotional bond will extend to your brand.
That is why it is vital to employ the services of a good influencer. It is better to have an influencer with a smaller community but a strong interactive commitment than an influencer who has a large community without real-time interaction and engagements. The influencer helps you to entice and convince your target audience, that is why the influencer you choose must love your products and know every bit about it. Your chosen influencer must directly promote your products, and have them adopted by your target audience.
You can measure the profitability of this partnership including the number of likes, comments on the leading social networks of the influencer. You can also measure the impact by evaluating, for example, the number of purchases made by new customers during the partnership or the number of visitors to your website.
The other advantages are multiple: better targeting improved SEO and much lower cost than conventional means of advertising.
What are the challenges of influencer marketing?
Although the benefits of influencer marketing are numerous, its use is not that simple. There are three significant challenges to overcome:
The Challenge of Identifying the most relevant influencers
Influencers are not easy to define and measure. Contrary to what everyone believes, being a celebrity is different from being an Influencer.
However, depending on the problems of the brand and the consistency between its positioning and that of the influencers
‘, here are the three most important criteria to help you measure the capabilities of an influencer:
- The scope of the message and the audience potential (such as number visitors to a blog or the number of followers)
- The level of engagement of the audience on each visual or article broadcast (number of shares, comments or likes)
- The relevance of their message to the brand’s goals and the audience’s interests
Getting in touch with influencers and convince them to collaborate
Relationships with influencers are not easy to start or manage. They are built over time and depend on the requirements of the Influencer. Most influencers will agree to work with brands they like that fit their audience because they are not expected to take the risk of disappointing their followers by publishing posts that do not relate or appeal to them.
It is often safer to rely on a communication agency that is used to working with influencers to avoid missteps. Indeed, if an influencer can help boost your brand awareness and image, it can also easily deteriorate.
Measure the effectiveness of the campaign
Influencer marketing aims to improve not only brand awareness but also its image. On average, brands give this type of campaign between 1 and 20% of their communication budget, which can represent a significant amount. To evaluate the campaign’s influence, emphasize must be put on quality which is more important than quantity. It is more relevant to look at KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) rather than the ROI (Return on investment) which can be difficult to measure.
- The primary objective of posts and publications is not to
- go viral, but to genera
- te traffic and conversions.
The aim of influencer marketing is to identify the influencers in your niche and make them work for you by promoting your brand. – Influencer Marketing Hub
Collaborate with influencers
Most brands today are building marketing strategies with one simple goal: short-term profitability with increased website traffic.
They forget that it is essential to establish a good reputation and image which are only achievable in the long term and ensures the durability of your brand.
Collaborating with Influencer marketers is the best way to build a long-term reputation. It is relevant in several situations:
- the launch of a product
- promotion through content delivery
- the organization of events
- crisis management
- corporate communication
The use of influencer marketing is an integral part of the strategies implemented regularly for many brands.
Measuring Influencer Awareness
There are numerous criteria to put into consideration when trying to measure influencer awareness: community size, the strength of the engagement, number of publications and so on. However, the size of an Influencer’s community should not be considered as the primary criterion for choosing one, though the more subscribers an influencer has, the more likely a digital influence campaign can reach a broader audience.
To solve this riddle in practice, the engagement rate, i.e., the number of interactions with the subscribers, must be high to guarantee the reactivity of the subscribers. It is necessary to select an active influencer on social media, who posts regularly and interacts actively with followers.
Finally, it is essential to check if the impression rate of an influencer corresponds with the number of subscribers, this is because some influencer pays for fake followers to make up their community.
The Different Social Networks and how they Work as Per Marketing Influencer
Each social network has a different impact on consumers, so you have to choose which platform to select your Marketing Influencer from carefully.
Facebook remains the global and most popular social network, on which users spend an average of 6 hours per day.
Twitter, on the other hand, is the social network of news in short formats, 74% of users stand the chances of following influencers.
Snapchat is a chosen social network of most young people, so it is best to touch the Millenials.
On Instagram, 46% of users follow brands, and it is the social network of choice for neat visual content. As for YouTube, more and more users between the ages of 18 and 49 report watching more videos and subscribe to influencers on this platform than any TV channel.
Influencer marketing is about using the fame, reach and authenticity of an influencer to bring visibility, credibility, and sales to your brand. With this, you will agree that enlisting the services of an influencer for your brand has many advantages, provided you choose one right. You have the opportunity to develop a real strategy with them to get real benefits for your brand. So what are you waiting for to choose and contact the influencer you need?
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