Influence marketing, influencers: terms that we mean everywhere today. Why ? Because most consumers are now looking for an experience, sharing, but also confident opinion leaders on which they can rely to choose a product or service. The influencer meets these needs and represents, if chosen, an incredible source of opportunity for the brand, both in terms of visibility, notoriety, and growth.
Influencer and influence marketing: what is it?
The term “influencer” comes from the verb “influence” that refers to exercising its influence on one or more people.
The influencer as he is heard today, means an individual regularly publishing content on a particular topic, through various communication channels (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, Blogs, etc…), and whose opinion like the actions will have an impact on how to think and behavior of a large number of people. Although at the start of this term could be applied to the stars promoting products / services, it is rather today of Lambdas people who, by force of time and publications, have come to be considered as experts in a particular area.
We therefore speak of influence marketing when a brand uses the power of an influencer to serve its personal objectives (increase of its reputation, increase in sales, promotion of a product / service, etc.). Thus, influence marketing integrates more widely at inbound marketing in the sense that it is the customer who comes to the brand.
The great forces of influence marketing
- The influencer maintains a relationship of trust with its audience. His subscribers will therefore have more confidence in his information and recommendations, in his expertise, rather than those of a brand that will immediately be perceived as wanting to sell something. The influencer will have the image of a reliable advisor that can be listened to and follow. To make simple, it will act on an emotional plan, while the mark remains in the field of the transactional.
- The influencer makes it possible to direct its public towards a mark, thus to generate a consequent increase in traffic on the site and the social networks of the brand, or even a rise in sales.
- Influence marketing acts as a complement to traditional advertising. It meets current trends in terms of online consumption, as well as the needs of the public who, tires classical communication techniques, looking for real contacts and advice today. The influencer not only allows the brand to touch more effectively, but also to do so in a more authentic way, so gaining credibility.
- The influencer has spent time cultivating its audience, to make it grow. Its subscribers follow him voluntarily, which makes a big difference between these people and those of a list bought by a company. By working with an influencer, the brand recovers a qualified audience, whose number of individuals is sometimes gigantic.
- Influence marketing allows you to touch more targeted groups, even very specific niches.
The main steps of an influence marketing strategy
Define your goals
What is the reason, the purpose of your influence marketing campaign? For example, it can increase the number of visitors on your site, improve the visibility of your brand, to make a brand new product / service known, etc.
Your goals will strongly play on the type of influence with which you decide to work.
Define a target audience
Who would you like to touch on priority with your campaign? Defining a specific audience is also a capital element to find the right influencer. If your brand is specialized in female fragrances, it is unlikely that the hearing of an expert influencer in hunting and fishing is useful to you, as consistent.
Find your ideal influencer
Once you have defined your goals and your target audience, you can start searching for the most relevant influencer, the one best corresponding to your needs, but also the one who will agree to work with your brand. Here it is important to take the time to find the right person, because it’s it that the success of your campaign will depend.
Track and analyze the results
This step is essential to find out if your campaign has proven effective or not, as if to improve your future influence marketing operations. Hence, the importance of putting in place specific objectives initially.
Influence marketing is today a strong communication lever in the digital world. To make the most of its assets, it is essential to choose good influencers and to treat your relationship with them so that it is as profitable as sustainable.
