Influencer marketing is a dissemination strategy that consists of promoting a brand through people with certain visibility on social networks, called influencers. And who are these people? Well, those who are dedicated to sharing content on those digital channels, cultivating an audience that follows them, identifies with them, and trusts them. 

An influencer becomes an opinion leader in a certain area and any recommendation or comment from him regarding a person, product or service can have a great impact.

Contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing is not something new. For hundreds of years, advertising campaigns have been carried out with the image of celebrities to gain credibility.

However, technological evolution and the new digital age gave the situation a small twist, taking the same idea to a more intimate context than billboards and large advertising spots, while at the same time favoring the appearance of the micro-influencers.

The key to success for micro-influencers

Influencer marketing works thanks to the impact they generate on a certain audience. However, there is a particular factor that distinguishes it from campaigns with celebrities of a lifetime: proximity.

Unlike supermodels, famous singers or billionaire athletes, influencers are people who maintain close communication with their audience.

They share their day-to-day lives, talk about their tastes and opinions, and constantly provide feedback, which means that their audience feels connected to them and is more receptive to trusting their word. This is pure gold for any brand that decides to work on this strategy.

Why choose influencer marketing?

The decision to adopt an advertising practice depends on many factors and it is impossible to say that one is better than another. However, influencer marketing has a few advantages that make it worth giving it a try. I summarize:

• High return on investment: with proper management, very good results can be obtained with little investment. Many times, there is not even a monetary outlay but exchanges of products, services or some benefit for the business. It is used especially in electronic commerce but it also works for services.
• Audiences given to consumption: the vast majority of the influencers’ audience belongs to generations Y and Z. They are people accustomed to the digital environment and to consuming in it, in addition to the fact that the networks determine their desires and purchase decisions in an important way.
• Visibility and great reach: businesses manage to reach many people directly. Unlike what happens with traditional advertising, the public is interested in what the influencer does, teaches and advises.
• Reputation: improves the perception that a certain audience has about the brand, since there is a transmission of authority from the influencer to it.

A platform for every need

Although it may not seem like it, influencers are not only on Instagram. There are people dedicated to all possible niches and with very varied profiles, so it is not difficult to find someone suitable for your brand regardless of the social network in which you want to work. I will tell you a little about what you can find in each of them:

LinkedIn

The opinion leaders here are usually people with a high academic level and oriented to the professional and business world. For this reason, the LinkedIn audience is not as influential as that of other more informal networks. This means that the collaborations are not the typical paid advertisements to promote a product like a TV commercial, but are more oriented towards interviews and the exchange of ideas that favor networking.

TikTok

There is no doubt that this is the social network of the moment and the queen when it comes to virality. Here, the key in the campaigns is to attract attention, since its short video format has very little exposure time, but if the content is creative it will be more than enough. One point to keep in mind is that the majority of its audience belongs to generation Z, with an average age of around 23 years.

Instagram

Here what prevails is the aesthetics and the visually pleasing content. The great point in its favor is that there are many niches that go through fitness, fashion, food, travel or social causes -among others-, so businesses of all kinds can find a niche. Giveaways and joint promotions are a good way to collaborate.

Twitter

Twitter has a somewhat more mature audience with an average age of around 30 years. In addition to this, the platform is characterized by the fact that people express sincere opinions on all kinds of topics and current debates. With the right influencers, this can be a huge plus.

Youtube

Video content is increasingly consumed and helps people with good audiovisual communication skills, who work hard and well, to get their YouTube channels to become true communities. That makes them influencers who can make third-party recommendations and promotions on their videos.

Step by step to launch an influencer marketing campaign

1. Research and budget

Before launching into this strategy you should study how your sector moves. For that, analyze your competition or businesses similar to yours and pay attention to the way in which the different influencers present their collaborations, in order to get an idea of ​​what you can expect.

The monetary question is also important and you must define in advance how much you are willing to spend. A large outlay does not always guarantee results, but you have to be aware that it is not free.

With the research and the established budget, you will be able to get a realistic idea and save yourself more than one upset down the road.

2. Set goals

It is necessary to have clear objectives, because making a brand known is not the same as increasing the average ticket or attracting more traffic to the web or followers to your networks.

The ideal is to define it using the SMART technique, that is, that they be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and temporary. Take into account the current moment of your business and the goals at the macro level so that all actions are aligned.

3. Choose the influencer

This step is crucial, since part of the weight of the campaign will fall on choosing the right person to be a spokesperson for your brand. For this you have to consider their number of followers, the interaction, the type of content and the relationship with their audience.

You also need to be very clear about who your buyer persona is, only then can you know whether or not they are among the audience of the influencer you choose.

When contacting the influencer, you will have to see the consideration they are asking for. Sometimes giving away the product to promote it to some people in your community is enough. Others will ask you for a fixed amount. And with some you can even propose an affiliate marketing strategy.

A good idea is to work this step with the help of an influencer agency. They are in charge of finding the right ones according to the values ​​of your brand, your goals and budget, which makes the process much easier. Some of the most prominent in our country are In Management, Keeper Experience and Soy Olivia

Types of Influencers according to their followers

I identify 4 levels of influencers:

• Micro Influencers: are those with between 8,000 and 20,000 followers. Working with them has two advantages. On the one hand, if they are good, they can have a high level of interaction with their community, so they get better results. On the other hand, many times they are not professionalized, so they can collaborate selflessly or in exchange for a gift.
• Influencers: between 20,000 and 100,000 followers. They already have communities of a significant size, so they have usually become professional and it is normal for them to charge for doing promotions. Even quite. And from what I have seen, that does not guarantee results because as the community grows it is more difficult to maintain the link.
• Macro Influencers: are those who have a community between 100,000 and 500,000 followers. Their rates are often out of reach for freelancers and SMEs. And his ability to interact with his followers is more fickle and is increasingly being questioned.
• Megainfluencers: the big celebrities with more than 500,000 followers, who play in the league of big brands,

4. Define KPIs

KPIs or key performance indicators are essential to evaluate the results, but you will have to determine in advance which ones you are going to use. Naturally, your KPIs should go hand in hand with your goals.

For example, if what you are looking for is that more people know about your business, some of the KPIs will be the new followers, the number of interactions or the visits to your website.

5. Design the campaign

For this stage, creativity, observation and experience are worth as much. You can opt for photographic concepts, videos, raffles or challenges, but always keeping in mind the message and the objective behind it.

You will also have to define simpler details, but equally important, such as the frequency of publications or the communication style that the influencer will have with your brand.

6. Execution and monitoring

It is time to let the influencer do his job, but not without closely following the evolution. Analyzing the content and the audience’s response can be used to discover failures or points for improvement and refine the strategy along the way.