Influencer marketing: what is it and how does it work?
Everybody talks about influencers, including brands. And it is that influencer marketing is bringing numerous benefits to all those firms that have taken advantage of the opportunity. Do you also want to join this trend? In this post we tell you everything you need to know to do it!
What or who are the influencers?
Before we start explaining what influencer marketing is, we must start by defining what or who influencers are. they really are leaders of opinion, people who, due to their charisma, credibility or reputation, usually have the support of a large number of followers who take into account what they think when making their own decisions.
There have always been influencers. It is not something that has emerged now with social networks, although it is true that new technologies have given them greater visibility, but in any social circle there have always been influencers, to a greater or lesser extent.
With influencers there is no middle ground, either you hate them or you love them, but whatever pole you are in, what is truly important is that they represent an excellent marketing tool.
Now, it is true that nothing can be compared to today's influencers, who accumulate millions of followers on social networks, which makes working with them almost a safe bet since they have a great reach, and that, together with the own credibility of its position in society, is an almost perfect match for marketing.
What is influencer marketing?
Well, it is simply about taking advantage of the power that influencers have in our favor, creating a collaboration agreement to promote our products and/or services.
As there have always been influencers, this marketing technique is nothing new, it has been used since the end of the 1800s, when some companies chose to hire famous people to promote their products. At that time, of course, influencers were very different from those of today, since they were usually members of the monarchy or the ecclesiastical elite.
Instead, currently anyone can become an influencer. This has happened with Dulceida or Paula Gonu, anonymous girls who, based on effort and dedication, have managed to become influencers with millions of followers on social networks.
Why is it beneficial to use influencer marketing?
First, because traditional advertising is no longer effective. We are so used to being exposed to advertisements on the street, on television, on the radio, etc. That we don't even pay attention to them anymore, that's why it is necessary to look for new channels.
But it is also that, and this leads us to the second reason, all the surveys highlight that what really motivates people to buy a certain product are the recommendations from friends and familys (83% of the population). Let's go word of mouth of a lifetime.
With the difference that now the influencers have become part of the family of their followers, so if they recommend a product, they are being told by a reliable source, which can further encourage the purchase.
In addition, through influencers we can reach our target audience directly, increase conversion and drive qualitative traffic to our website or online store. Who gives more?
How does influencer marketing work?
Influencer marketing consists of the following steps:
1- Identify the most relevant influencers for our product – Of all of them, it is convenient that we stay with those who have a personality that is consistent with the values of our company. Three factors must be taken into account:
- relevance: The quality of the content you publish and its relevance to our sector
- reach: Its visibility and reach
- resonance: The engagement that the influencer achieves with their publications.
2- Design the type of collaboration we want to carry out – Before contacting the influencers, we must be clear about what type of collaboration and what actions we want to develop. That is, we have to design our strategy. It may be that we are interested in simply mentioning our brand as a first contact or that we are looking for influencers who write complete reviews about our product. It all depends on our marketing goals.
Experts in this type of collaboration recommend starting the relationship with the influencer slowly. For example, before contacting him directly, it is appropriate that let's start by interacting on social networks, following and commenting on their posts.
Likewise, when designing the actions we must bear in mind that they must be beneficial for both parties, so that the influencer can also increase their number of followers or their engagement.
3-Set some KPIs – Any self-respecting marketing action must have some KPIs (performance indicators) so that we can evaluate the results of each action. You will need to establish and control them in order to measure their progress.
Knowing all this, you are ready to start a influencer marketing strategy Start looking for your influencer right now!
