Who logged in to the mini-blog Twitter before Elon Musk’s latest purchase or at least five years ago, is always happy to return to the question: who are the influencers who create the opinion of the majority regarding a brand? The term influencer, perhaps because of influencers in the political marketing, contains a negative connotation, devoid of value and aimed at brand promotion, without the discourse credibility about the quality on which a particular brand is built.
Sure, we’ve all heard of social media stars with millions of followers who get freebies and make a living off their photos and posts, but are these influencers really as influential as we think?
Many authors are discussing these days, especially in the conditions of global crisis, inflation and economic instability, whether all marketing tools have been exhausted and whether there is another segment that could be singled out and placed on a pedestal in the direction of turning the crisis into a winning opportunity.
In the first place stands out influencer marketing. What sets this field of activity apart and why is it important in such turbulent periods?
It stands out as a special marketing channel derived from PR (public relations and blogging): cheap, highly effective. Who are the influencers really, are they real human beings or automated content out of some AI application?
Companies mainly use communication channels that their employees have: social networks, email, word of mouth (referrals), friends and family members. This is perhaps the strongest organic influence of the brand on public opinion, which carries with it the highest level of credibility. We will always rather listen to the recommendations of friends or trust employees about the strength of the quality of a particular product or service. It also leads to the humanization of the brand, which then differentiates the brand from the competition – the narrative that comes from the employees is always different and more diverse, and can define that brand in relation to the environment.
Some companies turn their employees into micro-influencers, so potential customers can see what it’s like to work at a particular company. As can be seen, employee-influencers not only improve the buyer journey through the sales funnel, they are helping to meliorate brand image that can also be used as a HR tool in the process of selecting new employees.
The ambassador program is one of the influencer marketing channels. Who you choose as a brand representative in a particular campaign depends on several factors. The most important factor is to leave the influencers enough freedom within the brief to express their specifics that set them apart as special.
Many marketers measure the success of these campaigns through ROI (return on investment), through three basic questions:
- What is the impact of the content/creator in terms of engagement?
- How does their engagement translate into the brand funnel in terms of clicks, conversions, average order value, etc.?
- How does a brand’s share of voice on social media increase or decrease as a result of influencer campaigns? Share of Voice (SOV) is a measure of the market share your brand has compared to your competitors. To calculate share of voice, one can divide brand metrics by total market metrics. These could be social media mentions, paid advertising clicks or website traffic. (If you are more interested in this topic, we recommend the blog.)
Here, 24 FREE Influencer Marketing Tools to Find Influencers, you can find some free of charge tools to identify influencers who rule your niche.
A new study says that these social media stars may not be as influential as we think and might even be losing their impact.
A new study has found that social media influencers may not be as influential as we think. The study found that while influencers have a lot of followers, they often don’t convert those followers into customers. In fact, the study found that only 2% of people said they had bought something because an influencer recommended it. So why are brands still spending so much money on influencer marketing? The answer is simple: because it still works. While influencers may not be as influential as we thought, they are still more influential than traditional advertising.