They are starting to be talked about more and more. Previously, they were only bloggers and YouTubers, now the title of influencer is attached to their name. What do you think of under it? We have before our eyes the English word « infuser », i.e. tea strainer. Sounds a bit similar, don’t you think? Maybe it has something to do with that « influencer » – the English dictionary declares that it is about « influencing » , which, of course, is not so far from « leaching » in our case. Do you also want to « leach » as many pleasant benefits as possible from your business plan, or not? And for that you need only one thing: an infuse influencer. In other words , take the help of another colleague and extract the maximum from the cooperation.
Influencer, introduce yourself!
The question was already asked in our title, but let’s repeat it: Who is an influencer? Your right hand in the creation of content marketing and branding. A person moving on the Internet who owns and creates a certain channel and through which he communicates with his readers and followers. It usually starts « on a green field » and has to work its way to its fan club by itself through original content. As soon as he gathers around him a group of people who gladly and regularly return to his production, he becomes an excellent, potential teammate in the promotion of certain products and services. Basically, the influence of such a person can be compared to the influence of celebrities – what they recommend, what they praise, what is in their vicinity, suddenly others want it too. Unlike globally known faces, however, such a person is much more accessible and working with him is easier, more personal, more confidential, faster and cheaper.
Influencer marketing was born
Although the word « influencer » originally referred to only one person, we are currently talking about the entire marketing. That’s right, just like we have content marketing for example, there is also influencer marketing. What is the essence of this modern branch of online marketing ? Offer cooperation. This cooperation can be oral or written, if not directly contractual and agreed bindingly for a certain period. As it emerged from the previous paragraph, the point is that the addressed person is provided with a product to try, or even a financial bonus or other attractive benefit for promoting a specific item or directly the entire brand of their new partner. Subsequently, this person, now in the role of an influencer, will write a review of the product or an informative article in which the product appears, or record a video in which the product will be talked about and take photos with it, which will then be published on social networks. Yes, it is expected that there will be promotion on all channels of the influencer – that is, for example, not only on the blog itself, but also on other associated pages and profiles.
Influencer marketing is essentially one of the very cheap types of marketing, if we start from the assumption that cooperation is established with regular bloggers, but more on that in the next paragraphs. It very much depends on the set priorities – is the goal of conversion into a shopper, or rather building the brand name? This will also influence your further decision making. It is excellent to choose a method of combining influencer marketing with another – for example, with the already mentioned content marketing and with marketing on social networks . In practice, this means that you will use the resulting ratings from influencers for your further promotion.
Perhaps you are asking yourself if such marketing has an effect, is it profitable enough? Of course, even in this case it depends on who you enter into cooperation with. If we compare influencer marketing, for example, with PPC or banner advertising, it is clearly more targeted. Although he is talking about a significantly smaller group of people, these specific people are much more open to the final conversion, which is what the investor in influencer marketing is all about. In addition, influencer marketing does not necessarily aim at the actual sale of the presented product. It also perfectly strengthens the name of the brand, which thus gets into the subconscious of people, end customers and consumers, respectively users.
What does quality collaboration with an influencer look like? Its customers will also start recommending the product to each other.
Tip: Are you interested in reviewing a provided product from your offer, but afraid to let the influencer have free rein? Give them the product to try first, and if the influencer is happy with it, agree to write a review. However, don’t be afraid of factual criticism either. They can be useful lessons for you as part of further improving the production of products, their packaging, the method of offering, delivery, or help you to further improve the services provided. Starting from the suggestions of one’s own clients is the best possible way, leading to the early success of the entire project.
How much does it cost?
Almost nothing or, on the contrary, quite a lot. We can’t tell you the specific amount, it’s not even possible. It depends on who you are reaching with your offer, how long you want to cooperate, what your goals are and how the influencer values himself and himself. The cheapest cooperation can cost you only the exchange of links, but it is much more common to provide the product or service you want to promote for free. In this case, it is a single thing, or even a package of products. Along with the influencer’s popularity, the price also grows, in the case of a well-known personality, you can even get tens of thousands of crowns for a single tweet.
How to find a potential influencer?
Again, it depends on what specifically you need to promote and sell. The easiest way is for those who do business in the fields of fashion, interior design, food and catering, accommodation, relaxation and leisure, cosmetics and drug products, printing, sports and electronics. You can easily find influencers in these industries. The choice is limited only through the desired age of the target group that the influencer is supposed to target, which can be problematic, for example, in the field of fashion, where the age group under 30 is overwhelmingly represented. In general, as much as there is an influencer, there are also more than half of his followers. However, there are of course exceptions – for example, celebrities and food bloggers and design gurus follow a wider range of fans, both of different ages and social backgrounds.
Don’t just focus on the costs associated with the influencer and also focus on what is around him. Do people speak well of him? Do they like him? Is the influencer’s public speaking consistent with your business language and strategies? Can working with him not harm you? Who already cooperates or has cooperated with the influencer? How thorough is the review? Does he post frequently and regularly? What topics do they relate to the most? Does he take his own photos and can he also edit them appropriately graphically? Are his articles/videos helpful? Do people’s reactions appear below them? And how long has the given influencer been creating and managing their channels? Every detail is very important and decisive in the final.
So where to hunt?
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If you want to promote your product or service in written form, look for your influencer among bloggers. Blogs and personal diaries have been at the peak of popularity for several years, and the wave of interest has not and probably will not. The bottom line is that the blog corresponds at least a little with your area of interest. For example, if you sell stays in Sumava, you don’t necessarily need to look for bloggers who write exclusively about travel. A handy review is also written by a writer who is dedicated to lifestyle and notes in diary form. In general, it is better to bet on bloggers who have been creating their pages for at least half a year – it was enough to create a narrower group of more permanent readers around them, and they also went through the « blog network », when many beginners stop blogging again within 3 months. Look for « your » blogger, for example, through portals such aswisepennysaver.com.
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If you are interested in « livelier » promotion, bet on cooperation with a YouTuber. As we have already said, videos are becoming more and more popular and effective in terms of marketing in that they make it easier for viewers to remember the products they see. Emotions can be expressed better through videos. Promoting emotions in communication with customers is a hot and often discussed trend in the segment of effective internet presence. The point is that if we experience something strongly (that is, we feel joy, sadness, belonging, determination, combativeness, etc.), we remember the given moment, and therefore the thing or person with whom this emotional experience connects us, much more easily, in detail and for a longer period of time. And that’s what marketing and promotion is all about – to stick in the memory, ideally with positive connotations. Naturally, search for your YouTuber via youtube.com.
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Cooperate with a celebrity or a media-known person? Why not, that can be a good choice too. However, this is a relatively expensive step in your business, so carefully consider whether it will be effective enough for you. It is not possible to cooperate with every well-known face, only some focus on acting as an « influencer ». As a rule, these are people who have a large fan base on social networks and sometimes also manage a blog or YouTube channel.
Who to choose as an influencer?
Have you already gone through the list of suitable influencers twice and the format of the presentation is clear? It remains to decide which influencer to choose in the end. Don’t underestimate the choice, especially when you want to establish long-term cooperation or consider a promotional campaign as a returnable investment and expect it to be a little more expensive at first. Take a blank sheet of paper or open a new document and write down the names of the adepts. List the pros and cons for each adept – take into account his popularity, activity, way of writing and expressing himself, connection with other projects, popularity with fans and subscribers, requirements for a reward for cooperation, willingness and flexibility in communicating with you, reach within different age groups and social groups, other channels on which he can publish.
How to reach an influencer?
If you have discovered a suitable candidate for the role of influencer and your new marketing partner, a very important stage comes : contacting him. Your best bet is to choose the e-mail route. The vast majority of writers list their e-mail address directly on the blog or in the information section about the author on YouTube or social networks. Therefore, write an e-mail where you introduce the subject of any promotion , introduce the influencer to your values and goals, and outline to him how you would like the cooperation to be and what both parties will benefit from it. As everywhere else, the briefer and more concise the email, the better the chance that the recipient will read it. Don’t forget a nice address, a friendly and fair approach, an eye-catching subject and maybe even an infographic. An original writing style that ties in with your business strategy can also score points. Of course, you will have a high percentage of success with lesser-known bloggers who are easily tempted. However, take into account that their willingness to cooperate often remains at the level of « I get something for free » and may not fully correspond to your ideas.
Do you like several potential influencers? Great! Nowhere is it written that you only have to work with one. Feel free to make contact with everyone – this way you will reach a larger number of people and appear on different pages, which also contributes to SEO and content marketing.
To confess or not to confess?
The cooperation has been successfully established, the first results are hanging on the Internet and new people interested in your product or service are pouring in? Great! Apparently everything is working as it should and as you set it up. But the question still remains, whether to admit cooperation or not? Should the influencer openly apply to work with you? Frequently asked and answered question. About 3 years ago, option two, that is to deny and deny, was more likely to be promoted. The conclusion of the cooperation was supposed to be secret, and the recommendation from the influencer should appear as natural as possible, or better said, completely unobtrusive. However, this often did not happen, which led to the growth of criticism of the « marketability » of some bloggers and video authors. The effect of hidden advertising has also decreased sharply. In short, ordinary subscribers and readers of posts began to perceive advertising and automatically close similar posts. At the moment, therefore, they are aiming more at the opposite marketing trend, namely to acknowledge the cooperation with the brand in the first sentence. Products should be evaluated completely without bias and with added value in the form of a detailed description of properties, including negative ones. The influencer is thus not pushed into the position of « forcer » to buy, but plays the role of a real reviewer, with the fact that he definitely does not blindly praise the product (or he should not). In addition, the followers themselves also benefit from open cooperation – through discount codes, invitations to organized events, attractive competitions for the given products and purchase vouchers. What does this mean for you? Don’t be afraid to openly report on cooperation and also point out new articles and videos on your company pages , including those on social networks. Your product will be seen by a much larger number of people and, in the case of a company blog and FCB site, you will also get additional interesting content – this time for your customers.
