What do influencers bring to a brand?
Faced with increasingly connected generations, the emergence of new communication media and the omnipresence of digital in our daily lives, brands have had to adapt their communication strategy in order to continue to reach their target in an innovative and relevant way. As a result, influence marketing and the use of influencers has gradually developed and taken a prominent place in the brands’ strategies.
What is influence marketing?
We talk about influence marketing when a third party uses its power of persuasion, its notoriety, its circles of relationships to promote a product or service, especially on social networks. Like an opinion leader, an influencer is able to influence and direct his community and its consumption patterns towards a particular product or service. Influencers are generally between 19 and 30 years old and most of them work on Instagram or on blogs, as well as on Facebook and YouTube. Some influencers are present on social networks such as Snapchat and Twitter, but to a lesser extent. 72% of influencers have a number of subscribers between 1,000 and 50,000, most of whom are very loyal.
The biggest celebrities have millions of subscribers and are very influential marketers, they are opinion leaders. By showing their lifestyle, they have a very great influence on social networks. Moreover, they can interact with the community that follows them, which makes them much more reliable than a simple advertisement.
Why influence marketing?
Prospects are increasingly wary of so-called “traditional” advertising. Tired of being praised in a similar ad to so many others, they now aspire to quality and instructive advice. It is in this trend that the interest of Internet users for online advice has developed, particularly on e-commerce sites.
Being relayed by an influencer is a way for a brand to reach its target in a fairer way and more in line with its expectations. Being relayed by an influencer is a way for a brand to reach its target in a fairer way and more in line with its expectations. The influencer, free in his expression, gives an opinion, as objective as possible in order to be sincere with his audience, while promoting a product. The notion of trust and credibility is therefore essential in this triangular relationship.
82% of Internet users say they follow the advice of influencers. This type of communication is therefore not to be neglected for a brand. This is why in 2017, 87% of marketers have launched, or plan to launch, an influence campaign. If the budget rate allocated to influence marketing was 9% in 2014, it increases to 13% in 2015 and continues to grow, a sign of the direction that companies are taking in terms of alternative communication to the mass media.
This form of communication finally makes it possible to reach a very precisely selected target. This form of communication finally makes it possible to reach a precisely selected target audience. The brand thus avoids the traditional and costly mass communication so feared by the general public. In addition, it is an excellent way for the brand to gain visibility and notoriety in an extremely fast and effective way.
Avoir recours à un influenceur très connu permet donc à une entreprise de toucher une audience plus large. Les marques cherchent donc à collaborer avec eux pour influencer les consommateurs et bénéficier de la notoriété de la célébrité. En effet, cela contribue à améliorer leur image de marque et à générer de l’engagement.
Having recourse to a well-known influencer therefore enables a company to reach a wider audience. Brands therefore seek to collaborate with them to influence consumers and benefit from celebrity awareness. Indeed, this helps to improve their brand image and generate engagement.
However, this strategy can be a double-edged sword. A company can use a celebrity’s notoriety, but if the celebrity is the subject of a scandal or is not appreciated by a certain community, the company will be affected as well. It is therefore important for a company to know how to identify the influence a celebrity has on its community so that it is in line with its web marketing and digital communication strategy. Influencers can therefore influence the practices of many people by using social networks, through posts such as photos or videos. A company can offer them to create content to promote its product, which is called product placement. This can significantly influence the opinion of consumers, especially depending on the number of subscribers. Some influencers maximize engagement more than others and can even influence trends. This strategy of going through those people whose opinion has a very strong impact on Internet users and whose engagement rate is high is a good way to promote it and brands have understood this. It can have much more impact than traditional advertising.
A few tips!
In order to succeed in influence marketing, it is however essential to think about these 3 points:
- Choosing influencers whose personal branding is well established
- Allow the influencer freedom of expression and decision, both in substance and in form
- Be aware that influencers will be attentive to the products offered, the values of the brand and the quality of the contact
Influence marketing is therefore a new way to address your target. More in line with the expectations of the target, influence marketing maintains a more human link and is better perceived and understood by prospects. Indeed, there is a relationship of trust between the influencers solicited by the brand and their audience, which makes the content more relevant.
