Influencer marketing strategy

Influencer marketing strategy is a conception, where brands offer goods in return of advertisement or recommendation of their product in social media. This strategy is based on people who follow the influencer. It is a partnership with a mutually beneficial outcomes (L.Pophal 2016, p.26 ). According to the authors:N.Hayes and D.Brown " Influencer marketing is an approach that identifies and targets influencers in a market" ( N.Hayes, D.Brown 2007, p.25 ).

Influencer definition

It is a person who has confirmed believability and listeners. People who can encourage others by correctness of their credibility and realness. Influencers can come in a lot of different types. They can be one of the form ( S.Hall 2017, p.96 ):

• Bloggers
• Newspaper person
• Author of magazines
• Analysts of some industry
• Specialists, who are accounted as authority in some area by followers.

Example of Influencer marketing practises

Influencer marketing strategy should be based in accordance with the process's steps. According to S.Hall:"

1. Prepare and plan (Define influencer marketing goals and customer targets, build influencer map)
2. Identify influencers (Leverage social and third party knowledge, market activities, engage subject matter experts)
3. Select influencers (Research, Marketing budget review)
4. Engage influencers (Forum participation, engage indirectly, Incentivize)
5. Meause influencers (KPI selection, KPI review)"(S.Hall 2017, p.98).

It doesn't matter what size of company or kind of marketing the brand has because Influencer Marketing is for everyone (K.Sammis, C.Lincoln and S.Pomponi 2015, p.17 ). Influencer marketing is working in two directions. One is focused on method how influencers make good job of introducing their readers to a new brand or product. Second direction of influencer marketing appears when customer is in the purchasing intent phase (K.Sammis, C.Lincoln and S.Pomponi 2015, p.20 ).

Influencer marketing and WOMM

WOMM - Word of mouth marketing is a skill of promoting goods by satisfied customer. People talk about some product or service and hand information and advantages on others. According to A.Sernovitz "the definition of word of mouth marketing:

1. Giving people a reason to talk about your stuff
2. Making it easier for that conversation to take place" ( A.Sernovitz 2012, p.3).

Word of mouth marketing is practising in every kind of Influencer platforms for example: one person watched the Influencer's video, than is talking to a friend about product, which saw on YouTube. In this way dissemination of information about new brands, products, services and business is faster.

Benefits of this strategy

Influencer marketing strategy brings many advantages for business development for example (D.Brown and S.Fliorella 2013, p.77):

• Bigger range of advertisement
• A lot of new customers from Instagram, Facebook, YouTube etc.
• Higher brand identification
• Noticeably higher demand on goods
• Brand become a well-known company
• Influencer can truly connect with customers

Influencers have a lot of benefits also. For example, Influencer gains on this business:

• Free products from brands in exchange for advertisement
• A financial reward
• New contracts
• New followers, who saw their profile in product's campaign
• Bigger audience

Influencer marketing platforms

Influencers have a places in Social media, where they place their stories from the day, recommendations and advertisements of some brands. There are a lot of various places in public network like (K.Sammis, C.Lincoln and S.Pomponi 2015, p.9-12):

• Blogs allow to publish a different texts on their website, where readers can comment and collaborate with author.
• Instagram is very useful, because Influencer can show brand in photos, videos, instastories and write with their followers. This kind of social media allows to follow activities by hashtags.
• Pinterest shows a nice content of brands. Products are presented in great, optical way.
• Facebook allows to create a purchasing groups, where members can read opinions, share real photos and give discount code for products.
• YouTube allows to broadcast for example games or shopping videos unprepared. Spectators can see some of products with recommendation live.

Research results

Researches present growth in effectivity of Influencer marketing strategy. Results of them are shown in S.Hall's book "Innovative B2B Marketing":

• "72 per cent of B2B buyers use social media to research a purchase (Demand Gen, 2014)
• More business buyers(53 per cent) are relying on peer recommendations when they make a purchase. This number has increased from 19 per cent in 2012 ( Demand Gen,2014)." (S.Hall 2017, p.98)

Limitations of Influencer marketing strategy

The following list outlines the limitations of influencer marketing strategy:

• Limited Reach: Influencer marketing can be limited to the reach of the influencer, meaning that the target audience might not be as wide as desired.
• Cost: Influencers can be expensive and can require a significant financial investment from a business. This can be a deterrent for some businesses who may not have the budget to pursue this type of marketing.
• Negative Experiences: Influencers can have negative experiences with a product or service, which can lead to negative publicity for the business.
• Difficulty in Tracking Results: It can be difficult to track the results of influencer marketing campaigns, making it difficult to assess their success or failure.
• Difficulty in Finding the Right Influencers: It can be difficult to find the right influencers for a brand, as there are many to choose from. Additionally, it can be difficult to assess an influencer’s credibility and whether or not they will be a good fit for a particular brand.

Other approaches related to Influencer marketing strategy

• Paid Ads: Promoting your product or service through paid ads is an effective way to reach your target audience. It helps to increase brand awareness and brand loyalty, as well as boost sales.
• Social Media Engagement: Engaging with your target audience on social media platforms is an important part of any influencer marketing strategy. It helps to build relationships with the influencers and their followers, as well as increase brand visibility.
• Content Creation: Content creation is an important part of any influencer marketing strategy. It helps to create content that reflects the values and goals of your brand, as well as establish your presence as an authoritative source of information.

Influencer marketing strategy — recommended articles

Buzz marketing — Benefits of social media marketing — Public relations in marketing — Promotion mix — Incentive marketing — B2B social media marketing — Below the line advertising — Affinity marketing — Areas of marketing

References

• Brown D. and Hayes N., (2008), Influencer Marketing, Routledge, Hungary
• Brown D. and Fliorella S., (2013), Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing , Que Publishing, USA
• Hall S., (2017), Innovative B2B Marketing: New Models, Processes and Theory, Kogan Page Publishers, USA
• Pophal L., (2016), Best Practices in Influencer Marketing: Insights from Digital Marketing Experts, eBookIt.com
• Sammis K., Lincoln C. and Pomponi S. (2015), Influencer Marketing for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken
• Sernovitz A., (2012), Word of Mouth Marketing, PressBox Publishing, USA

Author: Paulina Zając