What is Influencer Marketing? Frequently Asked Questions

It’s a buzzword, sure, but ‘influencers’ can form an integral part of modern digital marketing plans.

We’re hosting a webinar today that details the basics of influencer marketing, and how you can develop your own programme. 

You can sign up to the webinar for free here, which will be live from 10.30EST / 3.30GMT today and will include practical tips on using Brandwatch to isolate the right kind of people.

To give the webinar a little context, here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions about influencer marketing.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is generally concerned with ‘people’.

It involves brands identifying relevant individuals – usually those that are particularly influential – in order to execute a highly targeted campaign around their products or services.

Why is it beneficial?

A billboard, a TV advert and other forms of more traditional marketing certainly have their benefits, but could be compared to standing in the corner of a crowded party and shouting about how great you are.

Influencer marketing is different. It’s more like going around the party and speaking to the most popular guests in a tailored, personal way.This is not only more beneficial because the message is bespoke and thus more likely to be noticed and relevant, but also because those people may then go on to share the message with others, increasing its reach and authenticity.

How do you identify key influencers in your market?

Originally events and other offline approaches would be taken in order to find such influencers, but with the advent of the internet, and by extension social media, the game has changed.

Different brands will want to isolate different types of influencers depending on their purpose. Some may be seeking relatively minor influencers that hold a huge amount of sway in a niche sector, whereas others will be looking for those with the widest reach possible, regardless of special interest.

Using metrics relevant to the type of influencer needed for the campaign can assist in the finding of the right people: traffic, comments, shares and so on to identify key bloggers, or followers, interests, engagement ratios and aggregated scores like Kred for Twitter users.

There are handy metrics you can look at for each platform and use-case, selecting which ones and how to apply them will vary depending on the objective.

We’ll explain how to do so in more detail later today.

How do you approach them?

Again, it depends on the purpose. A good rule of thumb, however, would be to tailor the message specifically for each influencer.

A cornerstone of any successful influencer campaign is the personal nature of the communication.

Flattering influencers and truly valuing their engagement with your campaign helps to get real momentum behind it, and many will see through a generic, sales-driven approach.

What do they get in return, money, free content?

While money may be a useful incentive for influencer participation, it does somewhat detract from the authenticity of interaction.

The challenge for marketers is to create a campaign that makes influencers want to be included, and feel as though their involvement is mutually beneficial.

Early access to an unreleased product, for example, can provide both the brand and the influencer with an advantage.

Is it ethical?

It’s entirely ethical, assuming it’s done properly. Inviting favoured members of online communities to see how a business operates, showing off new products and other marketing accommodating exercises can be great fun and interesting for influencers, but also provide brands with the opportunity to forge genuine links with (potential and real) customers.

These bonds can then be used to help mould and amplify brand messaging, as well as help brands receive honest, instant and informed feedback on their offerings.

Is it effective?

As with any form of marketing, it’s only ever as good as the concept and its execution.

A banner advert can be very effective, but only if it includes good copy, smart ideas and a valuable, convincing landing page to click through to.

The same applies to influencer marketing. A strategy that intelligently considers the objectives, approaches, techniques and other factors that go into building such a campaign will be the best equipped for success.

So, one more reminder: there’s a webinar about it today. JOIN US …