An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions and behaviors of a specific audience, often within a particular niche or industry. Influencers typically have a significant following on social media platforms or other online channels, and they leverage their credibility, expertise, or popularity to engage and influence their audience.
To influence people, you must appeal to their emotions.
It can increase the perceived value of your offer to your target audience; as a customer, it’s that feeling of “they get me”.
Do you know any influencers?
Influence is not the same as and is easily confused with influencer marketing, anyone can have influence, regardless of the size of their audience.
An affiliate is a third-party partner who promotes products or services on behalf of a business and earns a commission for each sale or action generated through their promotional efforts.
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy in which businesses reward affiliates for driving traffic or sales to their products or services through the affiliate’s marketing efforts. It is a type of revenue-sharing arrangement between a business (merchant) and an affiliate.
People buy from companies they know, like and trust.
Give me the code and I’ll buy it!
We often look for recommendations from friends or family or check online reviews.
Compensation is negotiated and can include a combination of fixed fees, free products, or other arrangements. Payment is not directly tied to the performance of the promotional efforts.
Campaigns are often short-term collaborations, with influencers creating content for specific promotional periods or events.
Businesses bear the upfront cost of influencer collaborations, and success is often measured by engagement metrics and brand visibility.
Earn commissions based on actual sales or actions generated through referral links. The payment is solely performance-based.
Relationships can be ongoing, with affiliates continuously promoting products or services over an extended period.
Businesses incur costs only when a sale or desired action occurs. This performance-based model minimizes upfront risk, and the investment aligns with actual conversions.
The power of an influencer and the community
Read the article and tell us what is happening here throughout the marketing lens
• Dictionary: “a person or thing who influences another”
• In marketing, it’s a way to amplify your brand to an audience you may not normally be able to reach (social media has made this very popular)
• Can involve payment or payment + free product.
• Traditionally, influencer has been associated with celebrity endorsements; however, people know they’re being paid, so trust has shifted away from them.
• Not every company can afford massive budgets with celebrity influencers.
• Shift the definition of “influencer” as a status to a “person who has influence”
• Celebrities with massive followings are macro-influencers.
• Companies get better results with individuals with much smaller followings (as little as 2K) because they actually engage and interact with their audiences, and it’s seen as more genuine (micro-influencers)
• Micro-influencers may be easier to access, have fewer competing arrangements with other brands, and have a more loyal fanbase.
• Influencer marketing is a growing trend in marketing as companies look to get access to new audiences outside of traditional company-driven marketing and advertising channels.
• It’s a chance for companies to think differently about their products and services.
• There are agencies that specialize in influencer marketing, often with relationships in specific markets or industries (less work for the brand)
• Companies pay influencers through direct compensation, product, or some combination of both in exchange for your brand’s exposure to their (loyal, trusted) audience.
• This is a legal arrangement and should be treated as such.
• It’s up to the influencer to decide if they want to do business with a company.
• Companies seek ways to get their products in front of their best customers and see influencers as people with trusted audiences.
• They are usually prepared to offer financial compensation + product or service + a discount code the influencer can offer their followers.
• As a business, you want to know what you expect to gain (usually exposure to a new audience or sales) and how you’ll measure it.
• Be clear about what information you need from the influencer (analytics or reporting)
• Normally, brands seek long-term relationships; influencer marketing can be expensive and time-consuming.
• Most influencers create a media kit with their story, values and stats on website traffic, social media followers and engagement rates.
• Brands and influencers come to an agreement about the type and amount of content that will be shared through the engagement (this is clearly defined upfront)
• Sometimes the company will specify specific accounts to tag, product placement, images, or even wording to the influencer, usually in an effort to mitigate risk.
• It’s best if the influencer has some guidelines, but is free to create content in a way that resonates with their audience.
• This approach results in a positive experience for the company, the influencer, and the audience.
To create revenue, especially if you’re already endorsing a product or service organically and have a loyal fanbase(some of whom may already be purchasing) or your website gets a lot of traffic.
To incentivize people to advertise your product on your behalf (like a referral from a trusted friend)
To generate passive income.
It’s a better fit for large-profit margin products/services (you have to be able to afford to pay your affiliates)
• It’s usually positive.
• It evokes emotion.
• It’s a cause that people care about.
• It’s authentic from the brand that is telling it.
• It tells a story, has strong visuals, and is highly creative.
• It’s accessible, available to everyone, and easy to share.
• It’s timely.
• It generates buzz in social media and the real world –it gets people talking.
• It can even be newsworthy.
• Identify a concern or need, or passion among your customer base; tap into that and decide where the brand stands (aka research)
• Passion is the key ingredient –for the brand and for the audience.
• The opportunity is that customers forget you’re selling a product and instead see themselves as supporting a social issue by buying your product.
Dove introduced a campaign that used a forensic artist to create drawings based on how women perceived themselves and compared them to drawings based on how others described them.
• Video viewed more than 114 million times in the first month.
• Uploaded in 25 languages.
• Reached consumers in 110 countries.
• Most watched video of 2013.
• The promotion is as important as the content and needs to be planned, delivered, and budgeted.
• Influencers and advertising can amplify messages.
• Viral campaigns are designed to spread on social media.
• The creative direction, footage, scenes, and clips are created for social media first, with optimal viewing on mobile devices.
• Create formats and messages appropriate for each channel it’s distributed in.
• Brands should be prepared for positive and negative reactions.
• Work through those issues and develop proactive and reactive responses before release.
• Identify media spokespeople and train them.
• This is where PR comes in.
• Sophisticated tools or agency support?
• Sysomos, Meltwater, Brandwatch, Talkwalker, or others.
• Reporting needs to happen hour by hour, if not moment by moment.
• It’s not right for every brand and it’s not the only way to succeed.
• It creates some short-term buzz from people who aren’t engaged for the long haul.
• It’s often viewed by executives as the “magic trick” that will deliver overnight success, but it takes a lot of time, money, and planning to get it right.
• Sometimes it has nothing to do with the brand itself but should be connected to it by demonstrating the brand’s core values.
