Digital Marketers must choose the right influencer for their brand. Read on to optimize your share of the $13.8 billion lucrative Influencer Marketing industry.

What is Influencer Marketing?

So let’s begin with a brief overview. According to Forbes, Influencer Marketing is an intermediary link i.e. the influencer between brands and customers. Authenticity is at the heart of branding and using influencers instead of traditional paid advertisement in newspapers or television is no different. Over 86% of Digital Marketers have used influencer marketing in the past year which makes the following 5 tips invaluable for success.

1. What influencer type best serves your needs?

First off, Forbes identifies four types of influencer based on follower count and subsequent relationship with their audience:

• Celebrity
• Character
• Spokespeople (nano-influencer)
• Buddies (nano-influencer)

The most suitable influencer will be based on your brand image. For example, luxury brands must consider brand exclusivity when looking to improve their digital and more specifically influencer marketing strategy.

Celebrities

While celebrities offer broad reach, they lack any personal relationship with their following. Therefore, high-fashion luxury brands such as Prada and Louis Vuitton will have success with celebrity influencers as the audience often wants to emulate the celebrity lifestyle.

Characters

Characters have more original content but lack personal audience relationships. Luxury brands should avoid non-essential interaction on social media to keep their exclusive image which suits the characters influencer type.

Spokespeople

Spokespeople are advocates for their cause and have strong recommendation power to their audience. Luxury brands who have an ethical and eco-conscious agenda will align best with this influencer type. A 2020 survey revealed 60% of young adults would trust a spokesperson influencer more than a traditional celebrity.

Buddies

Buddies have smaller follower numbers than spokespeople but have the same strength of relationship with their following.

Industry leaders believe celebrities and characters longevity is unsustainable as they will become less relevant just as newspaper articles did.

Subsequently, luxury brands who target relatively small audiences compared to large fashion houses may relish from the close relationship buddies form with their niche following.

2. Follower to Following Ratio

Contrary to popular belief, both account following and followers are relevant on social media. The ratio counts in more than just the numerical sense; consumer perception is of equal importance. Recent studies indicate that once your influencer has a substantial following, the less accounts they follow in return increases the influencers perceived independence. This in turn increases the likelihood of successful influencer marketing. The good news is the easy to apply formula, seen below, can give you an overview of your influencer suitability within seconds.

Follow Ratio Analysis	equals	Number of Followers	divided by	Number of Accounts being Followed
Excellent; optimal		High		Low
Good; room for improvement		High		High
Bad; avoid		Low		High

3. Product Expertise Level for Influencer Marketing

When choosing your influencer; product knowledge depth is key. If your influencer posts blog content, they should have detailed product knowledge. However, if your influencer promotes your product on social media such as Facebook, consumers will accept a lower knowledge level.

Businesses can earn up to $6.50 per $1 spent on Influencer Marketing

Digital Marketing Institute

Hence, Forbes found consumers are more receptive to sponsored content if the influencer is delivering essential product expertise. The most common Influencer Marketing channels are blogs and Facebook so making sure that your influencer has the correct knowledge level is vital. Take advantage of the extra free time that COVID19 and lockdown has brought and retrain your influencers skillset while brushing up on your own digital marketing accreditations.

4. Brand-Influencer Relationship

5. Influencer Marketing Success Measurement

By now you’ll have realized there are lots of factors that might influence your success. Evaluating your triumphs can be difficult but is equally as important. Certain indicators such as likes (appreciation), shares (interest) and comments offer interesting insights into commentary between the influencer and audience. This can help Digital Marketers measure word of mouth from these interactions.

“In 2020, 4 out of every 10 millennials say the influencers they follow are better at understanding them than their friends”

Digital Marketing Institute

Creating a friend like image to their audience will positively sway word of mouth. Moreover, this is particularly important where consumer-centric brands now dominate the influencer marketing world.

A Snapshot; Your Checklist to Success Includes:

1. Influencer Type
2. Follow Ratio
3. Expertise Level
4. Brand-Influencer Relationship
5. Success Measurement

Remember, you must consider your individual circumstances for each factor and adapt as required. Ultimately, each of these factors are key starting points for your Influencer Marketing success.

What to avoid in Influencer Marketing?

Lastly, there is one overarching pitfall to avoid. Digital Marketers must understand consumer receptivity to paid influencers and how genuine their recommendations are. Consumer confidence dives if influencers do not indicate sponsored content. Both the influencers and companies brand is deemed untrustworthy. Ensure you guide your influencer on the legal requirements of disclosing their promotional content.

Find out more on how the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland ‘Recognisability of Marketing Communications’ is altering influencer marketing regulation.

Sources

Audrezet, A. and de Kerviler, G. 2019. How Brands Can Build Successful Relationships with Influencers. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/04/how-brands-can-build-successful-relationships-with-influencers [Accessed 1 April 2021].

Digital Marketing Institute. 2021. 20 Surprising Influencer Marketing Statistics | DMI. Available at: https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you [Accessed 1 April 2021].

GRIN. 2021. Brand – Influencer Relationships: How to Create Real Connections. Available at: https://grin.co/blog/brand-influencer-relationships-real-connections/ [Accessed 3 April 2021].

Hughes, C., Swaminathan, V. and Brooks, G. 2019. Driving Brand Engagement Through Online Social Influencers: An Empirical Investigation of Sponsored Blogging Campaigns. Journal of Marketing. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022242919854374?casa_token=5tUbifhFoo8AAAAA:6xGBBtRGawBswJRksT3fmRmGUFzgwTFfGPlDovTSpxHHVSSRjjidQwrW1WIrVAGIXd9XcqlXSAz_dw [Accessed 31 March 2021].

Kretz, G. 2020. What Is Influencer Marketing And Where Is It Headed?. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2020/01/22/what-is-influencer-marketing-and-where-is-it-headed/#:~:text=Influencers%20are%20intermediaries%20between%20companies%20and%20brands%20and%20an%20audience.&text=In%20addition%2C%20influencers%20who%20built,with%20them%20and%20trust%20them. [Accessed 1 April 2021].

Statista. 2021. Global influencer market size 2021 | Statista. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092819/global-influencer-market-size/ [Accessed 1 April 2021].

The Online Advertising Guide. 2021. Follow Ratio | The Online Advertising Guide. [online] Available at: https://theonlineadvertisingguide.com/social-media-marketing/follow-ratio/ [Accessed 1 April 2021].

Valsesia, F., Proserpio, D. and Nunes, J. 2020. The Positive Effect of Not Following Others on Social Media. Journal of Marketing Research.  Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022243720915467?casa_token=C_zdKUwOyfoAAAAA:aUGWaosf5mwdHE2KCYPk7CjoUyC4LXverZDgWUKMI_UpoLOol61jgKVaIfgghdxmSX_pZ59JjnL1dg [Accessed 31 March 2021].