The pandemic and lockdowns have further reinforced the need to stay connected and social networks are in turmoil. The influence market now represents close to $150 million and this figure is expected to rise to 350 million in 2027.
Becoming an influencer is the dream of many aficionados who already see themselves at the top of the bill. For example, 17% of young Britons under 17 indicate that their dream job would be to be a YouTuber or Vlogger. However, only a few will manage to be spotted and make it their job.
So how do you put the odds on your side when you get into influencer marketing? The question that arises is how to ensure that his voice is heard. The studies recent studies we have conducted highlight key factors in understanding how some are doing well.
Avoid foraging
Themes, Talent and Work, it is a “three T rule” that we propose in the first place to get noticed. The “followers” (“followers”), come to seek content corresponding to their centers of interest. The expectations are multiple and depend on the area concerned.
In beauty, cuisine, tourism and fashion, Internet users’ expectations remain centered on the search for new ideas and original sources of inspiration. In areas related to games and humor, it is above all a hedonic motivation, centered on the search for pleasure and entertainment. Finally, in specialized fields, linked for example to sport, politics, culture or do-it-yourself, motivation is often utilitarian with the search for relevant and transparent information.
In any case, it is important to create a dialogue around what your community is looking for so that it is engaged and wants to follow the influencer regularly. It is thus a question of avoiding browsing with a different subject every day, because it is important to be recognized in an area of expertise. Some influencers thus succeed in bringing together impressive communities on very specialized themes on which they develop strong credibility.
Let us cite, for example, on political subjects, hugodecrypt ” who has 1 million subscribers on Instagram, “ Dr. Nozman ” and his 3.89 million YouTube followers who follow his videos on biochemistry, or the channel on the history of France ” Please Note to which 1.7 million people subscribe.
The interviews with influencers were enriched by an opinion from influencer marketing expert, Édouard Crémer, Managing Director Sampleo and Talent Web Academy at Webedia Creators. For those who work with influencers on a daily basis, it is already necessary to agree on what is meant by “making your voice heard”. The number of followers is not the only criterion for measuring influence. The engagement rate of its community also illustrates the interest of an audience in a content.
Thus, with small fashion or beauty communities, some influencers show record engagement rates, over 20%, and can claim to have a strong voice, such as «Niia» or « Miriam ».
Creativity, originality and charisma are then essential elements to offer an inspiring voice. It is difficult to give a method to be a “creator”, there is no ready recipe to inspire your audience.
A fashion influencer must demonstrate that he has an eye for spotting future trends, that he has “good taste” and a sense of aesthetics, but it is difficult to define how this is acquired: it is a rare talent. To know if you have this grain of genius, you have to start sharing your passion, and check if you manage to transmit your vision in an engaging way.
At this stage, everything is not won because talent is not enough.
Like any profession, that of influence has codes and techniques that can be learned and cannot be improvised. Influencers know the right tone to adopt to address their audience, the right frequency and the best time to post during the day by choosing the social networks adapted to their readership. They also know how to get noticed thanks to the use of new functionalities, a detailed understanding of the algorithms of each social network and the mechanisms of sharing visibility with other creators.
Today, video is the format that performs best in terms of attention and interest. However, creating and posting quality video content takes skill. Influencers must also agree to take the time necessary to respond quickly to their followers in order to retain them and promote the future engagement of their audience, who will feel valued.
Faced with commercial intentions
And when success arrives, how not to lose your soul in collaboration with brands?
One of the major difficulties lies in the fact of managing the tension between the commercial intentions of the brands and the search for authenticity of the followers. However, there are winning strategies to overcome it. We have dissected a ten collaborations between brands and around forty influencers.
The analyzes of nearly 500 posts within the framework of these collaborations and the textual analysis of more than 5,000 words made it possible to identify, in addition to the rule of the three Ts, the proposal of the “three Cs” in the collaborations: choice, creativity and contract.
The right choice of brands is a first essential element in this strategy. These brands must be relevant and attractive to the audience, while being consistent with the interests and positioning of the influencer. For example, specializing in meaningful travel around respect for the environment, the influencer Sophia Li only accepts collaborations with socially responsible brands.
According to the 2020 Kantar x Sampleo study conducted among 300 influencers, 61% of them have already been offered partnerships with brands whose values they do not share. Among these, 67% systematically refuse them.
Once the partner brand has been selected, it is a question of not confining oneself to the role of transmitting an advertising message. The influencer must obtain freedom to create their content and their own formatting, corresponding to their style and the expectations of their community. He remains a creator, who offers a personal and different vision in all his speeches, even when it comes to expressing himself on the products of partner brands.
Finally, in order to create the conditions for effective and long-term cooperation, it is essential that the parties agree on a code of conduct and on the duties of each in the short and medium term. The contract should not be seen as a lack of mutual trust but as a code of good conduct that allows you to start on a sound basis to build a lasting relationship. Both parties must accept transparency on the sponsored or non-sponsored nature of the content related to the collaboration.
In conclusion, to break through, an influencer must find the right themes, offer an original point of view and acquire the codes of the trade. Then, to last, it must get closer to relevant brands and define clear rules of collaboration while maintaining its creative freedom.
Gwarlann De KervilerAssociate Professor – Head of Marketing & Sales Department, IÉSEG School of Management
This article is republished from The Conversation under Creative Commons license. Read thearticle original.
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