They are opinion leaders and sympathizers on social media. Millions of people follow them on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Co. They have a great deal of influence. And influence is meant literally here. We’re talking about influencers. Influencers act as multipliers and are characterized by their enormous reach. This also makes them interesting for a company’s marketing. But what is important when a travel agency or restaurant operator decides to cooperate with an influencer? Where are the opportunities and where are the possible risks? The online marketing agency SEO kitchen gives answers to the most important questions.
The potential
In Germany, the “bibisbeautypalace” channel of influencer Bianca Claßen has 7.7 million followers. A reach that not even prime-time TV programs achieve. This makes the dimensions and the potential for cooperation with the idols of the Internet very clear.
It is attractive for companies to also win these followers for themselves. Primary goal: The influencer’s level of awareness should increase the company’s awareness. Accommodation and restaurants become more attractive to potential customers when influencers have already been there and rate the brand well. Influencers also reach their followers on an emotional level and let them experience their experiences sensually. How does the food taste and smell in gastronomy? How is the atmosphere in the hotel? The influencer picks up his followers on the emotional level. And these followers are potential new customers of the company. But how does the company find the right influencer for it?
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Looking for the right influencer
A good company is aware of its target groups and values and lives its image internally and externally. Now it is important to find an influencer who credibly embodies this company image. The better the influencer and brand fit together, the more promising the cooperation is. Are you a tour operator specializing in young audiences? Then an influencer is advisable who takes his followers on an adventure trip with blogs and vlogs.
There are specialized search engines like Buzzsumo or Influma that help with the search. The interested company finds “its” influencer using hashtags and keywords. Are you a hotelier and already running a coherent storytelling? Then look for the influencer who convincingly tells the identical story. Incidentally, when looking for the right influencer, not only the number of followers should play a role. It is not uncommon for influencers with a smaller number of followers, so-called nano or micro influencers, to be the better choice for targeted collaboration. They are closer to the target group and often have a more active community. The engagement rate shows how intensively followers interact with the influencer, e.g. in the form of comments, and is also a good indicator of whether the number of followers is real or only consists of purchased fake followers.
It’s worth letting go
Anyone who decides to use influencer marketing is leaving familiar territory. As a company, be aware that you are letting go a bit when you decide to cooperate with an influencer. One of the biggest differences to other forms of communication is that influencers create and share their own content. Working with an influencer can be compared to a friendship. This includes treating them with respect and treating them as equals. Under no circumstances should the influencer be treated as a product or a means to an end. The aim is to ensure long-term and authentic cooperation. Because the credibility of the cooperation is a basic requirement for successful influencer marketing.
What a company needs to consider
Of course, a contractually agreed cooperation with an influencer is and remains advertising. A post promoting a business must also be declared as an advertisement. Professional influencers will take this into account in their own interest in order to avoid legal consequences. The be-all and end-all remains the right choice of influencer.
If you choose the wrong one, the hoped-for advertising can quickly turn into the opposite. But you shouldn’t let that deter you. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the question of how influencers influence our purchasing behavior shows: “One in three has already become aware of a product in social networks through influencers, and among 16 to 19 year olds it is even 76%. Especially in the areas of food and travel, every third person looks at posts by influencers.” This study is not the only one to show that the potential of influencer cooperation is enormous.
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