Nowadays, some brands need a persona as a reflection of theirs, not the CEO, but somebody who is related more to the product than the company itself. It can constantly seek new and innovative ways to connect with its target audience. Collaboration between brands and influencers could be very beneficial in both parties, brands could get wider exposure and influencers can monetize their content, it called influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing is experiencing rapid growth, with a projected value of $21.1 billion in 2023 as stated on Influencer Marketing Lab. The growth is driven by several factors, such as increasing popularity in social media, a lot of keyword trends made by them, and the rising demand of authentic marketing.

Year by year, the number of brands using influencers as their marketing campaign strategy has increased 89%, based on the same previous source. They also differentiates some types of influencers by their followers

Nano influencers : these influencers have between 1.000 to 10.000 followers on their account. Usually Nano influencers are a part of the community and highly active in social events. So, no wonder if they could get many followers.

Micro influencers : the followers they have on their account between 10.000 to 100.000, and they still manage relatability and authenticity factor. Which is why, they could get more engagement rates.

Macro influencers : They have between 100.000 to 1.000.000 followers, this kind of influencers take content creation as a career and their main job. Means they have more time to focus on their social media account to create 100% authentique content.

Mega Influencers : They have larger audiences, and some of them are well known celebrities, no wonder they have more than 1.000.000 followers on their social media accounts. If brands want to use this influencers, they should have more budget to spend

They can reflect each other’s values, target audiences, and everything related. But brands have some work to do before picking up influencers, they should consider the engagement rate, followers, interaction then the Return of Investment, as a measurement of the success in a marketing campaign.

Source: TedxVancouver

Remember, influencer has transformed modern marketing, by the content they made, it could be applicable to everybody, as Rachel David, the CEO of Hashtag Communication said on TedX that , “Influencer’s content are really applicable to anyone trying to get attention on anything”.

Mirroring Brand Values

It is crucial to ensure their values will align with brands. Consumers are discerning, they will support the brands that will share their value with somebody they trust, and its influencers, who can act as credible ambassadors, building trust and reinforcing brand messages of brand value.

For example, a brand who sells healthy food, the right influencers to pick would be somebody who looks healthy by their appearance and also lives a healthy life. This way could create trust in consumers, that the product is a really healthy food with good quality.

Good-fit Audience Reacher

Another important factor is the influencers target audience, everybody knows, all influencers have their own target audience. In here, brands need to focus to find the good-fit, and consider if the influencers’ followers could be converted to their consumers. 

This will help the marketing campaign be on track and create effective communication, because influencers have a personal connection with their audience, and they know how to treat them perfectly, and this personal touch from influencers can really help brands to know their audience deeper.

Real-life Brand Persona

In addition to reflecting brand values and reaching the target audience, influencer presence can help to shape a brand’s persona, the character that represents similar people in the target audience based on the majority of the audience’s sex, age, hobbies.

Let’s take a look for example, a fashion brand named Dory, wants to be perceived as chic, youthful, and energetic. Brands should find a person with these keywords, which can be found among Gen Z, then they should see that person’s daily life and the branding on social media, so they don’t go wrong with the campaign.

Effectiveness of Content

Partnering with influencers who embody the brand’s desired attributes allow brands to subtly convey their identity and values, because they can shape brands’ persona consistently through the content they create. Means, brands should collaborate with influencers that align with the marketing campaign goals.

The content they create, should deliver a message that contains brand values, so, it matters if the contents must align with marketing campaign goals, and should be seen on visual, copy text, captions. This cohesive approach reinforces the brand’s identity and creates consistent brand experience in consumers mind.

The Key factors to Choosing Influencers:

To make everything on track, it is important to be selective with these key factors:

Audience Demographic : Ensure the influencers age, sex, hobbies, and social class, align with the brand’s target audience.

Content Quality : Review and analyze influencers current content, to be sure it’s engaging and has a good quality.

Engagement : Look at how their followers interact, then decide, are they really engaging with influencers

Social Media Branding : Their presence is not enough, brands should see their branding on social media, is it fit or not.

Authenticity : Influencers who have authenticity would likely be uneasy to forget, they could be true to themselves and their audience.

Measuring the success of marketing campaign with Influencers

After using influencers for marketing campaigns, It is essential to measure the effectiveness and feedback from the audience, as something to consider in another campaign. So, please pay attention to the following key metrics:

Brand Awareness : Brand should track their awareness, among the audience targeted.

Website Traffic : Monitor and update daily, the visitors of brands websites that are converted by influencers content.

Engagement in social Media : Do not stop to track the level of brand engagement when using influencer marketing. Higher means better.

Sales conversion : Measure the number of sales that are attributed to influencers campaign content, then take a look at the ROI.

Influencers play a significant role in nowadays marketing campaigns, why? Because they can reflect brands’ values effectively, reach the good-fit audience and shape the brands persona. Brands can harness the power of influencer marketing to achieve their marketing campaign goals, while maintaining the brand values.