The way to promote your brand on social networks has evolved considerably in recent years. If on the one hand the rise of social networks has completely transformed marketing strategies, on the other hand the consumer is more independent and no longer believes in traditional advertising. In fact, consumers prefer to trust third-party recommendations that seem more authentic and personalized.
The modern consumer is autonomous, he wants to discover a brand by himself or to hear about it from the mouth of someone he trusts. That’s why influencer marketing has become one of the most effective ways to attract customers and promote its brand. An influencer will not only benefit you, but also the networks of your community. With a loyal audience, it has the ability to drive traffic to your site, increase your social media exposure, and get your product to buy through recommendations or experience.
# 1 – What is an influencer?
An influencer (or influencer) is an individual who by his status or his media exposure can influence consumer behavior in a given universe. Its role is less direct in terms of recommendation than that of a prescriber, but its influence may be more extensive. The notion of influencing is mainly used on the Internet because this media is a vector of influence for many individuals (bloggers for example), we speak then of e-influence . ( source )
An influencer is a person active on social networks who has the distinction of having a large network – and therefore the ability to reach a large number of Internet users. They will not be the same depending on the industry you are in.
An influencer is someone who can influence the decision to buy a prospect through his network of contacts and notoriety. Whether a blogger, star, Youtuber or expert in your industry, he is considered an expert in his field. He can become an ambassador or promoter in an environment where recommendations and criticism spread quickly through word of mouth.
# 2 – Why adopt a marketing strategy of influence?
The whole point of this type of strategy is to be able to reach in a very targeted way a particular audience . Thus, the major difficulty will be to identify an influencer who will be able to relay your message (or promote your brand) to the community most relevant to you (your heart target). If an influencer with millions of followers praises your brand, you will generate very few sales or leads if the context has nothing to do with your brand or if the person is not credible. On the contrary, if the strategy is effective, it is your leads, sales and notoriety that you will increase.
# 3 – How to find influencers?
In order to identify the perfect influencer for your field of activity, three factors must be taken into account: relevance, scope and resonance.
- Relevance means whether the shared content is relevant to your business or not.
- The scope (or Reach ) represents the number of people you could potentially ment touch with the community of the influencer.
- Resonance is defined by the level of commitment Gener ed by relevant content with a quality audience.
Not all influencers are equal, some have more influence than others and a ranking is needed to distinguish between key influencers and less influential people. A list of key factors to classify influencers was developed by Influencer50 :
- Scope : The number of people with whom an individual can connect.
- Independence : If an influencer has an interest in promoting a particular point of view.
- The frequency of impac t: the number of opportunities a person has to influence purchase decisions.
- Expertise : how influential an expert is in a given field.
- Persuasion : the consequences if we ignore the advice of an influencer.
- The scope : the extent to which a recommendation of influencer has an impact on the process of final decision of the buyer.
What tools to spot an influencer?
1) Klout
This tool measures the influence of a user by analyzing his activity on social networks. Influence is calculated according to a number of factors (the algorithm consists of 12 social indicators and more than 400 factors). Each user gets a score between 1 and 100 representing the influence. The more influential a person is, the higher the score will be.
2) Your social media in general
Communicating and keeping an eye on your various social media will help you determine who is particularly active and engaged. It is important not only to look at the number of likes and comments on the user’s page, but also the type of conversations he or she has. You want to make sure the person you consider influencing is someone who is in tune with your brand and values. Use industry-specific hashtags or campaigns to get tracked and identified by these hashtags.
3) Twitter
Create Twitter searches with Hoot suite, for example. Identify Hashtags that your industry and influencers use. By monitoring conversations, you’ll spot not only influential people but also topics and blogs that may interest you. Once you have found potential spokespersons on Twitter, create lists (public or private).
4) Linkedin
Linkedin is not a social network to forget, especially in B2B. You can use the search bar to search for keywords or phrases specific to your industry to find first or second degree connections directly related to your area of activity.
