Influencer Marketing: The Winning Marketing Strategy?

Faced with declining interest and audiences for traditional media (TV, Radio, Press), consumer over-solicitation through all kinds of advertising messages, and new ways of consuming online content, advertisers must redouble their efforts to find suitable and creative communication channels to rebuild connections with their target audiences and, at the same time, restore trust.

Given this situation, and considering the explosion of social media in terms of audience reach and content creation, how can we not integrate influencer marketing into a marketing strategy? A true tool in the arsenal of digital communication, influencer marketing is fully integrated into 360° activation projects. But this cannot be done haphazardly, without a clear vision of your strategy.
We'll tell you more in the following paragraphs.

Influencer Marketing: What are we talking about?

Historically based on a concept as old as communication itself, influencer marketing is the marketing application of the broader concept of social influence. This refers to "a wide variety of phenomena and, broadly speaking, the fact that the pressure exerted by one person becomes a prescription for the behavior of another. Thus, social influence encompasses everything that produces a change in behavior through a dynamic relationship between dominant pressures in a given context and the adaptation of individuals." (Definition: Fundamental Concepts of Psychology).

From this perspective, it's easy to understand its relevance and interest in the world of social networks, whose very existence is based on the formation of groups (communities) that constantly interact with each other and share information, interests, knowledge, opinions, and common passions...

Therefore, influencer marketing encompasses "all the practices and tools that aim to leverage the recommendation potential of influencers, most often understood as digital influencers" (Definition: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Marketing).

But what is the benefit of Influencer Marketing?

After this brief theoretical overview, how can influencer marketing be of major importance in communication strategies?
A study surveying 18-24 year olds (source: National Consumer Institute) showed that 59% had already discovered a product through influencers. And 42% answered affirmatively to the question: "Have you ever bought a product recommended by an influencer?"
Based on this premise, without necessarily generalizing it to all consumers, using influencers and influencer marketing strategies creates a bridge of trust between your brand, your products, your services, and communities (new prospects) that you wouldn't necessarily have approached so directly and effectively otherwise.
More effective, but why?
Because in many cases, the results can be greater. Influencers know their followers' profiles and preferences perfectly, and crucially, they have earned their trust. They also communicate with them in a more impactful way (due to shared communication styles and sensitivities), better than a traditional marketing campaign. In other words, the result is better message reception, especially for commercial or promotional messages.

But how do you implement an effective influencer marketing strategy?

Influencer marketing is a far more complex skill than it seems. The days of simply seeding products (free samples) to a few high-profile influencers have come a long way. Talking about influencer marketing today means discussing image contracts, brand content, communication support, cross-promotional campaigns, engagement strategies, online conversion, automated tracking, content promotion, experiential marketing, influencer events... Yes, that's a lot of skills to encompass under one umbrella.

So you want to get started but you're wondering where to begin?

A few steps to help you implement an influencer marketing campaign

Step 1: The Why?
Entering the world of influencer marketing is not a decision without consequences. The larger your audience or brand awareness, the more precise your campaign setup will need to be. Analyzing the context and the current situation of your brand/company in terms of community, ambassadors, and influencers across your various social media platforms can help you answer this question. And sometimes... part of the answer to your strategy already exists within your community (loyal customers, employees, influencers convinced by your products, etc.). You will then need to structure it to create a winning strategy...

Step 2: The Why? What are the objectives you want to achieve with influencer marketing? Do you have a product to promote? Do you want more traffic to your website? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Do you want a sales channel?... All these questions are important. The answers will lead to different actions regarding the selection of your influencers, your content strategy, your online marketing materials, promotional activities, activations, etc.

Step 3: "How Much? Establish the baseline budget you want to invest in your future activities. This will be determined based on the audience size you want to reach, the desired reach (local, national, or international), the volume of activations, etc. You can always start without a clear plan, but you risk quickly running out of money.

Step 4: The "For Whom"? You want to reach new target audiences, great! But who are they? What are their consumption habits? What are their marketing characteristics? Who are their main influencers? What types of content do they like? Defining your target audience on social media is important because it will strongly influence the following steps.

Step 5: The "What to Do"? You're going to entrust part of your image, your communication, and your public statements to external expertise. But what do you want to communicate about (values, brand, product, etc.)? What type of content do you expect from your influencers? What qualitative/quantitative results do you expect from them? What activations will you implement with them? What editorial line will you establish? Without an established strategy, your return on investment (ROI) in influencer marketing may not meet your expectations.

Step 6: Who Will You Work With? Who will you work with to amplify your message and reach a wider audience? Nano (under 10k followers) / Micro (10k to 100k followers) / Macro (100k to 500k followers) / Mega (over 500k followers) influencer? What's that? Yes, if you weren't aware, the audiences of these new opinion leaders create categories with different characteristics and varying prices... as does their relevance to your future strategy in terms of engagement, audience reach, and visibility. (Example: nano influencers have smaller audiences but higher engagement and conversion rates). So, identify the influencers whose profiles match your brand, target audience, desired skills, required creativity, social media platform, and target market... In short, those who would be the best fit for your project.

Step 7: Where? In short, you need to determine the preferred communication channels on which you will base your actions, depending on your target audience. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube... Each social network has its own characteristics and preferred users in terms of age, gender, content consumption, audience size, etc. Therefore, a good influencer marketing strategy ensures that these influencers are aligned with your target audience(s).

Step 8: When? Just as you have a strategic plan and an editorial calendar, you will need to create a specific plan for your influencer marketing campaigns. Without a plan, it's difficult to measure the impact of your actions. Considering the frequency also means considering the duration of your commitments with one or more influencers. Will it be a contract for a campaign, as a permanent brand ambassador, or for a few posts?

Step 9: The "How To"? The next step is how to implement or create this strategy. If this question arises in the early stages of your planning, then partnering with an agency like Agence IS would likely be beneficial in developing your strategy together. Beyond providing support from scratch, ensure your internal resources possess sufficient expertise and creativity to innovate, imagine, and support your influencers' messaging.

So, if partial or complete support in Influencer Marketing is part of your plans, Agence IS (an Event Communication and Marketing Agency located in the Île-de-France region, near Paris), through its IS Brand division, specializes in this type of project, from strategy to operational management. Whether your project is local, national, or international in scope, if you have an idea, we can answer your questions and guide you toward its optimal realization.