Influencers: the next digital marketing hit

The world of digital marketing is mainly associated with SEO, SEM, social networks, newsletter campaigns, banners, videos, etc. However, the evolution of the Internet is changing the way of consuming content and consequently, the way of advertising on the Web.

In recent months the use of adblock extensions, applications that prevent pages from displaying advertising content (blocking pop-ups, banners, etc.) on the one hand and, on the other, from collecting personal user information, such as location, IP address, browsing history or Facebook ‘likes’ history, has increased significantly. According to Iagovar statistics, 16% of users in Spain regularly use extensions of this type, a percentage that exceeds 25% in countries such as Germany and Sweden. These users are not reached by ads, so the only way to reach them would be SEO or other tools that follow the “permission marketing” philosophy. Does digital marketing have a future in an advertising-free Internet?

New strategies to sell on the Internet

Banners, pop-ups and static ads are forms of advertising inherited directly from the traditional press. The available space is used to simultaneously display the information and the ad (in the case of static advertising) or, in the case of pop-ups or full-screen images, the limit of advertising space is exceeded. The popularization of mobile devices has increased the difficulties of displaying this type of advertising, since the dimensions of the screens have been reduced considerably and the user perceives that on his smartphone this is too invasive.

One of the solutions that have been applied for years is to eliminate the line that separated content from advertising and unify it: branded content, branded apps, hauls, product tests, etc. The aim is to show the analysis The aim is to promote a product or service as if it were information and not promotion, so that it is the user himself who demands access to that content instead of trying to avoid it. It is a strategy that has been used in a similar way in television or radio with advertorials or sponsored messages in different programs. However, on the Internet it is more complicated because the user has more options to choose from and has absolute power to see the content he/she wants, almost without restriction. Intraditional television there are a limited numberof channels to choose from and within each of those channels, we can only watch what the channel decides to broadcast. We cannot stop it, change it, watch it again or consult it later. It is a real-time consumption of content. But the Internet, although it shares many of the intrinsic characteristics of television (mass media, global reach…) does not work in the same way, since the Web is based on interconnectivity, participation and the user’s decision to select what he/she wants to watch. Hence the need to find a way to advertise products or services in a less aggressive way, so that people do not feel rejection towards it and that it is, after all, interesting.

Influencers: the new viral marketing

Influencers are simply people with such a large number of fans, followers, readers, admirers, etc. that their comments or opinions have a major impact on the behavior of some consumers. They do not necessarily have to be famous, but relevant people in their fields. Youtubers, bloggers, celebrities, intellectuals, talk show hosts, journalists, people specialized in a topic and generally with a lot of repercussion on the internet thanks to social networks.

The role of the public relations of companies and agencies consists of contacting the type of people who are most suitable based on predefined objectives of scope, prestige, target, etc. It is a complex process that requires constant work to be successful.

A video of one of these influencers commenting on how much he likes a particular chocolate chip cookie can boost searches for those cookies and therefore sales in a short time and in a remarkable way. The key is to introduce the element to be promoted in a subtle way, so that it doesn’t seem forced. This way the viewer does not have the feeling that they are being sold something, which makes them less likely to stop watching the video. It is also very easy to segment the promotions. Each influencer focuses on a specific consumer profile and by knowing it in advance we can direct our marketing actions to a specifictarget without the need for data analysis based on user monitoring, as for example Google or Facebook does. Another advantage is the expected reach. Thanks to social networks, it is possible to measure quite reliably the reach of our promotion based on the number of followers it has. This makes it possible to calculate the cost-benefit ratio of our advertising investment, since we know in advance how many people we are going to reach.

Internet advertising effectiveness and efficiency

When an advertiser wants to promote itself on the Internet, the campaign must be effective (meeting the objectives set) and efficient (doing so at the lowest possible cost). A high level of efficiency implies that we will have achieved the objectives at a reasonable cost, which is a very important part that must be taken into account at all times, since large investments that do not take into account efficiency objectives do not usually turn out well in economic terms.

The strategy of advertising through popular characters (either through videos, writings, images or simply by ‘liking’ them on Facebook) is becoming more and more widespread and has been proving its effectiveness for some time. It is a new way of selling yourself on the Internet in which the important thing is not so much what you say but who says it and how you say it.

Successful campaigns with influencers

During the 2014 Oscars gala, host Ellen DeGeneres gave a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phone to actor Bradley Cooper and he took a selfie that would become the most retweeted selfie in the world. The whole world saw how a Samsung phone became the star of the night. The company’s strategy was to use an influencer like Ellen, who has millions of followers and is generally well liked, to showcase its product. While it is true that in general celebrities in the US use and continue to use an iPhone, the projection and reach of this fact was a very good publicity for Samsung in the US and the rest of the world.

But you don’t have to have A-list celebrities to be successful. James Wright, a relatively well-known youtuber in the US made a video analyzing Patti LaBelle’s sweet potato pie. The video in question went so viral and got so many views that the pie literally sold out by Thanksgiving, making it an absolute hit. We don’t know if this ‘campaign’ was voluntary or involuntary (many times the success of the campaign is in making it seem fortuitous and unprepared) but it certainly worked out well for Patti LaBelle.

In order for your brand to have this type of impact, it is necessary to carry out a preliminary study and analyze what type of profile is best suited to the product, the tone of the campaign, the objectives to be achieved, etc. Then it’s time to contact the influencers. You can try to do it directly but most of the time celebrities usually have agents or companies that manage everything, so the easiest way is to have a professional intermediary such as Agencia Reinicia to get the perfect influencers and meet the objectives.

Have you already thought about who you would like to represent your brand?