Consumers are less and less receptive to advertising messages and often use ad blockers. Whenever they see an ad, they often scroll to non-commercial content as quickly as possible. Working with an influencer can be a solution to overcome this problem. Ads shared by influencers and online creators are often very similar to the everyday content their audience is used to. So, when their audience comes across an ad, many do not turn away like they do with regular promotional content.

A well-prepared influencer marketing campaign that is interesting and appealing to recipients is generally not seen as advertising to many users. In addition, the message created by the influencer is, in most cases, authentic, which strengthens the audience’s trust in the product or service advertised, making influencer marketing campaigns potentially more effective and profitable than traditional ads. It is also worth mentioning that this type of marketing is characterized by a high Return on Investment (ROI). As such, cooperation with an online creator allows you to execute a campaign dedicated to a specific brand, with content that is generally very well received by users. 

What is an influencer?

According to Sprout Social, an influencer is ‘someone in [a] niche or industry with sway over [a] target audience’. Some examples of influencers include:

• Industry experts and thought leaders
• Celebrities – these can be artists, socialites, athletes, and pop culture stars
• Micro-influencers – individuals that have a follower count of around 10,000 – 100,000 followers
• Bloggers and content creators

Simply put, influencers have specialized knowledge, insight or authority into a specific niche or topic, which makes them a useful launching pad for brands who are looking to connect with a particular audience. 

What is a content creator?

A content creator is someone who produces and creates entertaining, relatable, captivating and/or educational content, which is usually distributed digitally. The material can be expressed through any channel or medium. Popular formats include images (graphics, gifs, or photography), videos (both short and long-form, or livestreams), audio (podcasts), and written works (blogs, tweets, or newsletters).

What is the difference between a content creator and an influencer?

While content creators can be influencers, and some influencers do create their own content, they are not necessarily one and the same. A content creator tends to make content for the sake of making content and is homed in their craft. However, they may not have a large following or community engagement. On the other hand, an influencer specifically focuses on engagement and community-building and aspires to inspire a certain lifestyle or projects a certain image. As such, they are more likely to directly promote your brand or product to their audience with a clear Call-to-Action (CTA). That said, an influencer may not necessarily be as skilled in creating content – so make sure to properly vet them and understand their partnership capabilities before working together. 

Influencer marketing doesn’t need to be expensive.

The main barrier small businesses face when collaborating with influencers is the upfront cost, but it isn’t as expensive as you may think.  

Social media management platform Hootsuite conducted a study on this. Results show that ‘less than a third (28%) of brands that work with creators do so through agencies or third-party platforms’. Over 70% of brands do their own research and use the influencer’s tools to create marketing campaigns, which can lower external or additional costs.

If the younger generation is your main target audience, then collaborating with influencers is an absolute must! In fact, social media appears to be the new search engine, with 68% of Gen Z respondents claiming they follow creators for inspiration and discovery, and 79% having been influenced by those on social media to make a purchase. See a study.

Moreover, when most small companies (<99 employees) - precisely, 72% of them - do not work with influencers, it will give you a big advantage over your competitors to start making use of influencer marketing.

For us, in the TikTok campaigns we’ve run for a luxury jewelry brand in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Sweden using influencer videos, we’ve seen 33% better CTR delivery and 66% higher VTRs compared to regular campaign video ads. The improved performance is a great incentive for businesses to get started with influencer marketing. 

How to start influencer marketing.

How do you find the right influencer among so many online creators? And how can you build a relationship with the influencer who best meets your business needs? It's not easy, but there are many factors that can help you narrow down your choice.

You must first clearly define the goal of the entire influencer marketing campaign. This means selecting and thoroughly familiarizing yourself with your target audience, their demographics, needs, wants and problems. Before beginning to work with an influencer, it is worth analyzing whether a given creator fits with your brand and your values – for instance, Polish footballer Robert Lewandowski may not be the most obvious choice for a McDonald's marketing campaign.

It is also worth carefully planning your marketing activities with the influencer to make sure that your campaign is appealing and in line with the original goal set at the beginning. In addition, you should analyze the social media profiles of creators before working with them, as that will provide you with information on who they target, their communication style, what niche they are in, and more, which will make your decision-making process much easier. 

Analyzing social media creators and influencers: test the tools.

It is very time-consuming to research hundreds of influencers and creators on your own. Fortunately, there are tools on the market that can help you do this efficiently, saving time and making it easier for you to find the right influencer for your campaign.

Let’s look at some popular tools:

Social Blade

This tool allows you to track creator statistics on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and Twitter. It provides access to a database with detailed analysis of influencers and brands. It is an ideal tool for businesses to get a snapshot and quickly analyze the profiles of a particular online creator. By analyzing follower growth over time, you can also see if a creator has purchased followers. Social Blade is generally useful when you are beginning to search for creators for an advertising campaign.

HypeAuditor

The tool's founder states that HypeAuditor has the largest influencer database on the market, which makes it possible to select the best influencers for a specific campaign thanks to its numerous filters. HypeAuditor offers users over 35 metrics through which they can analyze the profiles of creators on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch.

It also allows you to monitor, manage, and automate influencer marketing campaigns and analyze the effectiveness of competing companies' activities. In addition, you can obtain information about the percentage of fake accounts on a given profile and select a creator that matches the target audience thanks to the demographic data available.

Modash

This tool offers a database of over 250 million influencers from all over the world, and thanks to very precise filtering, you can quickly create a list of those who meet your campaign requirements. The data is updated every two weeks to keep the information as up-to-date as possible. Modash also allows you to track the results of an ongoing campaign, the amount of content published, and user engagement.

Take some time and let the influencer journey begin!  

There is no one-size-fits-all solution in marketing, as everyone has different business needs and requirements. To find the best tool that is suited for you, it's worth taking advantage of the free trial period that most of them offer.

Ultimately, no matter which one you choose, remember that the main purpose of using these analytic tools is to find an influencer that fits your brand and meets your marketing requirements, while also protecting yourself from influencers who may artificially increase reach, buy followers, or accept all cooperation offers even from competing companies. Entrusting the promotion of your brand to such a person can lead not only to a waste of money but also to a loss of reputation and customers in the long run.

Contact us for a free consultation 

If you are running a campaign and looking for help with influencer marketing, MediaGroup is here to assist you. As an international social marketing agency, we have an experienced team of social media specialists who can work with you to increase your brand awareness, website traffic, and improve online sales. 

Contact us today for a free consultation.