Learn how to use this strategy the right way! 

In a scenario where everyone is practically connected 24 hours a day, companies face new challenges, such as establishing a robust digital presence and boosting their businesses on social media, among numerous profiles of already established companies with effective internet strategies.  

Discovering how to stand out and present products and services attractively to the audience is a challenge that, fortunately, can be overcome through influencer marketing. 

When executed strategically, this approach can yield remarkable results, especially when paired with efficient planning. After all, today’s world is digital, and the internet has influenced our decisions in all areas.  

However, when we fail to consider the target audience or conduct any benchmarking for an influencer campaign, the results can be disastrous. Therefore, comprehending this universe thoroughly is crucial. 

What is influencer marketing?  

It is a strategy that involves content creators (individuals with relevant profiles on the internet) to influence a brand’s audience according to their needs and objectives.  

We can use it, for example, to help promote a newly established company that needs to make a name for itself in the market, launch a product (and drive more sales), encourage people to attend an event, or simply fortify and amplify visibility for a brand within its target audience. 

Think of it this way: when a person learns about your brand, they are unlikely to trust your business right away. However, when an influencer promotes your product, for instance, the narrative transform, and you progress several steps in winning over the user because followers trust the content creator’s opinion. In other words, influencer marketing establishes this trust relationship more quickly between your brand and your audience.  

Spreading the word, engaging, enhancing the brand’s image, increasing sales, and building successful partnerships are all fruits that can be reaped through influencer marketing. 

Understand the power of influencing people with those who have the potential to do so 

Here’s a practical example of how creating the right strategy can make all the difference: 

In May 2023, Cimed Group, the third-largest pharmaceutical company in the country, partnered with the confectionery company Fini to create a product that went viral on social media: Carmed Fini. A line of lip balms that brought the smell and flavor of the brand’s most beloved candies.  

The product was launched alongside a powerful strategy that involved videos and social media posts. Additionally, Cimed sent personalized kits to influencers who aligned with the brand so they could promote them.  

Content creators unveiled Carmed Fini to their audiences, showcasing its advantages, unique features, and attributes. The campaign yielded positive outcomes in all aspects: engagement, interaction, and sales. Thousands of people purchased the product, and for others, it became a coveted item. 

The soaring demand for the product not only elevated the brand’s worth (which skillfully infused enjoyment into the strategy) but also triumphantly accomplished its goal: Carmed Fini broke sales records throughout the Brazilian territory. The brand, anticipating R$8 million in first-month sales and R$40 million by year-end, surpassed these milestones in under 20 days.  

But how about your brand? 

How can you leverage influencer marketing to your advantage?  

If your goal is to propel your business, draw in a larger audience, sell products, or reach a targeted audience, for which you have already identified the age range, gender, and region you intend to target (if you haven’t defined your persona yet, a communication agency can provide assistance), influencer marketing is an excellent approach.  

However, it would be amiss to perceive working with influencers merely as hiring them to post something on social media, and voila, the magic is done. Influencer marketing goes far beyond that, and to ensure that objectives are genuinely achieved, it is necessary to act in a planned and strategic manner.  

Another common mistake is selecting an influencer solely based on the number of followers they have, rather than considering the content they provide. This number does not guarantee success! Especially nowadays, with the purchase of followers happening, anyone can become “famous” overnight.  

Understanding the various types of influencers is also crucial. A content creator with millions of followers, for instance, may reach a broader audience, but engagement may not always be guaranteed. This stands in contrast to a ‘micro’ influencer, for example. Despite reaching fewer people, they may convert more effectively and possess a more segmented audience. 

This means that many companies believe that only influencers with a large following can bring good results. However, things do not work exactly like that. Small and micro influencers have the potential to reach a more segmented audience aligned with the company’s target audience. 

Therefore, each profile should be carefully evaluated:  

• Mega influencer: has millions of followers, ideal for broad-reaching strategies and fortifying brand presence.
• Macro influencer: has a considerable number of followers, suitable for campaigns aiming to generate more engagement and visibility. 
• Mid-tier influencer: has a more loyal audience, offering an option for more targeted campaigns, combining reach and engagement. 
• Micro influencer: with a smaller and more specific audience, can be part of campaigns for more precise targeting and trust-building. 
• Nano influencer: provides authenticity and connection with a highly segmented audience. 

If you aim to leverage influencer marketing to your advantage, conducting a comprehensive market analysis to understand the best figures to participate in your campaigns is an indispensable process.  

Choosing the right influencer can help you establish a connection with the audience, deliver relevant content to the right persona, increase engagement rates, and foster customer loyalty (individuals who come to brands through the recommendation of influencers they like tend to be more loyal, precisely because they trust their opinion). 

Does this imply that an influencer can also adversely impact my brand?

Indeed, the answer is yes! While an influencer holds the potential to elevate your business, they can equally impede your marketing strategy. This is the main danger of not fully analyzing an influencer’s profile before hiring them and relying solely on the number of followers. 

Exercising prudence in selecting a content creator is imperative to avoid backfiring. After all, you don’t want to get involved in controversies, right? Therefore, you should steer clear of individuals with political stances that don’t align with what your brand represents or those who are constantly involved in unpleasant situations that lead to negative speeches and opinions on the internet.  

Another potential detriment arises when the influencer’s (or your brand’s) influencer marketing strategy fails to align with their language or profile. This can result in the influencer disseminating content that fails to resonate with their reality, which users are constantly keeping up with.  

With that in mind, one may wonder… 

Do I need a communication agency to help me with influencer marketing?  

Having a communication agency to aid you in this endeavor can indeed prove to be the optimal solution for achieving success. 

Success that will be achieved thanks to the expertise of the team responsible for:  

• Crafting the entire influence strategy;
• Conducting thorough market research to comprehend your audience (and their consumption preferences);
• Defining the content to be worked on;
• Identifying trends that can be leveraged;
• Selecting the best platform to implement the strategy (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or others);
• Determining the type of influencer that will bring favorable results for the campaign;
• Scrutinizing the profile of each influencer to gauge reach rate, relevance, interaction, and other pivotal metrics;
• Contacting and hiring the influencer and assisting them in content creation;
• Monitoring and creating reports to track the performance of the strategy. 

In addition to these processes, the communication agency will also the optimal timing to integrate this type of strategy into your business. See a success case about it: 

Provi  

Provi, a company providing student financing with the aim of transforming access to education in Brazil, acknowledged the need for an effective marketing strategy to position the brand meaningfully for its diverse audiences, communicating its purpose and products to both B2B and B2C consumers.  

To achieve these goals, a 360º strategy was developed, encompassing a slogan, tagline, and key visual for the two main products. However, Ideatore, drawing on its extensive market experience, recognized that for the client to realize the desired outcome, it was crucial to enlist the assistance of an influencer capable of promoting the brand and its offerings with empathy. 

The selected influencer for this campaign was Viny, a former participant in BBB 22. Hailing from Crato, Ceará, and possessing a degree in Law, Viny exhibited perfect alignment with the brand. This alignment stemmed from his inclination to engage in discussions about culture and studies on his social media platforms. Consequently, he emerged as an exceptional choice to convey to the intended audience that Provi aspired to reach, encouraging investment in education through the services, solutions, and benefits offered by the company. 

By leveraging Viny’s image, we fostered empathy and established connections with people. Through this strategy, we reached nearly 7 million people in online media, 11.6 million in offline media, and garnered 100,000 new visitors to the website, reflecting a substantial 94% increase. In essence, we achieved significant results through a marketing and influencer strategy. Explore further: Provi • Ideatore (ideatoreamericas.com.br)  

Do you want to become the next success case involving influencer marketing? Yes? Then get in touch: Contact • Ideatore Comunicação.