First things first, we’re not going to keep typing as if this influencer thing is a new phenomenon. We hope this disclaimer saves us from eye-rolling and that under-your-breath kind of sneers.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dive real quick into this.
The wise people in social media marketing in Kenya have said a lot about what kind of content brands should do if they want to attain the fame of the cool squads on social media.
One of the things they have said is that as a brand, you should avoid selling too much and branding your content too much {like, you should let people know it’s you without you screaming in their face that it’s actually you}
Experienced Social Media Agencies in Kenya and their clients’ marketing teams will forever fight about this by the way.
What we have ended up with since money has to be made is having a careful balance of all elements; cool and sales-centred.
Which is where influencers come in.
It’s amazing how influencers can just sell things by being fun, outgoing, looking good and living the lives we want to live.
So, what’s the one thing that makes influencers so special? Simple.
Fresh perspective. They don’t live and breathe your brand book. They haven’t been soaked in your brand’s history and the fairy tales of why your brand is more amazing than the guys next door. They’re looking at your brand with fresh eyes and breathing air that’s completely different from yours. We mean, there’s only so many creative ways to say “Flash Sale 80% off!”
Deacons East Africa Easter Flash Sale – Stellar Example.
Sell without getting on people’s nerves
You have to make money. It’s inevitable. Social media platforms are created for people to interact with the content they love and aspire to. That’s also inevitable. Can you imagine creating content to capture all aspects of a multi-faceted clothing company? All the resources that would otherwise have gone into styling kids, women, youngin’s, men, fiery fashionistas… All the time that would have been spent?… A lot of work basically.
An influencer will spare you all these and allow you to sell. In major style.
Tell us you wouldn’t have bought baby clothes after seeing this even if you didn’t have a baby. Ah! Too much cuteness!
Fresh perspective
Let’s face it, if you were doing this, your biggest concern would have been hitting those sales targets.
Women buying women clothes, men buying men clothes. You know, the obvious.
You would have probably killed people with the 100th post about a shirt or a jacket at amazing discounts…
Thankfully. Influencers.
Would you have thought to send women shopping in the men’s section? We’ll confidently bet no to that.
Authenticity
See, the thing is, people want the lives they see on social media. The lives the influencers live.
The influencers simply show people how they manage to live those lives. Again, it’s as simple as them tagging your brand in their post.
Some people will drool over what they see, others will run to you to get their hands on what you’re selling.
Exposure
It’s all about personal gain at the end of the day. You want access to their followers and to make some money out of it. Influencers also want exposure to your crowd and that doh too.
It’s always a win-win situation. However, if you’ve tried your hand at this before and didn’t see the magic, here’s how to go about it next time.
1. Perfect fit
Just because someone is popular and they have many followers doesn’t make them perfect for your brand or your audience.
For instance, it would have been misguided to use these influencers say to push discounts for a gym. They’re popular, look absolutely good and from our recollection, we’ve never seen them do a post about leg day.
So pick an influencer that speaks to the interests of your audience.
2. Perfect platform.
Do you want to show people how to farm and grow certain vegetables? YouTube would be perfect because that’s a lot of information you’ll be sharing.
Want to show people how to throw down those veggies? Youtube, Instagram, blog… You get the picture.
Where do you thrive as a brand? Is your audience there? Then get an influencer who’s skilled in that platform.
3. Set expectations up front.
Never assume your influencer will just know what to do because you’re paying them or giving them goodie bags.
Brief them clearly.
Agree with them what success will look like at the end of the campaign and how it will be measured. Will it be engagement? Brand Mentions? Sales? Website traffic?
It will help them create content that will actually help you achieve your goals.
We should mention that you also have to agree on costs and how they’ll be paid at this point.
4. Credible.
Don’t be too trusting. Your image and money are on the line for crying out loud. Take time to establish your influencers work ethic.
Make sure they’re professional, create good content (don’t be shy to ask them to send it to you before uploading it) and above all, that they share the same values as your brand.
5. Have fun with it.
Trust that your influencer knows their audience better than you and let them do their thing. That’s why you reached out to them in the first place.
Do you have any tips we might have overlooked?
Success in numbers:
Campaign period: March 29th -2nd April 2018
Reach: (No.of people who saw any ads & content on social media platforms) = 2, 337,057
Impressions: (No.of times people saw the ads and content) = 3, 233, 231
Sales In KES = Withheld for security reasons.
Credits:
Account Manager – Wairimu Kanyeria
Content Creator & Community Manager – Melanie Godiah
Live Coverage – Melanie Godiah, Evelin Uachave, Elizabeth Muthama
Art Director – Maricus Otieno
Senior Creative – Deepal Sanghrajka
Junior Creative – Roger Kithinji
To go macro or micro with influencers? We’ll talk about this another day.
what is a digital agency
Nice respond in return of this question with genuine arguments and explaining all on the topic of that.