With statistics like $6.85 in earned media value for every $1.00 of Influencer Marketing paid media*, Influencer Marketing is dominating the social media landscape. Adweek research states that “94% of those who’ve used influencer marketing believe the tactic to be effective”. In order to retain the awareness and your buyers past the initial burst of posts, it’s vital to understand that Influencer Marketing is a relationship, not a business transaction. This requires a strategic influencer marketing approach.
As with most relationships, it’s important to select the right people to hang out with. These are the faces that will represent your brand. If you focus on millennials, young, hip, and urban chic influencers will offer bespoke solutions to your crowd. If, on the other hand, your market is far more traditional, your influencers should reflect the primary characteristics and values of your brand.
The R-Squared Digital strategists work hand in hand with you to translate your marketing strategy into an influencer Marketing strategy. We use extremely advanced technologies to research influencers based on their social media profile, reach (number of influencers), engagement rate (because the number of people interacting with the influencer’s post is more important than the number of people who just clicked on “follow” without engaging), and the audience analytics.
The last is critical. By selecting an influencer by description rather than by audience, one might not choose the right one.
Fashion campaign case study:
– Influencer 1 is a fashion Instagram influencers and has 250k followers
– Influencer 2 is a fashion Instagram influencer with 127k followers
For a fashion campaign, one would think that influencer 1 is the perfect choice. However, our analytical tools might show us that influencer 1 has an engagement rate of 0.23% (575 people), mostly on food pictures (not from people interested in fashion), while influencer 2 has an engagement rate of 1.36% (1727 people), mostly on fashion pictures.
Influencer 2 would therefore be the best because that influencer has 3 times more impact to the specific target market. The return on investment by choosing influencer 2 would therefore be significantly greater, at a lower cost, and the success of the campaign much higher. Selecting the perfect influencer is a big part of our expertise.
Influencer Marketing is about people, not technology. People will follow, engage with and support content from influencers they like, who embody the values they trust and believe in. An influencer who truly embodies your brand values will share why they love your brand. From a strategic perspective, the best way to leverage the message is by utilizing multiple influencers whose stories overlap, and whose audiences overlap, to create a slowly unfolding online journal of why your brand is the best.
Acquisition might be your top of mind priority, but to best serve your brand’s interests, the benefits of focusing on long term retention of customers is far greater with an influencer marketing strategy incorporated in your company or brand’s traditional marketing strategy.
*Burst Media, 2017
The R-Squared Digital team have extensive experience in the influencer marketing space, with their origins in the adMingle brand. However, due to demand, adMingle is now one of many services offered by R-Squared Digital.
By partnering with R-Squared Digital, you work with Influencer Marketing industry experts who develop kickass strategies to leverage your global and local marketing efforts. We personalise and customise your campaigns and we will hunt for the very best influencers for you, because settling for second best is not in our nature.
R-Squared Digital enables discussions between real people, providing strategic and personalised expertise in creating authentic influencer endorsements of your brand.
If you would like more information on R-Squared Digital, visit www.r2digital.co.za
Company info:
R-Squared Digital:
When was the last time you experienced a fully customised and personalised Influencer Marketing service? We know how valuable your campaigns and clients are to you. This is why we will not settle for less than the perfect influencer fit for your projects. We will build the ideal Influencer Marketing plan for you and your brand/s.
At R-Squared Digital, we provide integrated digital consulting, specialising in personalised Influencer Marketing solutions for our partners.
We also offer brand strategy, market research services, and so much more. By partnering with advertising agencies, SMEs, large brands directly, along with web and digital start-ups in South Africa and internationally, we’re creating exciting, pioneering customised solutions. Quantity is not our goal. Quality is. The selected influencer, putting your brand in their words, in front of a perfectly targeted audience has a tremendous impact, more so than millions of generic flashing banners.
By combining our kickass team of influencer marketing professionals, with the best in class technology, we focus on true reach and engagement with highly specialised algorithms, metrics and reporting.
