Promoting your brand: working with influencers

When we talk about influencers, we think of Kim Kardashian, we think of trendy Instagrammers or TikTokers promoting a fashion brand or travel bloggers wrapped in a cozy duvet in an exotic hotel room with a breathtaking view. Many of my clients think they aren’t relevant:

• Because they offer services, not products.
• Because they think they can’t afford to pay an influencer (implying: “I don’t know exactly how much it costs, but Kim K. is too expensive for me!”)

Here are the reasons why independents and small businesses should dare to dive into this communication channel and exploit it at their level!

• Micro-influencers have between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. This audience gives them more visibility than nano-influencers. However, this larger audience generates a lower engagement rate and reduced availability. On the other hand, this larger audience allows for more professional content creation (videos, photos, articles), leading to higher quality publications. The rates are sometimes below $600 for an Instagram post from a micro-influencer.

Note: The amounts indicated are purely indicative. The price paid will depend, for example, on the number of publications, the influencer’s engagement rate, the brief received by the influencer, the targeted social network, the work required, etc.

Collaborate with “Small” influencers

**A small note: I use the term “small” influencers in this article to simply group nano and micro-influencers. Please, no offense; I’m merely referring to the size of their audience, not to the quality of their work, reputation, etc.**

What’s the secret of these “small” influencers? It’s very simple:

• They are more accessible than star influencers: since their audience is not yet too developed, they take the time to interact and respond to comments, which creates strong bonds.
• Their lifestyle hasn’t yet been transformed by their influence: they enjoy a level of fame that hasn’t yet changed too much their daily lives, fostering proximity and identification from their audience.
• Their authenticity is recognized by their community, reinforcing credibility and trust.
• Their high engagement rate is a major asset for your communication campaign: a study by HelloSociety highlights the effectiveness of their campaigns as being 6.7 times higher than those of macro-influencers (with between 100K and 1M followers) and a 60% higher engagement rate.

By sharing their opinion on your service or product, nano and micro-influencers provide a lived experience to a targeted, receptive, engaged audience that trusts them… They replicate on a large scale a well-known communication method, word-of-mouth!

Influencers also work with service providers

In the collective imagination, working with an influencer involves product placement: an accessory worn by a “fashion” blogger, a pair of sneakers worn by a “fitness” Instagrammer, etc. My clients often tell me they don’t consider working with influencers because they offer services.

However, by searching for influencers whose profile and audience match your target, why not offer them to discover your services? Whether it’s a stay, a coaching, an hypnosis session or a massage, nothing prevents you from collaborating with an influencer as long as the partnership’s coherence is validated!

A well-orchestrated influence Campaign Can provide more visibility than traditional communication channels

You know there are a variety of tools to promote your business. Compared to other communication channels, using nano and micro-influencers offers a significant advantage, especially when internet users are increasingly resistant to “traditional” advertising!

• Pop-ups are often closed without even being read.
• The average click-through rate on a banner ad is dropping inexorably (Google indicates an average click-through rate of 0.06%).
• AdBlocker usage is increasing. This trend is confirmed by Quentin Bordage, CEO of Brand and Celebrities: “In a context of growing ad blockers, brands are looking to communicate differently, thus using the trust influencers enjoy when they make recommendations. An influence campaign is six times more effective than a display ad in terms of clicks and engagement.“

The explanation is simple: a consumer is more likely to discover your product or service beautifully presented and perfectly integrated into their Instagram feed through a recommendation from a trusted person rather than through a flashing banner among others on a random website. By carefully choosing your influencers, the message will be more subtle… And better assimilated by their audience!

Influencers create varied and quality content

Another advantage of working with an influencer: the creation of quality content! By trusting them, you allow them to integrate your product or service into their universe and be creative to align both of your brand identities.

If you opt for a campaign on Instagram, the influencer you choose will take shots that showcase your product/service while aligning the created visuals with their own Instagram feed. In this specific case, don’t hesitate to ask for the right to use the created visuals to enrich your image base!

A small note: regarding these “small” influencers, some authors will mention the possibility of “reciprocal exchanges”. In other words: exchanging a post for a product or service, without any contract and/or without payment… But I do not recommend this practice:

• Without an official contract, there is no official agreement between the parties. This means, among other things, that you will not have any say in the content production of your influencer, and therefore, no control over your brand image.
• If the service does not meet your expectations or the influencer does not honor their commitments, you will have no recourse.
• Every job deserves a salary: preparing a post requires time and commitment from the influencer who creates it. Unless the request comes from the influencer and the compensation is really advantageous for them, please don’t encourage practices that devalue creative professions and content production.

There are different ways to initiate a collaboration with an influencer.

First, you are free to contact them directly via their messaging! Yes, it can be long and tedious because you will need to pay attention to various criteria to evaluate the account’s performance (analysis of statistics, followers, etc.), the relevance and suitability of the influencer with your target client… But never forget that no one knows your brand better than you, and it is also important to build a trust relationship with your influencers!

You can also go through an influencer marketing agency. They will analyze your needs, and together you will define the most relevant influencers from their database based on your objectives. These agencies have already established a trust relationship with influencers, know their audience, tastes, and the quality of their work.

There are also online product testing platforms. You propose your product or service, indicate the number of pieces available for free, and specify the constraints you want to impose (a hashtag to use, a publication deadline, etc.). On their side, registered influencers show their interest in what you offer. The online platforms then send create the realtionship between you and the selected influencers, who create the expected content.

These two last solutions obviously have a cost, equivalent to the precious time saved on your side.

Including influencers in your marketing and communication strategy is becoming increasingly popular, and as you’ve seen throughout this article, this communication channel is not reserved for multinationals. Consumers are accustomed to this practice; now it’s just a matter of seeing how it evolves with those entrepreneures who dare to try it!

I’d love to hear your thoughts and continue this conversation! Come chat with me in my Instagram DM @nxt_branding and let’s discuss how we can elevate your brand to new heights!

À très vite,

Amandine