Influencers: The New Age Brand Endorsers
Yashwant Kumar, co-founder & CEO, GenY Medium talks about the power of influencer marketing. He also explains in detail, the factors that one must keep in mind when deciding if an influencer is the right fit for your brand. He then discusses the main types of Influencer personas. Have a read.
Today’s consumers are no longer as star-struck as they used to be a decade ago. A gradual shift in perception has taken place due to Bollywood A-listers endorsing or getting associated with all kinds of brands, which raises questions on their believability and their credibility is not a given anymore. A case in point is the recent trend of “#NotMyDeepika” where fans have come out and questioned the actor’s choice of working with a particular controversial director.
Social media influencers are real people, with real opinions who enjoy people’s confidence and followership. They are famous not only because of their movies or performances but, for their ideas and perspectives. So, their viewpoints are respected by the people, they identify and connect with the lifestyle and choices made by the influencer and find them a lot more trustworthy.
Some of the key factors that one must keep in mind when deciding if an influencer is the right fit for your brand should be:
- Area of expertise | Field of work – relevance to the categories brand operates in
- Views and opinions expressed in the public domain
- Influencer’s overall ideology should be a good match with the brand’s purpose
- Emotional Connect with their followers
- Demographics – Age, Gender and City. These could indicate whether they have followership among the brand’s target groups.
Creating the right influencer persona should begin with a clear articulation of campaign objectives, target audience, their attitudes, interests, and other psychographic insights.
Many leading social media gurus have recommended that we should think of influencers as four types of personas:
- The Trendsetter
- The Sharer
- The Observer
- The Reporter
Depending on the campaign goals, the marketing team needs to engage with the right kind of influencers. For example, bloggers (the Sharer or the Observer) can be a great ally for spreading the word about a product innovation or brand extension launch. Whereas influencers who are early adopters (hence the Trendsetter) can give a boost in the adoption of new path-breaking technologies or category first service experiences.