In recent years the concept of Influencing Marketing has gained strength. What is it and what benefits can it bring to companies? These and other questions are answered by Eder Corona, Digital Community Manager at Grupo Brisas, a Mexican company that has 9 hotels in different parts of the Mexican Republic. Currently, Eder is responsible for the administration of company profiles in social networks; in addition to managing with influencers. And precisely, the hotel industry is one of the most chosen by content generators on the internet to make exchanges.
The influencing marketing can be defined as the exchange between a company and a person who publishes content in their profiles social networks (photos, video, text) and that it has a considerable number of people who follow it. Generally there is no economic payment involved, but lodging, foods, products in species for which the influence You won’t pay, but you will promote them to your audience.
—How many requests from influencers do they receive to stay in hotels and how do they select those to work with?
—It depends on the season, during the holidays they increase. For example, now in low season, we receive at least 12 requests per month, which come mainly through social networks.
Regarding the selection, we have to be very precise, everything content generator is analyzed. We review in detail the audiences of each influence: what kind of content do they publish, how many social networks feed, what engagement they have with their community. For example, if your content is for adults only, we discard them because we are a hotel chain focused on families or business travelers. Beyond the number of followers of each one, we analyze other things, including in which countries or regions they have the most fans.
Within the analysis, we use several online tools that also help us to corroborate whether the followers of each influence are they real or are bots bought from “farms”.
Regarding your publications, the influencers of the following verticals … travel blogging, beauty O foodies (passionate about food).
It is possible to affirm that there are three types of influencers:
celebrities. Singers, actors, athletes who, due to their work activity, are followed by many people.
Socialities. Famous, who come from wealthy families, like Paris Hilton.
Content generators. Those people who made themselves known on the internet, creating content that we do not see in the masive means of comunication. They are the most complete, because they have different platforms and they care about what they upload to their social networks. Within them, there are microinfluencers, whose repercussion is local and they have served us very well to promote certain hotels in cities that do not have a beach.
The influence It must be aligned with the brand’s target.
– What characteristics would a false influencer have or someone who will not produce a profit for the company?
– The analysis is basic to select them. Yes one SME does not have the resources to contract analytical tools, it is possible to review the profiles of each influence, observe what engagement has (how many reactions do they have on their posts, what comments do they make, etc.).
Fake followers generally have Indian or Russian names because they are the regions where bots are sold the most. If they are not real followers, they do not interact with the content or the comments they leave are concise; something like “Super!” or “Good!” If the influencer community does not actively participate, it is discarded. That is, you have to review followers, interactions and content.
The best influence It will be the one that the brand seeks, not those who approach the brand.
– How do you measure the return on investment (ROI) or the benefit that the collaboration with an influencer brought you?
– It is very difficult to measure it because they only give visibility and branding. You cannot be awarded an ROI as it is not a guaranteed sale. Regarding objectives of marketing, working with influencers provides awareness and branding. That is, that more people know about a brand, product or service or that they keep it in mind.
Only under certain circumstances can an ROI be measured, but it is a more complete strategy, involving, for example, 20 influencers using a promo code for a discount. If your followers make a reservation and mention that code, they will receive the benefit.
In the case of hospitality It is not an immediate purchase, so the results are measured in terms of the number of visits to our profiles in social networks or website after having worked with an influencer.
– What are the disadvantages of working with influencers?
– First of all there is no formal regulation. If there is no economic payment involved, then there is no contract and therefore there is no obligation on both parties to comply with the provisions. It is common to have to insist on influence so that you continue to upload brand content and not just do it once.
A professionalization is needed in the request for exchanges. Although companies can send a letter specifying, what is expected of each influenceIt is usually only through emails. Furthermore, currently many influencers they do not have a media kit (the most professional ones do have it); that is, a document where they specify who they are, what type of audience follows them, what engagement they have, why should they be selected over other influencers.
Another downside is the quality of your contributions. Sometimes they do not take photos and videos well or they take them in the places that are not the most attractive.
– Is it convenient to pay influencers or the agencies that handle them?
Yes, only if you are a very large company with a advertising budget strong. If the advertising budget is small then only uneconomic exchange is appropriate.
– What is the future of influencer marketing?
– It will continue to grow, but it will need more precise analysis, more complete collaborations, analysis of each red social. And it should also be encouraged that the employees of each company are brand ambassadors; that within their social group they are influencers positive.
If we use social networks, we are all influencers.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx