In a Q&A with MediAvataar India, Ramya talks about the rapid growth of Influencer marketing and its importance for brand visibility
Here is the complete interaction…
Q.How has Influencer Marketing changed the course of brand visibility in recent times? Also, is it necessary for a brand to collaborate with influencers?
When you work with influencers, you’re exposing your brand to thousands of people who may have never heard of it before. They’ll be eager to learn more about your brand or follow you on social media since they’re learning about it from someone they can trust. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, has the potential to introduce a brand’s products and services to a large number of new people who are unfamiliar with it. You can generate new leads and turn your increased visibility into revenues by reaching out to a wider range of people. Through digital marketing and influencers from that location, a brand might have a workshop in Bombay but have clients all over India, making the communication more authentic and relevant to the brand. Influencers have a lot of leverage, and they can help you connect with your target audience while increasing engagement, brand loyalty, and, most importantly, making a sale.
Q.How is whoppl different from any other content & influencer marketing business?
At whoppl, we create content for both influencers and brands. We help Influencers and businesses with scripting, content, creative solutions, strategies, etc among other things. Today’s brands are shifting away from stock images and everything basics that are already available on the internet and are shifting their focus to more customized and personalized brand stories, which we assist in developing. In today’s world, everyone is gravitating toward snackable content, therefore we help brands do the same. In order to share a voice across platforms and communicate in diverse ways, we develop platform-specific strategies for numerous channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. If a company is on Instagram, for example, we’ll make a 15-second film for them. We might make a 60-second video with them on Facebook, and a 5-minute film with them on YouTube, creating content that users want to consume across platforms, so snackable content is what we do with influencers and companies, and that’s how we’re distinct. In addition, we handle everything from inception to delivery, directly collaborating with influencers and cutting out the middlemen, making us more cost-effective. When it comes to influencer marketing, we come up with a solution based on the brand objectives, and then work with the influencer to churn it out, which guarantees that the communication remains intact.
Q.Please share some steps you take for influencer marketing and how different are those steps for each brand you represent?
With the help of our influencer panelists spread across different industries, we infuse a more individualistic approach to our influencer-led strategies that help us create organic and real content rather than typical ad-focused posts. Every Campaign is created from a strategic approach against the background of a strong consumer and category insight. Additionally, we work with real-time observations provided by our network of influencers, which are applied during our campaign planning.
➔ Brand Brief – Deconstruct the brief from the client with the team.
➔ Research – Conducting primary research on the topic + due diligence with comp scans.
➔ Strategy – Craft different AI-driven strategies with our team of influencer panelists, content creators.
➔ Campaign – Present multiple campaign routes to the client.
➔ Execution – Executing the selected route as per client budget.
➔ Measure – Measuring Success of the campaign & KPI goals.
Q.What are the key points to notice in an influencer to measure their authenticity?
You can benefit from brand influencers whether you own a tiny online store or a major E-Commerce company. Influencer marketing is, in fact, one of the most cost-effective and fastest-growing techniques of attracting customers. To get a return on investment, the influencer needs to develop a genuine connection with their audience. However, with many firms undertaking their own influencer research, how can one rapidly verify whether an influencer is legitimate before investing marketing budget?
Here are a few things to look for –
– Check their engagement
One of the first things to check for when establishing an influencer’s authenticity is their level of engagement. You can do so by comparing the amount of likes and comments they receive on each post to the size of their audience. The quantity of engagement that an influencer’s platform produces can indicate whether or not they have a valuable perspective and opinion. These are all signs that they have a receptive audience that is really interested in what they have to say.
– Look into their past endorsements.
Looking at who an influencer has already worked with is a great way to assess their credibility. Checking an influencer’s endorsement history might help you ensure that you’re working with someone reliable who shares your brand’s values.
– Take a look at their TG.
You may also look at an influencer’s social following to check if their content is targeting the right people. A women wear influencer with a predominantly male following, for example, might not be able to wield purchasing power in that industry.
– Watch out for frauds
Influencer marketing is becoming increasingly popular, and many people are choosing to buy followers and likes to stay ahead of the competition. It’s easy to detect whether an influencer obtained their following through improper means if they have a disproportionate number of likes compared to their follower count.
Q.Do brands interfere with the content the influencers create?
Because there are particular Brand Objectives for every influencer campaign, brands do have a say in what influencers create. While Influencers are cognizant of what people prefer to consume and how genuine they may be, Brands must adhere to certain guidelines. Also, there is some communication that must be delivered in a specific manner. So, absolutely, brands do meddle in that sense, ensuring that the essential norms are followed, that communication is in line with the brand goals and that they do have a substantial role in determining what the output will be.
Q.Should brands choose global influencers or local influencers?
It is entirely dependent on the Brand. If your business has a global presence, you should surely engage both global and Indian influencers. Today, we see a lot of global Indian influencers talking about businesses that are highly popular in India but also have a niche in other countries. So, while a diverse bag of influencers makes sense, having a worldwide presence makes very little sense if your brand and your logistics are only in India. Of course, if the business wants to build a name for itself in international markets, an international phase makes perfect sense. Local influencers, on the other hand, are the finest way to break into local markets.
Q.Share some advice to the upcoming influencers in the industry.
Influencer marketing is rapidly expanding; therefore it will only take off if your material is authentic, original, and consistent. Today’s users are exposed to so much content, so many platforms, and so many apps that they will not invest time and energy in you unless you are doing something unique, something really innovative, or something really out of the box. As a result, whatever you do must be filtered via a creative lens, or the way you do it must have a distinct aesthetic. To make a name for yourself, you’ll need a differentiator, relatable content, and consistency in posting.
