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Once actors, now influencers?

A dozen or so years ago, the faces of advertising campaigns were primarily actors, athletes and celebrities known from traditional media. Their choice as brand ambassadors resulted from their recognition, reputation, credibility and wide reach among viewers. Famous people promoting individual products have had a significant impact on their sales, and the best examples are campaigns with Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts (Lancôme), George Clooney (Nespresso), Brad Pitt (Chanel No. 5) or Charlize Theron (Dior J’adore). Advertisements with their participation were associated with prestige, luxury and professionalism.

Currently, the place of actors is increasingly taken by influencers – online creators who have gained popularity thanks to social media. This is the result of the digital revolution and the development of portals such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, which have become places gathering millions of users, and therefore potential customers for various types of companies. Influencers, unlike actors, gain popularity by interacting directly with the audience and building their authenticity. They often specialize in specific niches, such as fashion, health, cooking, or computer games, which makes their audience more engaged and loyal. For brands, this means the ability to precisely reach a specific target group.

Influencer and brand

The world of advertising has evolved in recent years, but one thing has remained unchanged in it – the question of choosing the right brand ambassador. Regardless of whether it is to be an actor or an influencer, the person promoting products or services must have the right qualities that will make convincing a potential customer to take advantage of the offer not only possible, but also much easier.

If you want to choose the right influencer, you should take into account:

  • image – influencer should have a good reputation and represent the brand’s values, which will make the advertising message authentic and natural;
  • target group – influencer’s audience should coincide with the brand’s target group in terms of age, gender, location or interests;
  • quality of content – you should take into account the way in which the influencer creates content (photos, videos or posts), as well as whether its form fits the aesthetics of the brand and the type of promoted offer;
  • reach and engagement – analysis of influencer statistics, including the number of followers, comments or shares, has a key impact on how many people the advertising message will reach;
  • type of cooperation – the company can establish a one-time or longer cooperation with the influencer, under which he or she will become a brand ambassador;
  • budget – the costs of working with influencers can vary greatly, depending on their reach, platform, and type of content (e.g., microinfluencers are usually cheaper, but can deliver equally good results, especially for local or niche campaigns);
  • openness – brands should hire influencers who are flexible in terms of expectations and can creatively adapt their content to the form or goals of the advertisement.

Rates…

  • number of followers – as a rule, the greater the reach of the influencer, the higher the rates;
  • engagement – more important than the number of followers is the activity of the influencer’s community (the more people react to posts, comment and share content, the higher the rates can be);
  • platform – campaign costs will vary depending on the selected communication channel (e.g. ads on TikTok are generally considered cheaper than on YouTube);
  • type of collaboration – one-off posts or videos are cheaper than long-term partnerships;
  • type of content – simple photo posts are cheaper than professionally edited videos or complex campaigns;
  • Influencer experience and reputation – Well-known influencers with a well-established personal brand usually demand higher rates.

… and achievements

Advertising with influencers can bring brands a number of benefits that are not always achievable with traditional forms of promotion. Thanks to the authenticity and involvement of the creator’s online community, the campaign allows you to increase credibility and build trust, and at the same time reach the right target group, which significantly increases the chances of selling the promoted products or services.

However, this is not all. For modern, developing companies, cooperation with influencers is also attractive due to:

  • the opportunity to stand out from the competition – primarily by offering the audience original, creative and trend-following ads;
  • increasing your presence in social media – campaigns using hashtags or memes can go viral and generate organic traffic;
  • the opportunity to gain new customers – especially younger ones, who can become loyal users of the brand’s products over many years;
  • strengthening SEO and online visibility – cooperation with influencers can contribute to increasing traffic to the brand’s website, e.g. through links in posts or video descriptions.

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