AgVoice | Social Media influencers driving brand engagement

It has been noticed lately that the success and failure of Social Media campaigns around the world is dependent on an important variable,  ‘Influencers’.

 

An influencer is a  power networkers who is  active on social media channels and who other people on social networks look up to and follow because they publish quality content or are involved in some very influential work offline. These people and their large following is especially what interests brands. A recommendation or positive review from an influence can result in a sizeable chunk of their followers being influenced positively.

 

Global trends:

 

Campaigns are carefully planned so as to take into account prospective influencers and their social reach. They then tie up with services like Klout to create a value-add for an influencer if he/she wants to take part in a campaign.

 

Here is an  example of RedBull going after the top influencers by tying up with Klout and letting influencers battle with each other to get to the top.

 

Other examples includes designing social media activities keeping the influencer in mind.

 

Contests:

 

Most people cannot resist the possibility of winning something good on social media. Tapping into this mindset makes it easy for the brands to reach out to a large section of people on social media. If your contest has a viral mechanism where a person has to recommend the said contest on social media platforms then you can expect the reach to be good. Influencers will take part in contests which are close to their interests. A photography enthusiast will in most cases check out a cool contest which involves submission of a themed photo. The important part is targeting these contests to the right kind of influencers with the right hobbies and interests. 

 

Example: Giveaways from TLC’s partnership to promote their show, On The Fly along with Southwest Airlines. 

 

Insider Status:

 

Most luxury brands use this since this is effective way of reaching to a large audience and yet retaining the niche thing that they have got going. Influencers are given access to some new  product from the brand. This approach gives the influencer the gratification of being the first to break the news to the general public. 

 

Example: Burberry showed off its new 2012 collection on Instagram and Twitter before their launch.

 

The Indian Scenario

 

The Indian scenario in terms of Influencer marketing on social media is generally not that savvy as compared to the global social media ones. However, this is changing as brands are finally realising the importance of social influencers in spreading awareness online. 

 

There have been quite a few examples of social media campaigns that were done well by targeting influencers in the right way. 

 

1. Kingfisher Beer-up: 

 

Everyone loves beer, especially on social media. When Kingfisher announced that they would be treating their fans to all expenses paid trip to their brewery and beer drinking party after that, everyone was clamouring to go. Fans could get on the list only if they RSVP’s to Kingfisher’s invite on Twitter on a first come, first serve basis. Their hashtag #KFBeerUp trended even though the actual event was going to happen much later. Here we learn that if the right kind of brands tap into the right hobbies and interests of people, the response is bound to be phenomenal. The beer-up then spread to other metros in India cities to a overwhelming response.

 

2. Fox Crime’s Launch:

 

Fox Crime launched their channel in India with an innovative and interactive mystery which called all its fans to solve it. Solving it successfully made you eligible for their grand prize, A trip to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington D.C.

 

They also organized a tweetup where only Twitter influencers with a certain number of followers were allowed. The people who were eligible and showed up were given fun tasks and original merchandise from the shows that the channel was going to play, the popular example being Dexter. This helped generate buzz about the main contest which was open to the general public. The campaign won Ogilvy a Grand Prix at the Goafest 2012. 

 

3. Tata Nano’s Social Drive:

 

Tata Nano in partnership with MTV India launched an innovative social driving activity. Influencers were asked to undertake a 21 day road-trip in a Tata Nano. They were split into 4 teams and sent to four different parts of the country. While on this trip, they were asked to tweet and share updates on Facebook about their journey. This gave it a huge reach among Social Media savvy Indians.

 

Tips on how brands can drive communications, on social platforms, using influencers:

 

1. Ask your fans relevant questions instead of generic ones: 

 

Too often brands put out very generic stuff so that they can satisfy the entire spectrum. Don’t do that. Ask a very specific, real-life questions which people can relate to. The conversation possibilities will open up suddenly.

 

2.  Link Influencer blog posts to your Official Blog:

 

Say you are a restaurant and you know a person who is known for her delicious recipes which blogs every week. You could ask her permission to use her blog post and feature it on your official blog. That way, you both can get introduced and work out an amiable relationship. 

 

3. Twitter Chats: 

 

Get a group of influencers together and ask them to discuss a topic relevant to  both, you and them. This will make the conversation real. This is a good way of influencer engagement for social issues. 

 

4.  Offline activities:

 

Making the big push online is not enough. It has to be supported by some quality activities. Bonding with someone in real life is much better than doing it online, as most of us know already. Apply the same thought here. Create fun activities and meaningful events. 

 

5. Finally, don’t be selective:

 

Don’t focus always on the so-called Twitter Celebs. While the following and influence of a certain person does matter, but don’t make it always about them. Otherwise you will have the same people showing up to your activities and talking about you online. Identify people who are passionate about something that your brand represents and ask them to participate and contribute. | By Rajiv Dingra, CEO, WATConsult