social INFLUENCER MARKETING Do you know who your social influencers are?

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1 social INFLUENCER MARKETING Do you know who your social influencers are?

2 CONTENTS What is social influencer marketing? Micro influencers The power of social media The growth of social influencer marketing The power of micro influencers Case Studies WheyHey! L Oreal Sperry Social Influencer Strategy Developing a social influencer strategy Tell your story, authentically Define your objectives & measure your success Identifying your micro influencers Tools to find your micro influencers Getting started Our top tips & takeaways

3 WHAT IS SOCIAL INFLUENCER MARKETING? USING SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS in your marketing is the practice of building relationships with the people who can build relationships for you. whether an influencer s audience is small or large, an influencer can reach consumers via their blogs and social networks that your brand may not be able to (GroupHigh.com) whats the difference between social influencers and micro influencers? social influencers micro-influencers Social influencers have an established credibility in a specific industry, with access to a large audience and the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of their social followers. Social influencers are usually celebrities and social stars. Examples of social influencers: - Kendall Jenner - Zoella - Famous celebrity alumni Micro influencers are everyday consumers who are brand champions or social savvy with 500-5,000 highly engaged followers around relevant topics. Micro influencers generally have the smallest reach, but they also have the highest engaged reach, are greater in number and easier to reach. Examples of micro influencers: - Students - Lecturers - Alumni 3

4 micro influencers Micro influencers generate authentic conversations among like-minded audiences; individuals with shared connections to the micro influencer that are far more powerful than the superficial engagements and conversations you might get from a paid advertisement, blog or impersonal celebrity endorsement. Micro influencers have built up their own following on social media because their friends and social connections respect their opinions and engage with their online content. They re much easier to engage with because they are not protected by the celebbubble and are likely connected to your institution already - you just have to find them!

5 the power of social media Social channels are huge and are now an integral part of digital marketing. Not only are social channels hugely active but they also demonstrate the masses of content constantly being generated. So, as marketers it s important to ensure the content we produce stands out. Social network sites worldwide ranked by number of active users (in millions, as of January 2017) 5

6 The growth of social influencer marketing Influencer marketing is searched well over 4,400 times on average each month. Earned Media Value was 1.5x higher for social influencer marketing year on year 80% of marketers find influencer marketing effective 60% of marketers will spend more on influencer marketing this year 62% of year olds, (our key demographic!) would buy a product endorsed by a YouTuber (over a traditional celebrity or advert) Big brands have woken up to this, and working with big celebrity brands is at the forefront of their marketing strategies: 85% of marketing and communications professionals worldwide expected to launch at least one campaign involving an influencer in the next 12 months. (emarketer) $255 million is spent on influencer marketing every month in the US. 6

7 The growth of social influencer marketing But, what are the limitations of using social influencers? It s unlikely that you ll have high-profile, celebrity social influencers available to you in your data base, or that they would form an authentic relationship with you and your target audience. However, you are likely to have microinfluencers amongst your staff and students who can be highly beneficial in your marketing strategy. 7

8 The power of micro influencers engaged reach The reach of micro influencers, whilst smaller than the reach social influencers have, is far more engaged; on average over 25%. numerous opportunities Unlike social influencers, you ll have access to abundance of micro influencers. The key is identifying who they are in your sector and segment them according to your objectives and your content. Then you can start to build a relationship. cost Cost per activation is far lower when building a relationship with micro influencers, as opposed to using and paying celebrities and social influencers to endorse your brand. Authentic Relationships built with micro influencers are far more likely to be built on authenticity. Micro influencers tend to have more real conversations with like minded consumers. you will have plenty of micro influencers in your databases already - you just need to find them, and reach out to start building authentic, long term relationships. 8

9 case study: wheyhey! from kitchen start-up to 50 million turnover with authentic social influencer marketing at the core of their strategy. From start-up to 50 million turnover in four years Using authentic relationships with huge social influencers; David Gandy and Harry Styles Backed up by working with hundreds of micro influencers in the sports and fitness space Inventors of the healthy ice cream Wheyhey, Greg and Damian, went from a kitchen start up to a 50 million business when they realised the power of social and micro influencers. Being incredibly driven and talented, and having a really good product, are two of the three reasons their business succeeded. The third came as a result of meeting supermodel David Gandy at a trade show. David loved the product and started to authentically endorse it through social media posts and photos capturing him eating Wheyhey. Shortly afterwards, Harry Styles also name checked the brand in an interview. Not having the budget to compete with bigger brands, Greg and Damian instinctively started to reach out to their own social media followers, on social platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, who were gym goers, runners and aspiring models - micro influencers who really loved the brand for what it gave them in fitness returns. Now, Wheyhey s whole marketing strategy is shaped around influencers, turning over 50 million a year and are now a major UK brand in this space. 9

10 case study: L oreal how l oreal product sales increased by 51% after everyday influencers posted stories on snapchat. Identified 2,000 socially savvy consumers from target demographic More than 500 stories posted on Snapchat - a platform known for authenticity Campaign was live for four months L Oreal saw a 51% increase in product sales L Oreal deployed 2,000 UK-based women, aged 20 to 55, to help with their clay the day away campaign that ran across Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube. L Oreal s efforts ran from August through to October last year, as its army of micro influencers pushed the company s new skincare product; Pure Clay Mask. Encouraged to clay the day away with the detox cream, they posted photos, reviews and videos to various social platforms, including Snapchat where more than 500 stories were posted. Across all six social channels, 741,000 consumers were reached with 5,800 pieces of content as social conversations jumped by 53%, and resulted in a 51% sales lift for Pure Clay Mask. This case study shows the power of engaging with micro influencers and the direct result it can have on sales. As well as the opportunities and potential Snapchat poses as a platform to utilise micro influencer marketing. 10

11 case study: sperry how SPERRY, THE STYLISH FOOTWEAR BRAND, USE MICRO INFLUENCERS FOR LONG- TERM STORY-TELLING AND AUTHENTIC BRAND ENGAGEMENT. For the last several months, Sperry has worked with roughly 100 micro influencers and consumers who were posting popular images of Sperry products on social media. The images they chose to share were chosen for their emotive quality and the way they sell a lifestyle. A lifestyle that puts the product front and centre. Sperry s micro influencers aren t paid, instead they are talented content producers that are truly engaged with the product and lifestyle Sperry are promoting, meaning Sperry s social presence is fuelled by organic and authentic content. It s not all about ROI. We are constantly making sure that we are engaging people Stacey Goodman, Sperry s Digital Marketing Manager 11

12 what can we learn from these case studies? authentic, long-term story-led engagement = successful micro influencer strategy Education institutions have thousands of potential micro influencers (students, staff and alumni) who are already posting authentic content about their lifestyles studying or working at your institution. These are the people that that will engage your target audience. 12

13 Social influencer strategy Despite the growth of spend, the establishment of social celebrities and big brands spending big money, this field of marketing is still relatively new and there is a huge potential for smaller brands, such as universities and colleges, to make a big impact. As the previous case studies have demonstrated, you don t need a big budget to grow your social influencer marketing strategy. Micro influencers are still a new concept with huge potential for your marketing. Especially as you will already have a database full of micro influencers to connect with.

14 Developing a social influencer strategy A social influencer strategy can be broken down into three key stages: Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 PR and content outreach Working with social influencers Working authentically with micro-influencers to tell your story STEP 1 PR and content outreach - creating content to share with influencers, bloggers and journalists in the hopes of them sharing your content is the beginning. But, ensure you begin and lead with a long-term approach in mind. Focus on a strategy that will favour engagement above ROI. STEP 2 Working with social influencers - no doubt that education institutions will have social influencers in their database and may already be paying them to re-purpose, share and engage with their content. But, there is a chance that this will lack authenticity and a genuine connection between your target audience and social influencer, and whilst you would see a greater reach - the level of engagement would be low. STEP 3 Working authentically with micro influencers to tell your story - build meaningful relationships with influencers who authentically love and embrace your brand in a way that spans beyond a video, campaign or launch. This step is where you need to be to really see the benefits of social influencer marketing. 5

15 Tell your story, authentically The power of influencers does not necessarily lie in their follower count, but in their ability to actually influence through authenticity and curation. For education marketers who are marketing to a niche audience and where brand protection is key, working with the right person to uphold your brand image, who has a sway amongst your target audience, is more important. Smaller, relevant relationships bring authenticity, a unique point of view, deeper storytelling and the potential of reaching a more tailored audience. how can education marketers do this? Student Recruitment The National Clearing Survey cited that the biggest influencer for students making a decision in Clearing are their friends. Facebook and Snapchat are the most popular platforms for students in terms of access on a daily basis. Snapchat, in particular is a very authentic platform where micro influencers could be (and probably already are) telling your institution s story. Alumni engagement Education marketers will have a huge database full of graduate evangelists who already have a long term relationship, based on authenticity and experience with their institution. Alumni grow from being influential amongst their peers (recent graduates and current students) to the business world and other niche sections. You could find a super-influencer who has been a part of your institution s story from the beginning. 6

16 Define your objectives & measure your success What good looks like depends on your objectives You need to define your objectives; how are you measuring success? Visibility and impressions or engagement and sign-ups? 1. visibility If visibility is your primary goal, if you re taking something new to market - a new course provision or campus, then impressions measured by Google Analytics will be a good metric to measure. 2. engagement Engagement and cost per engagement is frequently used as a measure as it is a good indicator as to how students feel about your brand. This could be any type of engagement; a view, a like or retweet. 3. content Negotiating access to your micro influencers original content to use in your own marketing can be far cheaper than a photoshoot or ad campaign. This can be measured by savings against producing content in house, amplified by engagement rates. 4. A marketing measurement platform Using a marketing measurement platform, such as Akero, you can measure every element of marketing performance. 5. Bums on seats! This could be anything from enrolments, sales or conversions. Which can be measured and linked back to your influencer marketing strategy by: - Affiliate links - Promo codes - Isolated marketing (your influencers may be the only aspect of a particular campaign, so any response can be measured back to them) - Google Analytics (with the correct setup and implementation so that you can accurately track goals, conversions and campaigns related to your influencer marketing so they can be tagged for further analysis and ROI tracking) 6

17 Identifying your micro influencers As education institutions you have bundles of stories to tell about your university or college, already being told by loads of already-made content producers promoting their lifestyle at your institution. But how do you find them? using your existing data Your data is such a valuable tool. Education marketers will have thousands of records of existing and past students, as well as hundreds of new enquirers from their marketing campaigns. These huge databases can be used for lookalike audiences, lead nurture campaigns and student surveys, but they can also be used to find and identify your influencers too. 1. Who are your micro-influencers? The people passionate about your institution. The big name on campus, bloggers, people in bands, the captain of the rugby team, the chair of the debate society. 2. Find your micro-influencers Use your audience data and dedicated tools to identify these influential students and potential students. 3. Look for the most engaged people Use your audience data to identify those who are consistently engaged with you. Those students who come to your events, read your content and visit your website. They may not be huge social influencers but they like what you do and how you communicate. 6

18 tools to find your influencers KLOUT There are lots of tools you can use to find your influencers, one of the originals is Klout. Klout allows users to go through their Twitter followers to find those that are the most influential on the platform. Those with the most followers and engagement (likes, retweets, followers). However, this isn t the most comprehensive tool. You may be following lots of different types of people for a multitude of reasons that may not be aligned with your marketing strategy. Klout is useful for identifying social influencers or macro influencers, but less useful for your more targeted micro influencer campaigns. Although social influencers may be well respected in their field if they re not already engaged with your institution and content you ll be creating inauthentic relationships that, at best, may feel fake to potential students. akero The marketing measurement platform, Akero not only presents each marketing lead with a lead score but it also allows users to filter based on an influencer score too. The social influencer feature in Akero allows users to view a lead s social profiles, websites, blogs and organisations that person belongs to, all from one platform. Akero s philosophy is to bring influencer statistics together with marketing statistics to understand the different touchpoints that top influencers make within your institution. As well as filtering via influencer score, Akero can also filter contacts based on these touchpoints - if they ve signed up for webinars, opened direct s or attended events. All of this data adds up to an insightful picture of exactly what this person wants from your institution, allowing you, as education marketers, to be incredibly targeted with your messaging and deliver the right content at the right time. 6

19 Getting started Importing your database into an all-in-one platform, like Akero, all you ll need is the essential lead information such as name, and campaign, and the platform will do the rest. And once you ve identified the right influencers for your institution? Using the marketing automation function in Akero you can send targeted and personalise messages based on if they have opened your s, downloaded a prospectus and/or met you at events. Perhaps though, the best way to approach micro influencers in on a one-to-one basis. The power of flattering an ego may not work on a social influencer who is accustomed to being paid for their engagements and time, but it will most likely work for your students. Offer your students a platform for their blogs, photos and content and they ll usually be more than happy to publicise you. It goes back to the fact the relationship is organic - they like your own content and organisation so why wouldn t they be happy to talk about it to their peers. 7

20 our top tips and takeaways 1. Connect First, you need to find the right people. Social media is the obvious starting point for your research, but your own database would also be a great place to start too, using Akero to help you identify your own micro influencers. 2. Contact Transparency is important when building an authentic relationship. Your honesty and integrity will do you more favours in the long run. 3. create Relevant content is key. Specific content for a niche audience will need a niche influencer (micro influencers are key for our sector). Take a long term view and tell your story. 4. nurture The relationship you build with your influencers is a two way thing. 5. measure (but still be flexible) Define your objectives and measure using tools like Google Analytics, but remember: It s not all about ROI. We are constantly making sure that we engaging people. 7

21 Get in touch to find out how we can help you build an influencer strategy that attracts, engages and recruits students