Under the Influencer
Open Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, and you’re likely to encounter content creators known as influencers. You’ll find them enticing you to buy products, travel, and eat at restaurants. Brands use them to reach out to niche markets—everything from food to travel to gaming. Followers trust influencers—they see the influencer as authentic. And influencers are an extension of a digital marketing strategy.
A Nielsen Trust in Advertising study showed that 71% of consumers trust influencers. Instagram has been the most popular for influencer marketing, but TikTok is growing—16% of U.S. marketers invested in marketing on TikTok in 2020, and that increased to 68% in 2021. People use these platforms to shop and research travel, destinations, and restaurants and increasingly rely on influencers to guide their choices.
Qianna Smith Bruneteau is the Founder and Executive Director of the American Influencer Council, a not-for-profit membership trade association for career content creators. Smith Bruneteau says, “Trying new products, setting trends, educating, entertaining, or sharing unique experiences define a career creator. Attractions have an opportunity to forge partnerships with these subject matter experts, who can creatively translate a brand’s products and services into actionable mobile-first content. Consumers often turn to career creators to see a product and a lifestyle in action.”
In a previous article of Destinology, we talked about how social media is part of a guest’s “arrival” at your destination. With thousands of travel influencers on social media tempting people to visit destinations, should you include influencer marketing as part of your digital marketing plan?
@Loki_the_wolfdog | Crescent City, California
@Loki_the_wolfdog | Toyota-Sponsored
How to Find the Right Influencer
“A business should marry consumer trends and insights with its influencer marketing efforts. Creators are influencing every aspect of our lives, from what we wear, eat, how we shop, where we travel. Know which creators your customers follow and why; which creators organically mention or tag your brand; and what type of customers create user-generated content and where,” Smith Bruneteau explains.
There’s a wide range in cost per post for influences, usually dependent on follower count. Still, the number of followers may not be the most important—you also want followers that are highly engaged with the content.
Macro and mega influencers, usually well-known creators or celebrity personalities with more than 500,000 followers, can charge five to six-figures a post.
Mid-tier (50,000-500,000 followers), Micro (10,000-50,000 followers), and Nano-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers) will be more affordable. Smith Bruneteau explains, “Nano to mid-tier represent the largest segment within the creator economy. These professionals are not the names the media typically covers. However, they command communities that are hyper-engaged and loyal.”
Look for creators that mirror your ideal customer. Influencers are brand ambassadors and should embody the lifestyle of the brand. You want to choose a partner that will uphold your brand values and culture.
Review their past posts—do they align with your goals and values as an organization? Is there anything controversial that you want to avoid? Evaluate the target market of the influencer—does it fit your brand? Find out the age, gender, and location of the influencer’s followers to see if they are the right fit. “An attraction might want to curate and collaborate with a group of influencers in order to target multiple niche demographics,” Smith Bruneteau suggests.
Once you’ve identified a few influencers, you’ll have to reach out to them. To reach a micro-influencer, you can often send them a direct message or find an email address. The more prominent celebrities likely have contact information for an agent. Ask for a media kit that includes bios, stats, and examples. Ask about past success.
Collaboration is vital—influencers know the voice of their channels and followers. If you’re relying on them to generate content, you’ll need to work together to ensure the content is relevant and resonates with the influencer’s audience. Smith Bruneteau says, “There is a creator for every attraction. Social proof is an important concept. Naturally, people check reviews on products, services, and destinations. A favorable review will influence the decision-making process. Influencers can use their audio, visual and creative talents to story tell in a way that does not feel like an advertisement.”
Once you’ve agreed to a partnership with an influencer, formalize with a contract. Contracts should be clear about what your expectations and timelines are. Ensure the influencer knows your target demographic and your campaign’s goals.
#Rules
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a set of rules that influencers must follow. Make sure you’re familiar with them, too, and include them in your contract with the influencer. For example, influencers must disclose connections to brands so that people will clearly see them.
But as with everything on the internet, influencers aren’t all puppies and rainbows.
Influencer accounts can inflate followings and engagements with bots. Check the ratio of subscribers to engagement rate (divide the number of likes and comments by the number of followers.) Watch for any significant jumps in followers—it could indicate the influencer is buying them. Check the follower list and look for profiles without photos, followers, or posts. Scan the influencer’s posts and read the comments—are the comments relevant? There are services like Social Audit Pro that can help determine legitimacy.
There’s been considerable backlash directed at theme parks and other attractions complaining that influencers ruin the experience for others. Stories about inconsiderate filming, rumors of visiting while sick, causing damage to wildlife and ecosystems, and purposely violating the dress code to receive free merchandise have riled up other visitors. Tokyo Disney Resort, owned by Oriental Land Company, recently banned commercial photography and “public transmission or recording of any kind that may inconvenience other guests,” which could impact vloggers and influencers.
Measuring success can also be a challenge. What are your goals? Is it just getting people in the door, or do you want them engaging with your brand and social channels (with the long-term goal of getting them in the door)? You can track social media follower growth or engagement on your channels, impressions on the influencer’s post, or track discount codes or affiliate link usage. Smith Bruneteau says, “Tools like Linqia, Captiv8, Hypeauditor, Grin, and others come at a cost but allow you to conduct social listening and manage your campaigns.”
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