On Friday October 25, 2024, Kingfluencers hosted its first-ever Swiss Influence Marketing Forum (SIMF) at The Hall in Dübendorf, Zurich. This milestone event brought together 350+ attendees and 30+ speakers from the worlds of influencer marketing, brand management, and digital culture. Here’s a breakdown of the day, from engaging panels and insightful keynotes to exclusive sessions and the Smile Swiss Influence Award show.
Our official SIMF aftermovie
Morning Kick-Off: Conversations and Coffee
Doors opened early, giving attendees time to network over coffee and croissants (who doesn’t enjoy those in the morning ;)). The event kicked off with introductory sessions that set the stage for the day, emphasizing SIMF’s focus on authenticity, community, and influence-building as the core elements of modern marketing.
To start off the day, the first panel was all about Brand Influence with Marc Zurbrügg from M-Budget and Yoeri Callebaut, Dominique Hufschmid from Kingfluencers. Have a look at the full panel here:
Keynote Highlights: Visionary Insights from Industry Leaders
Dominique von Matt on Trust vs. Love in Branding
Prof. Dr. Dominique von Matt, chairman at Jung von Matt Schweiz, opened with a keynote titled “Don’t Trust Love – Love Trust.” He challenged brands to shift from striving for “love” to building “trust,” a concept gaining traction in a market increasingly focused on reliability and purpose. Von Matt discussed how a “trust brand” better suits today’s consumer expectations, focusing on sustainability, responsibility, and meaningful connections.
David Pfluger’s Brand OS®: Creating a Cohesive Brand Identity
David Pfluger, creative director known for his work with brands like BeReal and Burton, shared his unique Brand OS® approach, which treats brand development like an operating system. He emphasized that every brand element—from visuals to messaging—needs to align cohesively to connect with audiences, particularly Gen Z. Pfluger’s structured approach offered actionable insights for brand builders aiming to resonate with younger, digitally savvy consumers.
Curious about other panels? Have a look at our Youtube videos!
Panel Discussions and Talks: Diving into Modern Marketing Challenges
Throughout the day, attendees moved between sessions in the main hall and smaller rooms, each offering deep dives into relevant industry topics:
Advertising 3.0 with Rob Hartmann: The Publicis Zurich Executive Creative Director Rob Hartmann discussed how digital changes are revolutionizing brand interactions. He called for embracing humor and disruption, urging brands to move beyond traditional advertising tactics and build lasting connections with consumers in creative new ways.The focus of this masterclass was how brands need to understand communities, communicate with them as equals, and give them a platform to generate sustainable brand love and brand loyalty. So, how do you decode social communities?
High-End Vibes, Low Budget – From Zero to Luxe: JP Erni from OFF Skitouring, shared the inspiring journey of building a high-end brand without a massive budget. He explained how OFF Skitouring broke industry norms by focusing on quality design, bold storytelling, and a playful approach that sets them apart from competitors. By prioritizing authenticity and simplicity in their communication, the brand created a premium vibe while staying relatable.
Success Stories in Small Business Influencer Marketing: Alexandra Brux and Silva Imken from Dr. Hauschka Switzerland shared their effective three-step strategy for engaging audiences with limited budgets. Their insights demonstrated how strategic, small-scale influencer partnerships can build strong brand awareness.
Sony Workshops
In the afternoon, Sony hosted hands-on workshops, giving participants the chance to refine their content creation skills. Led by Stefan Krenn and Corinna Michl, these workshops covered the essentials of content creation and portrait photography, from creating compelling Reels to perfecting your photo composition. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn practical techniques for capturing audience attention on social platforms.
Additionally, more sessions tackled digital marketing challenges, including:
LinkedIn Balance: Branding with Authenticity:
A session featuring Manuel Kekeisen from LinkedIn and Laura Parker of Axpo Group explored the delicate art of brand authenticity on LinkedIn. Attendees learned about leveraging LinkedIn’s features while staying true to their brand’s unique voice.
Hot Seat: Brand Influence
In our “Influence Hot Seat,” creators, brands, and agency representatives bravely faced direct and rapid-fire questions from our Hot Seat Host, Prof. Dr. Andreas Lanz, and the audience. The session delivered exciting insights, honest answers, and authentic discussions – an absolute highlight for everyone wanting to feel the pulse of the influencer marketing world.
Evening Wrap-Up: Smile Swiss Influence Award Show
The event closed with the Smile Swiss Influence Award Show, which celebrated creators making an impact in the Swiss market. The awards celebrated achievements in beauty, lifestyle, travel, and more, spotlighting the creativity and impact of Swiss influencers. Attendees continued networking at the after-party, capping off a productive day with celebrations and conversations. But the day didn’t stop there for us: we had the pleasure to host two categories of the event: the Brands and Business Creator categories! Check out the two winners – Kantonspolizei Aargau for the category Brands and Angela Mygind for the category Business Creator:
Check out all the winners of all the categories of the Smile Swiss Influencer Awards:
Looking Ahead
It is clear that the first SIMF was a success, creating a space for marketers and influencers to connect and exchange ideas. We are very grateful to all speakers, partners, and the supportive community that helped make the event possible. Stay tuned for more!
Did you already check out our SIMF page? Have a look at all the highlights of the event, more impressions, all the top-notch speakers, a description of all the panels and some exclusive full sessions of the day!
HowBrands Can Win Big Partnering with Athlete Influencers During Sporting Events
The summer of 2024 is an exciting time in the world of sports. The success formula is as follows: Athlete Influencers + Sporting Events = Big Win for Brands, and we show you how.
Germany recently hosted EURO 2024, the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship, which wrapped up on 14 July. The 2024 Summer Olympics, 33rd Olympiad, will take place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August. The UCI Road and Para-cycling World Championships will be held in Zurich from 21 September to 29 September. Looking ahead to next summer, Switzerland will host the UEFA European Women’s Championship, from 2 July through 27 July 2025.
Sports are always popular, but people seek additional sports-related content before and during these exciting global events. We’ll provide tips for how your brand can score a “GOOOOOAAAAALLLL” with sports marketing. (Ha, couldn’t resist!) Throughout the article, we’ll also share Kingfluencers’ 10 best Swiss athlete influencers.
Benefits of Marketing with Sports Influencers & Creators
1. Increase your brand’s visibility
Many athletes create content on their own social media, so followers can enjoy watching their athletic prowess beyond official matches and races. Such athlete influencers are a natural fit with athletic brands, including shoes, apparel, and food and supplements. Followers of sports celebrities often engage in the same sport and therefore purchase the various gear required. Who better to recommend the best ski clothing than Swiss snowboarder Nicolas Huber? In addition to ski apparel brand Oneskee, Nicolas promotes health drinks and the Hürlimannbad & Spa in Zürich. He shares his global adventures, occasionally wearing make up like The Joker, complete with the purple suit. Pat Burgener is also a snowboarder and a two-time Olympian as well as musician and actor. He has worked with brands such as Swatch, FOCUSWATER, and Visa.
Athlete influencers provide brands with a way to stand out from the noise. Influencers give brands a real face that people relate to and help connect to consumers. Kickboxing champion Janosch Nietlispach shares adventures with his family and fitness routines in addition to promoting Gatorade, Migros, and BMW, or as Samsung ambassador, also for the Youth Olympic Games. Professional football player Ana Markovic is also an entrepreneur who is launching her own brand of innovative vegan protein water, RELOADZ. With Kingfluencers, Ana is part of the Ochsner Shoes annual campaign.
As followers enjoy both playing their sport and engaging with the influencers’ content, your brand can benefit from this connection. Athlete influencers can help you engage with their audience, sharing relatable brand messaging and building brand loyalty.
Tamara Glück Gonzalez, Teamlead Influencer Strategy & Relations at Kingfluencers, also states:
“It is highly advisable to integrate athletes into the influencer mix for certain campaigns. They hold significant PR relevance, and their followers, who admire them for their athletic achievements and image, view them as role models. These athletes often have a large reach and a strong connection to their community within their country, making them especially suited for long-term image campaigns. Additionally, their accounts become particularly attractive during sports events, as the momentum can be leveraged with creative storytelling.”
2. Connect with communities you may not reach otherwise
There’s no reason for sports influencers to limit their brand partnerships to the realm of sports. Athletes can be particularly helpful in connecting your brand with communities you may not reach otherwise.
From handbags and skincare to cars and travel, athletes consume many products and services, and their followers are interested in their endorsements and insights. But also values can be transported. For example, swimmer Noam Yaron uses world records in swimming to draw attention to the environmental pollution of the oceans. He has been collaborating with Kingfluencers for many years, including in the yallo campaign or Emmi Caffè Latte. Artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian Giulia Steingruber partners with Zak, the first real Swiss bank on your smartphone, or with Kingfluencers for Granini Hohes C. Swiss sprinter Sarah Atcho-Jaquier and two times Olympian partnered with Kingfluencers for the Gatorade campaign or Soda Stream. Snowboarder and three-time Swiss Olympian David Hablützel shares his athletic adventures as well as humorous content and promotes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phone or Dry Migros products. Some athlete influencers also partner with luxury brands. Tennis player and Olympic gold and silver medalist Belinda Bencic has worked with Mercedes and Bongenie Grieder. With Kingfluencers, she has been acting as a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris.
Sarah Schmid, Head of Marketing at Kingfluencers, makes aware of the role social media has played in making highlights, storylines, and community more accessible, breaking down barriers and allowing fans to watch any sport through infinite streams and channels:
“Niche communities are the heartbeat of sports marketing. By tapping into these passionate and engaged groups, brands can build authentic connections and drive loyalty that extends far beyond the game. It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about creating meaningful, lasting relationships.”
3. Partner with athlete influencers during major sporting events for a boost
Of course, brands can work with athlete influencers at any time, but partnering with athletes during major sporting events can result in a synergistic boost to your campaign.
Even though these are competitions, the rivalries are generally friendly, and global audiences watch with good will. The huge visibility of these championship events delivers great opportunities for brands to generate buzz around your product or service in a fun atmosphere, surrounded by people enjoying themselves. #Euro2024 was tagged in more than 1.7 million Instagram posts and two million TikToks.
People also typically enjoy food and drinks while watching a sporting event. Conveniently, a football match lasts as long as Zweifel Chips’ new limited edition 90-minute pack. In a recent campaign, Kingfluencers’ creators demonstrated their creative ways to unbox this perfect snack for friends and family to enjoy together.
Brands can also use influencers for pre-event promotions and live event coverage. In addition to excellent audience engagement, this can generate real-time interaction and feedback from fans.
Many major sporting events also stretch across several weeks and reach large worldwide audiences. Content creators can share authentic good vibes and promote your product in a way that doesn’t feel like a promotion. During Euro 2024, former football manager Harry Redknapp worked with LADbible and Walkers Crisps to promote its crisp pint for the summer of football, achieving a 2.51% engagement rate. According to CORQ., Redknapp also teamed up with Sorare to talk about its fantasy football league (0.04% engagement rate).
Digiday recently described Euro 2024 as “a big step change” for the areas advertisers will rely on. In addition to increases in television ad spending, “many brands are increasing their spend on influencer partnerships, and increasing paid social budgets to amplify influencer content and reach viewers on their second screens. That reflects shifts in sports viewing habits since the last Euros, which took place when TikTok was barely a feature in most marketing plans.”
Best Practices Marketing with Sports Influencers: Cross-Platform Activation
Maximize your reach by utilizing various platforms. In addition to social media channels like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), consider incorporating OOH advertising options and TV. Partnering with Kingfluencers makes it easy to expand your campaigns. Kingfluencers’ TV Spots combine the power of video, TV, and influencer marketing. With our newest partnership and creation of a joint influence media network with Goldbach, we can extend any social media campaign to the content network – including online advertising in networks like 20 Minuten, TV, and even out-of-home, which covers a wide array of advertising options in Switzerland, such as billboards, digital displays, and megaposters.
The Link Between Your Brands & Creators
By working with athlete influencers, you can fuse the excitement of sporting events with authentic brand advocacy. With the proper strategy, the result is a synergy, with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Kingfluencers serves as a link between brands and creators. Reach out to us to explore how we can help you team up with influencers and creators – ATHLETES or not – to build campaigns that amplify your brand messages before, during, or after sports events, ensuring a seamless connection.
Kingfluencers’ 10 Best Swiss Athlete Influencers (no particular order)
Member of the Swiss national women’s football team Alayah Pilgrim has also promoted Garnier skincare and Coca-Cola. With Kingfluencers, she has implemented almost 60 influencer campaigns, including L’Oréal as brand ambassador for CeraVe.
Swiss snowboarder Nicolas Huber shares his global adventures, occasionally made up like The Joker – purple suit included. He works with brands including Oneskee ski apparel, health drinks, and the Hürlimannbad & Spa in Zürich. For Kingfluencers, he will be part of the new MSD campaign that goes live in summer, promoting the importance about HPV knowledge.
Swiss sprinter Sarah Atcho-Jaquierr took part in the 4 × 100 meter relay at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, the 2016 Olympic Games, and the 2017 World Championships in London and partnered with Kingfluencers for the Gatorade campaign or Soda Stream. She also partners with adidas, Maurice Lacroix or Raiffeisen.
David Hablützel is also a snowboarder and three-time Swiss Olympian and shares his athletic adventures along with humorous content. Dave promotes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phone and Chiefs’ vitamin milk. For Kingfluencers, he did a cool brand activation for the Dry Migros Campaign.
Professional footballer Ana Markovic is also an entrepreneur who is launching her own brand of innovative vegan protein water, RELOADZ. For Kingfluencers, Ana is part of the Ochsner Shoes annual campaign.
6. Kickboxing champion Janosch Nietlispach shares fitness routines, adventures with his family, and promotes different brands from BMW to Nivea personal care products. With Kingfluencers he has implemented over 70 campaigns, including as Samsung ambassador, also for the Youth Olympic Games, for comparis, Gatorade, and Migros.
7. Swimmer Noam Yaron uses world records in swimming to draw attention to the environmental pollution of the oceans. He has been collaborating with Kingfluencers for many years, including in the yallo campaign or Emmi Caffè Latte.
8. Tennis player and Olympic gold and silver medalist Belinda Bencic has worked with Mercedes and Bongenie Grieder. For Kingfluencers, she was part of multiple L’Oréal Paris campaigns.
9. Pat Burgener is a snowboarder and two-time Olympian as well as musician and actor. He has worked with brands such as Swatch, FOCUSWATER, and Visa.
10. Artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian Giulia Steingruber partners with Zak, the first real Swiss bank on your smartphone. With Kingfluencers, she was part of the Granini Hohes C campaign.
We were back again this year at the OMR in Hamburg! This time with much more insights, stories, great panels, speakers, and most importantly – a lot of fun and inspiring takeaways. Let’s take you through the 2 days of great and interesting networking and learning.
This year the OMR has had over 70k visitors, 4 expo halls with 500+ exhibitors (including Kingfluencers), 7 stages with 800+ speakers, 240 masterclasses, 100 guided tours, and afterparties. Once again, the OMR stood out for its extravagant speakers like Kim Kardashian, Rick Rubin, Sabrina Ellis, and many more.
In case you missed our exclusive newsletter or didn’t follow us along on LinkedIn and Instagram, here’s a short recap with our highlights and learnings.
On-Site Consulting, Exciting Booth Activations, and Fabulous Giveaways
Let’s start with our Kingfluencers booth: we were able to upgrade to a bigger space to offer you more entertainment, more fun, and most importantly: more Kingfluencers, located at Hall A3, Stand C09. Not only were you able to talk to our consultants, but you could also snatch a quick snack from our popcorn machine, get some cool gadgets like a phone ring light, or participate in our OMR quiz to upgrade your next trip.
Oh, and not sure if you saw, but Kim K visited us at our booth 😉
Did you miss this year’s OMR and didn’t have a chance to talk to us or want to continue the conversation?
Unlocking Expertise: Key Takeaways from Kingfluencers’ Masterclass Sessions
1. Decoding social communities
The focus of this masterclass was how brands need to understand communities, communicate with them as equals, and give them a platform to generate sustainable brand love and brand loyalty. So, how do you decode social communities?
Content is the heart of TikTok
Importance of Content: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri emphasizes that views and likes are more important than follower numbers. TikTok prioritizes relevant content, leading to the formation of communities around specific interests, such as BookTok, FashionTok, and FoodTok.
Characteristics of Social Communities
Themes: Wide variety of topics with sub-themes (e.g., 5AmClub with Morning Person with ADHD, Women in Business).
Language: Unique terms and codes to bypass algorithms (e.g., “#Seggs” instead of “sex”).
Aesthetics: Visual and cultural expressions enhance the sense of community.
Brand Strategy: Brands should speak the language of these communities and provide a platform for them to foster sustainable brand loyalty.
Be in the right space for the right reason
“The rise of a new marketing zeitgeist has shifted the paradigm for marketers. Although many might not be fully aware! We all know digital is key for example. But merely existing in the digital sphere or focusing on general metrics such as having the biggest share of voice is not a basis for competitive advantage and doesn’t lead to success anymore perse; instead, it’s all about getting the right message out in credible ways to the right people, being truly seen, heard, understood and appreciated, or even loved, by forging meaningful connections with one’s focus consumers and communities.” – Yoeri Callebaut, CEO at Kingfluencers
Benefits: These approaches help brands better connect with social communities, develop targeted campaigns, and identify specific audiences for paid media strategies.
2. The Tiktok Creator Game
Redefining Engagement: TikTok’s Masterclass in Community Strategy
TikTok’s latest masterclass has changed the game for digital engagement. The big lesson? Brands should be “always in,” not just “always on.” Here’s how this approach can transform your brand strategy:
Community-Centric Engagement: Move beyond a constant presence to active participation within your target communities. Genuine interactions build deeper connections with your audience.
The Spillover Effect: Influencers and creators transfer their authentic connections to your brand, boosting visibility and credibility.
“Stay & Play” Strategy: Identify your core community (“stay”) but also explore new, unexpected spaces (“play”). For example, a fashion brand can thrive in Hashtag#FashionTok and make a splash in Hashtag#FoodTok, reaching new audiences with surprising content.
Authentic Connections Combine maintaining your core identity with exploring new avenues to create dynamic, authentic engagement.
Amplify Real-Life Engagement Be genuinely involved in community activities to create a more immersive and impactful brand presence.
Culture First, Community Second, Commercial Follows
“Brands must actively engage with and contribute to culture. Consider FC St. Pauli von 1910 e.V.’s commitment to social justice, community engagement, and alternative culture; or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that evolved from a sport to a culture brand by putting their community first. In today’s world, brands must establish a world around their brand and create a space where their community wants to belong. By doing so, commercial success will naturally follow.” – Dominique Hufschmid, Director of Strategy, Marketing & Innovation at Kingfluencers
3. TikTok Retail Revolution
In this masterclass, they showed measurement metrics and methods presented by TikTok Germany. It was also shown how to measure the impact of TikTok campaigns on retail/offline/in-store shopping and they displayed a Unilever case study. The main key takeaways are:
TikTok offers 3 methods for customers to include offline data: (1) offline API (2) manual upload (3) third-party solutions
TikTok facilitates the same consumer needs as a shopping experience: convenience, comfort, confidence
TikTok partners closely with brands and develops technology to track consumer behavior in detail
TikTok wants to prove its relevance and power in the offline world
Effective measurement principles by TikTok that allow clients to measure consumer journey from TikTok interaction to full conversion (including offline events such as in-store visits)
The TikTok experience satisfies the same needs that consumers have in store: convenience, connection, confidence
4. Reddit
This Reddit Masterclass taught us how to use contextual information to make the brand stand out and even sell products and services. Additionally, it also talked about how to involve the brand in the communities and be part of the talk and how to generate brand connection. The key takeaway points are the following:
90% of consumers don’t trust influencers according to Reddit -> Reddit serves as an additional channel to verify based on user feedback and thereby is basically a UGC platform
Cookies are phasing out -> there is a need for a new way to target audience
Brands can have profiles/pages and a significant presence on Reddit
Privacy statements and rules are more and more stringent so also here it becomes more and more difficult to target people
Reddit remains rather anonymous
+100k communities in various niches
Available in German as the first non-English language -> Germany (and DACH) is a big region for Reddit’s increasing impact
Influencer does not equal Influence
“True influence goes beyond superficial metrics and requires depth, authenticity, and meaningful engagement. Building influence requires creating genuine connections, fostering trust, and adding value to people’s lives. It’s about sharing authentic stories, championing causes, and inspiring others to take action. In today’s digital landscape, real influence is measured increasingly by the positive impact you make and the values you represent as a person.” – Dominique Hufschmid, Director of Strategy, Marketing & Innovation at Kingfluencers
Inspiring Voices: OMR Speakers Who Captivated the Kingfluencers Team
Kim Kardashian Media Personality, Entrepreneur & Actress
About the difference between public perception and self-identification and her most important lessons:
Kim doesn’t view herself as an entrepreneur. Her answers reflect a confident mother making smart business decisions, but she prioritizes her public figure persona over a business identity.
Kim gained fame through TV (and a tape, but TV made her a household name). This seems very early 2000s, but it remains a solid pathway to fame.
Be quick to adopt trends (her mobile game “Hollywood” & early VR adoption). Yet, she expressed caution and ambivalence about AI, which is surprising given Kris Jenner’s reputation for strategic planning.
The way she deals with negative comments is: “Post and Ghost” – to protect her mental health Kim posts and leaves the Instagram app.
“Before Kim came on stage MC asked the audience how many are her fans. Out of 8,000 people, only about 70 raised their hand. And yet, she packed 3 stages at OMR (main stage & two livestreams). This feels like a great analogy for influencers in general – very few people publicly or in casual conversation, will admit to liking influencers, and yet as a society we are fascinated, curious, and following them by the millions.” – Larisa Topalo, Chief Influencer, Brand Strategy & Creative Officer at Kingfluencers
Scott Galloway Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern & Bestselling Author
His top predictions for 2024
GLP-1s, a class of medication used for diabetes and obesity. Scott names The hype of wellness, health, and fitness and the demographic development trend towards more obesity as the main reasons why.
Meta’s next growth vehicle: To use WhatsApp as a Social Media tool. People read all the messages in WhatsApp, which makes it a great tool to connect with consumers.
The biggest impact of AI? Loneliness! Disproportionately concerning the male population which also explains the rise of AI Girlfriend.
Scott ended his Keynote encouraging attendees to connect with their close friends and to ask them “How are you doing?” and then ask them again “No, honestly, how are you?”
Key strategies that helped PURELEI grow through the Covid crisis
Profit goals instead of revenue goals
A 1% price increase made the most impact, followed by 1% COG reductions. While a 1% volume increase and 1% overhead reduction didn’t have a huge effect.
Higher barriers of entrance resulted in 40% less order but 70% more profit for Purelei. Focus on the high-end customers instead of hoping low-end clients might eventually have a high CLV.
Have fewer options. Focus on your heroes, and build new products based on what you know already works, for example, variations and extensions of your hero products.
Content: How to utilize AI generated Content wie Content KI-basiert erstellt und genutzt werden kann
Cost Efficiency: Bundling Customer Feedback for Advertisement quickly and get real added value
Concern: The technology does come with security risks such as digital robber barons stealing data from competitors
Customer: AI can influence purchasing decisions
Winners & Losers
Loser: Second-Tier Companies in the Tech Sector
Loser: Trust, as more misinformation and fake content is spread
Winner: Book Clubs spread like wildfire thanks to formats like #BookTok
Winner: Recognition through Signature moves
Winner: India is experiencing exponential growth
#OMR24 was a blast!
Exciting talks, inspiring speakers, masterclasses, and a lot of lasting impressions.
And WOW, what a cool team we have at Kingfluencers! A huge thanks goes out to our team for making this event an unforgettable experience off and behind the scenes. The team spirit and cooperation once again showed what we can achieve together.
Any feedback, questions, or comments, or wanna chat over coffee?
Brands in industries like fashion, beauty, and travel have worked with influencers for years now to give their brands a real face that people relate to, stand out from the noise, and connect to consumers. People are increasingly turning to social media for guidance on a wide variety of topics, including finance. A “finfluencer” is an influencer who creates finance-related content that advises consumers on topics such as personal finance, stock market trading, and mutual funds.
Rise in Self-Directed Investing
“DIY” is an increasingly popular approach to investing. Inyova conducted one of the largest Swiss research projects on investment habits to date. When asked, “Who manages your investments?” 55% selected, “I manage it myself.”
Unfortunately, self-directed investing isn’t always conducted with a solid data-based strategy. According to a survey commissioned by the German financial regulator BaFin, 30% of people under 40 had invested money using “copy trading” in the past two years (copying the trading strategies of supposedly successful investors.)
There has been very little financial education geared toward helping the average consumer get up to speed, leaving people struggling with a lack of financial literacy. Finfluencers have been stepping in to fill this need. The Financial Times writes, “A jump in self-directed investing has been partly propelled by a surge in the sway of financial influencers.
Cynthia Hofmann, Senior Marketing Manager at PostFinance: We have noticed a growing interest in financial topics at PostFinance. This has been particularly evident in recent years with the increased focus on “women and finance”. At the same time, the crypto boom has also awakened young people’s interest in financial matters. The availability of numerous neobanks, which are primarily accessible via apps, has made banking simpler and cheaper. For example, pension accounts or funds can be opened with just a few clicks, often on more favorable terms than with traditional banks. The rising cost of living is also forcing many people to take a closer look at financial matters.
Significant Need for Financial Guidance
Income, assets, and savings rates have increased in Switzerland in recent years. According to a ZHAW study, three-quarters of Swiss people also feel comfortable with their financial situation. However, a staggering 44% of Swiss people have never made financial investment, despite 86% of Swiss people being willing to save and plan. 70% state their reason for not investing is a lack of financial literacy.
Brands can fill this gap by serving as that trusted source of knowledge, which can empower consumers to feel comfortable making investments. By partnering with an established finfluencer, brands can benefit from their accessibility, trust, and reach to educate their target audience and turn them into customers.
Significant Need for Financial Guidance
Income, assets, and savings rates have increased in Switzerland in recent years. According to a ZHAW study, three-quarters of Swiss people also feel comfortable with their financial situation. However, a staggering 44% of Swiss people have never made financial investment, despite 86% of Swiss people being willing to save and plan. 70% state their reason for not investing is a lack of financial literacy.
Brands can fill this gap by serving as that trusted source of knowledge, which can empower consumers to feel comfortable making investments. By partnering with an established finfluencer, brands can benefit from their accessibility, trust, and reach to educate their target audience and turn them into customers.
Finance Chat is Taboo
How to manage and grow your personal wealth can be a complex topic, one which many people are uncomfortable discussing. Only 26% of respondents to the ZHAW study would like to talk about finance, even with good acquaintances.These substantial gaps in both investments, finance knowledge, and trusted sources of advice represent huge opportunities for brands that can help educate consumers. Influencers who provide easily digestible pieces of content can help audiences gradually climb the learning curve.
Finfluencers Provide Needed Advice
Many influencers are already supporting their followers’ journeys to financial wellness for free. According to an October 2021 Bloomberg article, “Wall Street ‘finfluencers’ are earning more than bankers.” For example, UK-based “Self-made millionaire” Mark Tilbury provides “money and success tips” to 7.1M followers on TikTok and 2.25M subscribers on YouTube.
With people hungry for insights and guidance, finfluencers such as Faares Quadri can grow large followings. Quadri has over 2.7M followers on TikTok where he breaks common financial concepts and instruments down and walks his audience through the specifics.
ellexx founder Patrizia Laeri shared her views on the advantage of finfluencers compared to traditional financial education: “At ellexx, we comprehensively empower women financially and guide them without any financial jargon, always at eye level with lovingly designed, appealing, and stirring articles, research, checklists, and tools.”
The SIX Group, which operates the infrastructure for Swiss financial centers including the Swiss exchange, has recognized the value of finfluencers. SIX asked Swiss financial bloggers, Stefan Huser, Melina Scheuber, Reto Stalder and Fabio Marchesin to participate in a panel discussion at the 2022 BörsenTalk Flagship Event with the mission of introducing the audience to their “infotainment” work. The group shared origin stories and discussed various, sometimes controversial, topics such as the tension between independence and commerce, and why the most important blog articles are not the most successful.
Cynthia Hofmann, Senior Marketing Manager at PostFinance: Finfluencers have become a central figure in the field of financial education. With information flooding the internet, they differentiate themselves through their independence and reputation for neutral opinion. This makes them a valued resource for many individuals. In contrast to traditional banks, which are often perceived as distant, finfluencers communicate in a way that is familiar to their followers.
Financial Feminism
The Inyova survey found that 65% of Swiss women have never invested, compared to just 20% of men – a fact that numerous finfluencers are working to rectify. This social shift inspired the establishment of companies like ellexx universe AG, who are focusing on closing the gender investment gap by encouraging women to learn to invest. The fintech company offers coaching, money hacks courses, checklists, financial products, and daily articles.
Kingfluencers asked Patrizia Laeri about the increasing public interest in finance. “When we launched our platform two and a half years ago, ‘women and finance’ were hardly a topic in Switzerland. Now, more and more traditional banks are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to appeal to women. However, their executive boards and boards of directors remain predominantly male. This is ‘pinkwashing’ and not credible. In Western Europe and North America, women control 75 percent of purchasing decisions. Consumption means influence. And investing means even greater influence. Nonetheless, a lot has changed. The topic is present and the offerings for women are increasing. ”
Finfluencers Must be Credible
All influencers must disclose when posts are paid brand promotions, but financial content brings added complexity. Stylish influencers can recommend products such as eyeglasses, food, and makeup, sharing their photos and recipes. Exaltations that a product is comfortable, delicious, or beautiful are all personal opinions, but finfluencers are making statements which could be factually incorrect, particularly if they run afoul of investing laws.
Sortlist surveyed 1,000 users who follow health and financial influencers to understand their impact on purchasing decisions compared to the recommendations of experts from those sectors.
1 in 5 users trust influencers more than their doctors and financial advisors. 46.51% of German respondents said that the help of financial influencers had a positive impact on their investment decisions.
The Sortlist study described the role specialists and influencers can both play in helping communities. “Overall, the easy access to influencers makes them the ideal source of inspiration, sparking the first desire to change lifestyle or develop a routine.” People turn to professionals for more details as well as the personalized service they can provide.
Money expert Tori Dunlap is a successful, inspiring finfluencer who doesn’t have a traditional financial background. Tori founded Her First $100K with a mission of leading the financial feminist movement. With a best-selling book, popular podcast, social media campaigns, and live speaking engagements, Tori and her team guide audiences through making more, spending less, and feeling financially confident.
Tips for Working with Finfluencers
Kingfluencers recently wrote about how to select and work with an expert influencer. When considering partnering with any influencer, it’s important to view their track record. With experts, including finfluencers, you should additionally evaluate their formal credentials. Do they have the requisite education?
Formal certifications give a finfluencer more credibility. However, a variety of laws cover what financial advice finance professionals are permitted to give publicly. Many finfluencers are simply individuals proficient in personal finance. In this landscape, it’s difficult for brands to determine who would be a good potential partner. Working with an experienced influencer marketing agency like Kingfluencers substantially lowers your risk of collaborating with someone short on credibility and ending up in a PR disaster.Brands may also want to consider providing some compliance training for finfluencers prior to campaign kick-off. CFA advises, “Investment companies that use finfluencers should provide them with compliance training if not already doing so and ensure that finfluencers clearly disclose when they are promoting content or are sponsored.”
Brands Succeed Partnering with Finfluencers
CFA took a deep dive into the world of finfluencers and wrote that some financial firms are hiring finfluencers to engage with young investors (those aged 18–25). The NAGA platform, a German fintech company, says it cooperates with up to a hundred finfluencers.
In India, the top finfluencers have more YouTube subscribers than new-age broking firms. Considering India’s low financial literacy rate of 27%, these content creators play a vital role in educating citizens. Leading broking firms are engaging popular finfluencers to reach out to potential investors.
A Swiss Success Story
Credit Suisse is a recent Kingfluencers success story with CSX App, a secure remote banking solution
Impressions: More than 2.2 M
Reach: More than 1.3 M
Engagement-Rate: 3.2%
The campaign reached 3.7k link clicks
Mobiliar with combining a creative contest with Influencer Marketing.
Impressions: More than 500 K
Reach: +26% vs forecasted
The inclusion of the creative contest generated more than 80k website visits.
Generali insurance’s podcast episode about women and pension.
Impressions: More than 240 K
Reach: More than 130 K
The campaign reached +70% vs forecasted on link clicks.
View the case study to see successful campaigns from numerous Kingfluencers’ clients in the banking and insurance sectors.
Top 5 digital marketing trends for Q2 2024 and how to quickly join in
Influencer marketing and beyond
Welcome back to the second installment of our quarterly Digital Marketing Trends Guide. We’ve investigated the latest trends and shared how you can leverage them to engage with our audiences and build digital brand equity.
Here are our top 5 digital marketing trends for Q2 2024 you need to know about:
SOCIAL MEDIA AS SEARCH ENGINE
TRADITIONAL SECTORS EVOLVE THEIR MARKETING
VIRTUAL EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES
BACK TO BASICS WITH RAW CONTENT
SHORT FORM SERIES
Eager to learn more? Check out the full digital marketing trends for 2024 Q2 and download our Trends Guide below!
Trends Guide 2024 Q2
Questions? Reach out to us anytime. Click here to find out more about our Digital Influence Programs and our expertise within the field and beyond.
We’ve written often about the importance of authenticity and credibility. Expert influencers are uniquely suited to help elevate your brand’s credibility. We’ll explain what expert influencers are, how they differ from their traditional counterparts, and how to select and work with them.
What are Expert Influencers?
Experts are people with extensive knowledge and/or skills in one particular area. They’re viewed as authorities, but may not always have the largest social media following. With extensive professional acumen, experts are typically informative more than aspirational.
Focused on their primary area of study or practice, they may not often engage in activities that build an audience on purpose, such as posting new content frequently and following trends. Even experts with a smaller following can be valuable partners, as they lend their credibility to your brand, helping you gain trust from your audience.
Fabio A. Marchesin, better known as Finanzfabio, said, “As an expert financial planner, I feel a certain pressure to create more added value and, above all, to provide correct information. My aim is to create a clean basis and then go into more depth to provide thought processes that no one else can offer. While my work is intended to serve non-professionals, my colleagues in the financial sector also find it useful for further training or exam preparation.”
Quality Over Quantity – Expertise is More Important Than Follower Count
Many brands partner with celebrity influencers in order to reach millions while gaining the personal endorsement of a popular individual. However, some consumers have become disillusioned with outmoded influencers who can be artificial and unrelatable while excessively pushing products. According to Trustpilot, celebrity influencers have the lowest level of trust among consumers – two-thirds (67% in the US and 65% in the UK) describe their level of trust in this source of information as ‘low’.
Expert influencers can serve as an antidote. 41% of consumers trust expert reviews, whereas only 13% trust advertising.
Veronica Kiriak, Doctor and Content Creator, shared her views on how brands and followers have different expectations of experts as compared to classic creators. “As a doctor and influencer at the same time, you have to act a little differently than classic creators. I choose my collaboration partners very carefully and always pay attention to legal and medical principles. Brands often place particular value on the authenticity of my medical expertise, while my followers are primarily looking for reliable information. It requires a balance to meet the expectations of both sides.”
How Do Expert Influencers Help Brands?
Collaborating with people who bring the credibility of formal education and expert credentials can help brands stand out, and can be particularly advantageous in the beauty industry. As marketer Polly Petrova writes “the beauty sector has become more cautious when it comes to collaborating with influencers. It seems the industry is trying to lessen the ‘influence’ of influencers.”
Many beauty influencers post their personal daily skincare routines and preferred brands. However, a dermatologist brings exceptional credibility, with a trustworthiness that’s hard to beat. Dr. Liv Kraemer shares best and easy #skincare routine tips with her more than 243K TikTok followers. Dr. Liv also sells products made in Switzerland that she developed inspired by decades of dermatology insight.
When partnering with an expert, your brand benefits from their credibility in addition to gaining access to their audience. Experts can be especially skilled at explaining complex concepts and bringing clarity to technical jargon. “Finanz Fabio” provides financial education on his podcast and shares podcast snippets on TikTok, along with street interviews he conducts.
Expert influencers also fulfill the need for industry-specific knowledge that B2B buyers have throughout lengthy, complex sales processes.
Experts Influencers Continue Working in Their Profession
For many traditional influencers, social media content creation and brand partnerships are their primary sources of income. OTOH, experts make a living with careers distinct from social media. For example, dermatologist Dr. Liv still sees patients in her clinic and Fabio provides personal financial consulting services.
Continuing to work in their profession means expert influencers:
Keep their knowledge current
Have new real-world experiences
Must maintain a positive reputation
The need to maintain their reputation prevents experts from promoting brands they don’t believe in, further strengthening their trustworthiness with audiences. Regardless of what percentage of their income is generated by content creation, their influencer career relies on their professional credibility. It’s not worth risking any threat to that credibility for a questionable brand partnership.
Veronica Kiriak said, “My content creation process requires more research to ensure my medical statements are accurate. At the same time, I try to present the information in an entertaining and accessible way to keep my community’s attention. I have high expectations of myself, especially in terms of the quality and accuracy of my medical advice. It’s important to be transparent when it comes to the boundaries of my expertise and to always create a safe space for questions from my followers.”
How to Select and Work with an Expert Influencer
1. Start with your Marketing Goals
We’ve discussed how expert influencers differ from their traditional counterparts, but when partnering with any influencer, your goal is still to build digital brand equity. While some aspects may differ, it’s important not to abandon your existing processes for building successful campaigns.
Alter your Influencer Evaluation Criteria & Examine Their Credentials
When considering partnering with any influencer, it’s important to view their track record. With experts, you should additionally evaluate their formal credentials. Do they have the requisite education? Are they certified with the relevant board, such as with surgeons and architects? Can you confirm that after obtaining both the education and credentials, they also have real-world experience working in the field?
2. Pitch Your Brand to the Expert
Considering their need to carefully guard their reputation, experts can be particularly discerning about the brands they work with. You may have to invest time in selling your brand to the expert. This could involve a more detailed, technical analysis of your product, such as examining ingredients or production processes.
3. Be Flexible with Payment Structure & Recognize Added Value
Again, brand promotions aren’t their primary focus, so you may need to compensate experts with a different type of payment structure. Scrunch advises, “…they might be more expensive as you are really purchasing their time, experience, and credibility. Almost think of it as paying a consultant, rather than an influencer.” The value you receive from working with an expert extends beyond access to their community. Your brand earns a seal of approval from a knowledgeable expert. These engagements might also be longer term.
4. Maximize Use of Their Expertise
Instead of asking them to merely promote your product, think of additional ways their expertise can benefit your brand. Ask them to sit for an interview, speak at a conference or webinar, write a blog with their top tips, or provide feedback on your new product innovations.
5. Make the Content Keep Working for you
Increase the value of these collaborations with performance marketing (boosting content to reach even higher KPIs). Consider multi-touch attribution models and use every channel strategically.
Get Started with the Best Expert Influencer Matches for Your Brand
As the leading full-service influencer marketing agency in Switzerland and beyond, Kingfluencers can help you select and collaborate with influencers of all types, whether B2C, B2B, expert, or traditional. We help give brands a real face that people relate to, stand out from the noise, and connect to consumers.
Top 5 digital marketing trends for Q1 2024 and how to adopt to build brand equity.
Influencer marketing and beyond
At Kingfluencers, we’re fortunate to work in a dynamic industry that’s constantly evolving. We often leverage new approaches to help our clients engage with their audiences and build digital brand equity. In this new, quarterly trends guide, we’ll investigate the latest trends and – most importantly – how you can adopt them.
Here are our top 5 digital marketing trends for Q1 2024 you need to know about:
AR MARKETING IS MERGING DIGITAL EXPERIENCES WITH REAL-LIFE
ART INSTALLATION ADVERTISING: LEVERAGE THE CREATIVE EDGE OF ART INSTALLATIONS FOR ORGANIC PR
THE POTENTIAL OF VIRTUAL INFLUENCERS
BRANDS ENGAGING AND BUILDING CONNECTIONS: COMPANY MASCOT TURNED INFLUENCER
LEARNING NEW WAYS TO WORK THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Eager to learn more? Check out the full digital marketing trends for 2024 Q1 and download our Trends Guide below!
Questions? Reach out to us anytime. Click here to find out more about our Digital Influence Programs and our expertise within the field and beyond.
At Kingfluencers, we understand that influencer marketing is part of a much bigger field. We encourage brands to think beyond influence to digital brand equity. In this blog series, we’ll cover how brands can establish, strengthen, and grow long-term brand equity through digital influence programs. First, we’ll explain what we mean by that and what lies beyond traditional influence.
What is Digital Brand Equity?
Digital brand equity is the value of brand recognition and brand perception in the digital space. Digital brand equity is a core pillar to competitive advantage. It has a positive influence on people’s purchasing decisions and is a key determinant of the brand’s overall success.
→ Defining factors for a brand’s digital equity include:
What is Digital Influence?
Digital influence is the online equivalent of brand equity. It refers to a brand’s ability to affect and strengthen people’s perceptions, opinions, preferences, and decisions related to your brand versus competing ones. Digital influence is the ability of a brand to take ownership of the influence they have to impact perceptions and – most importantly– decisions.
Like digital brand equity, digital influence is a key determinant of the brand’s overall success. Digital influence strategies enhance your brand’s ability to take that control and ownership to shape perceptions. It is a means to an end. You can build digital brand equity through a variety of digital branding and influencer strategies.
By impacting decisions, you can drive revenue by encouraging people to:
Purchase your brand over competitors by building competitive advantage and elevating brand preference
Increase expenditures through upgrades and additional purchases
Remain loyal customers over time to increase customer loyalty, generate more revenue, and improve profitability
Recommend your brand to their friends by sparking intrinsic advocacy and strengthening your brand community
Work for your brand, enabling you to recruit and retain the best employees and strengthen your employer branding
Digital Influence = Huge Component of Overall Brand Equity
For many brands, the majority of customer interactions take place online. That means your digital influence is nearly synonymous with brand equity. Simply put, what people think of you online is what people think of you. Those brands who master their digital brand equity as first movers will gain an immense advantage and outperform their competitors moving forward.
Beyond Social Media
An influencer posts a positive review of your brand on Instagram. A content creator features your product in an entertaining TikTok.
Great!
Influencer campaigns are excellent tactics for increasing awareness and connecting with your audience.
But that’s just it… they’re tactics – individual components of what must be a larger strategy in order to really make a long-lasting impact. So, what separates effective brands from those throwing campaigns at the wall and hoping something sticks?
How Can Brands Build a Foundation of Digital Influence?
A brand’s equity depends on your visibility, how you’re perceived, and your ability to connect in consistent ways to your audiences in today’s complex digital ecosystem.
Consumers rank trust as a top buying consideration. 81% need to trust a brand to consider buying from it. Nielsen reported that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family, and 70% trust online reviews from strangers. A strong digital presence and positive online reputation can help strengthen brand equity, in turn influencing purchasing decisions.
Proper digital influence strategies and tactics draw their inherent power from word of mouth (WoM) marketing principles. Building digital influence involves magnifying and elevating the impact of WoM through digital amplification. Digital influence enablesbrands to turn a 1:1 process into 1:many while maintaining credibility. Shifting from one to many amplifies a brand’s influence, which drives exponential gains, making digital influence extremely powerful.
Digital influence programs must focus on strengthening the brand’s digital presence and thereby positively influencing brand awareness and perception.
The Amplification Effect
Individual marketing initiatives, such as SEO, can give your brand a boost. But the most powerful strategies work collaboratively to amplify one another.
With numerous people-centric tactics focused on advocacy, WoM, and authentic storytelling, you can achieve an amplification effect. More people will discuss your brand, activate audiences and communities, building more intrinsic advocacy and WoM from consumers and partners. Like the famous “Flywheel” model, customers become advocates and promoters who feed growth as they move through the phases of attract, engage, and delight.
Key Components of Building Digital Brand Equity
A strong foundation must run deep and wide.
Doing these following things well and for enough time will improve your brand reputation and drive increased online visibility. You’ll be able to increase knowledge of your brand, and impact perceptions of your brand versus others.
Use your existing brand equity
Make use of the equity you already have. Build upon your brand’s reputation and standing in the market. Get ahead of the narrative and consistently convey your brand’s unique selling propositions.
Be consistent
Have consistent, coherent messages across all digital channels. Those messages should also be in line with consumers’ offline experiences. Consistency is key. 41% of consumers say branding (messaging) consistency defines brand loyalty.
Run people-centric campaigns
The participation of numerous voices, along with a consistent story, helps create positive digital brand equity and therefore digital influence. Work with multiple advocates and storytellers who can promote your brand authentically, including employees and senior leadership. Capture and make use of user-generated content.
Harness the power of advocacy & word of mouth
Advocacy is a key ingredient. Consider personal branding and working with corporate ambassadors. With an integrated approach, you can take control of the narrative surrounding your brand and boost competitive advantage and growth.
An effective digital influence program will include multiple tracks such as social media, influencer marketing, brand and corporate ambassadors, personal branding, content creation, including UGC, and performance marketing. While these tracks can each deliver results independently, a program is stronger when they’re all in alignment. More to come in part 2!
Influencer marketing is an important marketing strategy that continues to grow. It is no longer limited to a select few businesses or agencies, but has become a marketing channel accessible to all brands.
More brands recognize the power of influencer marketing and seek out influencers who can help them generate meaningful connections with their target audience.
That means more opportunities for influencers – for you – to make money!
If you’re looking to become an influencer, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go over the steps of becoming an influencer one by one. Keep reading to begin your journey to becoming an influencer.
Table of Contents
Is becoming a social media influencer the right choice for you?
Ask these questions before you decide to become an influencer
How to get started as an influencer
How to brand yourself as an influencer
How to establish authority as an influencer
How to work as an influencer
How to grow and remain popular after you’ve become an influencer
How to get paid as an influencer
Conclusion
Is becoming a social media influencer the right choice for you?
Becoming a social media influencer sounds like a great career choice – let’s find out if it’s really the right one for you.
Are you excited about making a difference?
If you become an influencer, you have an opportunity to leave your imprint on the world. You decide which causes to support, be it sustainable brands or charitable businesses. You can use your influence to spread your positive values to the world.
Would you love to have a community of people who rally around you?
If you have no problem standing in the spotlight and taking responsibility for your loyal followers, becoming a professional influencer could be perfect for you.
Would you like the financial freedom of working for yourself?
To not be tied down by rigid work hours or office dress codes, or having to stay in one place all the time?
Becoming an influencer can allow you to turn something you are passionate about into a career, basically getting paid to make content about something you enjoy.
Sounds like a good plan! That’s the promise that becoming an influencer holds.
But…
Ask these questions before you decide to become an influencer
Of course, all these benefits do not simply appear because you’ve decided that you’re going to do this.
Understand that if you become an influencer, you are turning yourself into a business. If you are serious about earning the benefits, you have to be serious about the work, too!
So, before you start, please ask yourself the following questions:
Are you willing to do what it takes?
As an influencer, you’re going to have to do a lot of tasks:
Creating your strategy
Dressing up
Filming your content
Editing
Writing captions
Scheduling your content
Publishing
Engaging with your audience
Promoting and managing your brand
Networking and reaching out
and much more. All this will take you a lot of time!
Are you willing to make that investment?
Will you have the patience that’s required to grow your brand?
Again, it will take time to grow your followers and build up an empire – your piece of the web – as an influencer. That’s where you’ll need the patience to keep executing your strategy and keep publishing, even when your audience is not yet as big as you want it to be.
Do you have the passion and motivation to keep serving your audience?
If you want to be an influencer who is successful long-term, you need to find a way to stay motivated – you owe it to your followers.
You can do this if you have passion for the topic you’re making content about and you genuinely want to help and entertain the audience.
Ask yourself: Is that you?
What will it take for you to make enough money to be able to make this a full time gig, or at least a solid side hustle?
Be realistic and set a sensible goal – and you won’t be caught off-guard later when the numbers don’t match what you were hoping for right away.
(This is if you have several thousand engaged followers who love you, and you manage to connect with brands who feel that your content is a good fit.)
Now you can do the math and see how much work it would take to make the income that you’re aiming for. Of course, as you grow your reach and your authority, you will be able to command higher rates.
What type of influencer do you want to be? Nano, Micro, Macro, or Mega?
In influencer marketing, bigger isn’t always better.
Brands are starting to see the value of smaller influencers – they have higher engagement and the trust of their followers.
This means that even as a smaller influencer, you will be able to get brand deals that make you good money.
“The findings of four experimental studies show that micro-influencers (those who have 10,000 to 100,000 followers) are more persuasive than mega-influencers (those who have more than 1 million followers) because endorsements by micro-influencers (versus mega-influencers) bestow higher perceptions of authenticity on the endorsed brand, which ‘rubs off’ from the perceptions regarding influencer authenticity.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2021.1980470
The different sizes of influencer you could become are:
Nano-influencer: Under 5k followers. This is where you will probably start out. Examples: Debora Sarai in the DIY and home niche. Alenis Lima in the beauty/fashion and lifestyle niche.
Micro-influencer: 5k-100k followers. Examples: Adela Smajic in the Beauty/fashion, lifestyle and travel niche. Alayah Pilgrim in the sports, health and fitness niche. Carlo Janka in the sports, outdoors and family niche.
Macro-influencer: 100k-1m followers. As your following grows, more opportunities will come in, but it will also take more time and effort to manage your brand. Examples: Kevin Lütolf in the fashion and technology niche. Zoë Pastelle in the fashion and entertainment niche. Zeki aka Zekisworld in the comedy and automotive niche.
Mega-influencer: Over 1 million followers.
These are typically actors, musicians, and other A-list celebrities.
Your content might never get you into this category (and maybe you don’t even want that), but if you do, hey, good luck! Also, you might make up to $1 million per sponsored post!
Have you answered these questions to clarify what lies ahead on your path to becoming an influencer on social media?
Then you’re ready to get started!
We’ve created this roadmap to help you on your way, and to get you to the point where you can call this your job! Maybe you’ll even end up working with us in the future. Let’s dive into your journey.
How to get started as an influencer
Find your niche
We recommend that when you start your career on social media, you pick a niche. It makes sense to narrow down quite a bit.
What does that mean?
Especially in the beginning, you want to be known for your work in a specific space. That way, your audience will associate you with this space as you post more about it.
People are more likely to follow you if they know what to expect from your content.
Focus and fine-tune your niche, and it will be much easier to grow your followers and be seen as an expert in that niche.
Now, what niche should you pick?
Passion & Knowledge
If you have an existing passion – maybe even a good level of experience and skill – you could pick that to give yourself a head start and be more motivated to create content around that niche.
Popularity and Monetizability
From a business standpoint, it makes sense to find a niche that is trending or at least growing steadily and in which brands are willing to spend money to advertise.
We have compiled ten of the most popular and profitable social media niches for you below:
1. Technology
2. Fashion
3. Health & Fitness
4. Food & Cooking
5. Business & Making Money
6. Lifestyle
7. Beauty
8. Parenting
9. Pets
10. Travel
Find the one that aligns with your interests and knowledge, is popular and monetizable, and has an audience that you could engage with long term.
Choose the right platform to start
Which platform should you become an influencer on?
We recommend you start on just one platform – preferably the one where your audience spends the most time – so that you can focus and grow your following most effectively.
Of course, you can expand your business later and join multiple other platforms!
Try to understand who your audience is first:
Which age group are you targeting with your influencing campaign?
What’s their average income level?
What’s their gender, percentage-wise?
What’s their family situation?
What are their hobbies and interests?
Which circles and communities are they in?
The answers to these will guide you towards the platform you could start out on. As an example, if you’re in the knitting niche, you could start posting on Pinterest. If you’re a gamer, start a Twitch account. Model trains, Facebook. Etc. This information changes over time, and there are many factors to consider in selecting the right platform.
Following is a quick snapshot of which platforms make the most sense for you to be on as an influencer, depending on your niche:
Facebook: Widest adoption among all demographics, but is trending older, and a wealthier audience. Good for niches that have a middle-aged audience.
Twitter: Good for more intellectual niches such as writing, business, and self-improvement.
LinkedIn: The #1 platform if you want to become an influencer in the world of business and money making.
Pinterest: Mostly female audience. Perfect for arts & crafts, among others.
Instagram: A very visual platform that is perfect for many niches, including fashion, travel, food, and pets. The audience is slightly younger.
TikTok: Has the youngest audience. But the platform is now also becoming more interesting for older generations. Best if you are focused on your specific audience, and you are able to capitalize on trends.
Prepare your profile
After you’ve picked your niche and the platform you’re going to start out on, you’ll need to create and optimize your social media profile.
Switch to a business account
If you want to be an influencer, you should upgrade to a business account because it gives you a lot more possibilities – namely for analytics and monetization. You can create a business account in the profile settings of most networks, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Create a fantastic bio
When someone visits your profile, the first thing they see is your bio. You want to make sure you’re making a great first impression!
Your biography should explain your narrative in a compelling way. It should also include all relevant information about you, such as your full name, address, phone number, and areas of expertise.
Add a profile pic and banner/cover photo
You should also include a profile photo and a cover photo, as these are crucial components of your own brand identification.
People frequently recognize a social network profile by its profile photo, so choose one carefully. Also, make sure your face is visible, and the photo is high quality.
How to brand yourself as an influencer
What is your influencer personality? You should be able to pin-point the qualities and characteristics that set you apart from others in your niche on social media. People like to follow someone who has a strong and interesting personality.
It doesn’t mean you have to invent a new personality for yourself.
Ideally, you authentically express what’s interesting and special about you. Of course, with social media, you will want to emphasize the most compelling aspects of your personality, but you should never be fake.
Simply go more into what already makes you special naturally.
Your personal brand
You also want to be thinking about creating your personal brand. This means you take your influencer personality and your angle on content and turn it into a recognizable brand.
How do you create your personal brand and make it stand out?
Convey a similar vibe with images and videos: They are created in a similar way, use the same filters etc.
Purposely use your own, consistent color scheme in your profile and your marketing materials.
Have your own way of talking and addressing your followers in your content and captions – brand tone is consistent
Have a special name for your followers
Create a logo and slogan that people recognize instantly
And most importantly, your personal brand is telling a story – one that is compelling and resonates with the audience.
Here’s what Antonella Patitucci, Actress, Presenter, Coach and Content Creator, had to say about how important it is that you tell stories as an influencer:
“The value is in telling your own story and putting emotion behind it. Give the product a face so people can relate. Share your unique story and opinion. A product alone is a picture, but with you and your story, it’s like a movie.” We couldn’t agree more. So start telling a unique story, and you will start creating a strong personal brand for yourself that people will want to follow.
How to establish authority as an influencer
You’ve picked your niche, you’ve thought about your branding… now it’s time to build your expertise! Your goal should be to become an authority on the topic you’re making content on. You want your audience to look up to you, trust what you’re saying about the topic, and follow your recommendations.
How are you going to build your authority?
Study your niche
Start by researching everything that’s out there on your niche on the internet to get a good overview of what you’re going to make content about. Subscribe to relevant podcasts. Read any available books and print publications around the topic.
Establish your web presence
In addition to your social media profile, consider setting up your own website as well. This will give you another chance to advertise your personal brand and show off your portfolio. It’s a signal that you are a professional and will give you even more authority as an influencer.
Start networking in your industry
Go to conferences. Reach out to other influencers in your niche. Communicate, find peers and mentors, and collaborate with others. Not only will this make you an insider with even more knowledge about your niche, it will also increase your status
How to work when you’re an influencer
Now, how do you go about your daily work as an influencer? How do you know what to post, when to post it, and how often to post?
To keep up with creating content and to make sure that you have an awesome social media profile that keeps growing, we recommend that you first create a content strategy.
Your content strategy
First, establish a posting schedule. Decide how often you’re going to post in order to keep your followers engaged – while not burning yourself out. Keep in mind how much time creating just one social media post can take!
Then, decide on the types of content you’re going to be posting regularly. This can, and maybe should, be different types of posts on different days. Depending on the platform, you have the choice between:
Videos (short-form, long-form, stories)
Pictures
Audio
Infographics
Text
Finally, the content topic: What topics are you going to cover? What angle are you going to take with your content? Note all these things down in your strategy document. Now you know exactly what to post each week.
Study your analytics
Executing on the publishing strategy you just created is a great start – but it’s not everything. You should also learn from each post you make. Do this by studying your analytics. With a business account, you will have access to those statistics.
Each week, look at how your posts have performed.
How many people saw your post?
How much did they engage with it?
How many likes did it get?
If it was a sponsored post, did it resonate with people?
What could you do to make even better content next time?
How to grow and remain popular after you’ve become an influencer
Apart from your short-term strategy, be prepared to stay on top of the game in the long term.
How do you do that?
Nurture your community. Do this by running special campaigns, like challenges, surveys, and giveaways; fun initiatives that keep your audience on their toes and excited about hearing from you.
Know your audience intimately. Keep studying your followers. What are their goals? Their deepest desires? What makes them tick? Know all this… then try to satisfy those desires with your content!
Stay ahead of trends. If you always keep your personal brand relevant to the times, you won’t have to worry about people becoming bored with your content and unfollowing. On the contrary, you will keep them engaged with fresh stuff and your following will only keep growing!
Always engage & be present. You should treat your followers like your tribe, maybe even like a second family. This means you’ll always be there to reply to their comments, answer their questions and offer support.
“It’s easy to get blinded by vanity metrics such as big numbers of views and followers. It’s not about the number of followers you have. What matters is the quality of the connection you make with your audience.” – Marvin Sangines, Personal Branding Advisor at Kingfluencers
How to get paid as an influencer
We saved the most exciting part for last:
How you’re going to get paid and hopefully at some point make a full-time income as a social media influencer!
In most cases, this will mean that you’re going to be working with brands and promoting their products in your content.
How are you going to find those brands?
The first option is to make a list of brands you would like to work with. Then research their marketing department and email them about working together.
The other option is to apply to an influencer marketing agency, who usually has a large network of brands they work with. They’ll take on the work of contacting the brands that are the right fit for you. This should be at no cost to you, because the agency will get paid by them and not you. It’s a good option if you want to spare yourself the extra stress of having to find and pitch brands, on top of all the other tasks you have to do as an influencer.
How many followers do you need to start getting paid?
This differs, depending on your niche and other factors. We usually advise you to build your brand to at least 2500 followers and then apply for your first brand deals.
Let’s do it!
Is being an influencer worth it? We say absolutely yes – now that you know what goes into becoming one and how to do it, you can decide if it’s for you. Keep in mind that getting results is a process that takes time and effort. As a result, you shouldn’t expect to become a social media influencer overnight. However, if you continue to follow these guidelines, you will be able to become an influencer and earn money doing it.
In the dynamic world of modern marketing, the symbiosis of influencer content and performance marketing emerges as a powerful force. This approach entails a multifaceted strategy that melds the strengths of influencers, data-driven insights, and optimized ads. At its core, this methodology revolves around seamlessly integrating influencer content into performance campaigns, guiding potential customers towards online shops with finesse. Features like Instagram Shopping and Facebook Shop enhance the customer journey, optimizing the conversion process. This article explores the intricacies of this strategy, unraveling how it drives engagement and sales.
The Evolution of Performance Marketing with Influencer Content
Performance Marketing with Influencer Content, though not novel, has gained substantial traction in recent times. This method empowers advertisers to refine their marketing tactics, fostering user acquisition, brand recognition, and efficient return on ad expenditure. At its essence, creator-based performance marketing transforms authentic content generated by influencers and content creators into the driving force of performance campaigns. The resultant conversion-optimized ads propel sales in the domains of e-commerce and social commerce.
Harnessing Influencers and content creators in the Digital Era
In the contemporary digital landscape, social media has emerged as a dominant player in marketing. The convergence of influencer marketing with performance campaigns amplifies the efficacy of advertising strategies. Influencers and content creators wield the trust of their followers, endorsing products with research-backed integrity rather than contractual obligations. In contrast to celebrity endorsements, influencer marketing’s appeal lies in its laser focus on niche communities, facilitating profound engagement.
Crafting an Effective Creator-Based Performance Marketing Strategy
Within this realm, crafting an effective creator-based performance marketing strategy entails a multifaceted orchestration. The interplay of compelling content, astute audience targeting, and finely tuned ads constitutes the symphony of success. By assimilating influencers’ and content creators’ authentic perspectives, brands synthesize a resonant narrative that propels users towards online shops. This integration serves to humanize the marketing process, fueling engagement and driving conversions.
Empowering Campaigns with Influencer Creatives
In today’s digital tapestry, influencers and content creators have ascended to the role of modern storytellers. Their content possesses the rare ability to captivate and convert. Integrating influencer-generated content into performance campaigns taps into an authentic wellspring of relatability and trust. This integration imbues advertisements with an undeniable authenticity, fostering a seamless transition from interest to purchase. By embedding influencer and content creator insights into the journey, the trajectory from browsing to transaction becomes intuitive, catalyzed by the persuasive power of genuine endorsement.
Moreover, influencer content can be marketed on a much more authentic level. Which leads to the usage of diverse, creative and target group-oriented assets, instead of having to rely on or resort to monotonous, less authentic stock images. Customers are thus addressed on an emotional level, while at the same time a recognition value occurs, which increases the purchase potential immensely. This also leads to cost efficiency on the brand side, as the influencer and content creator campaigns created can simultaneously create a synergy for the usage and marketing on other channels.
A Seamless Path to Conversion
In bridging the inspiration-to-action gap, the pivotal role of influencer content takes center stage. Brands have leveraged ingenious features such as Instagram Shopping and Facebook Shop to facilitate frictionless conversion pathways. Merging influencer content with these tools elevates inspiration to actionable engagement. Audiences captivated by influencer- and content creator-endorsed products can seamlessly transition from captivating posts to tangible purchases. This harmonization ensures a seamless journey, transforming potential customers into steadfast advocates and fostering an enduring cycle of engagement and growth.
The Essence of Influencer Selection and Engagement
Optimal influencer and content creator selection is foundational to this approach. Establishing transparent agreements and briefing influencers and content creators on brand ethos are essential to fruitful collaborations. Legal safeguards and clear communication lay the groundwork. In scenarios where expertise is limited, partnering with agencies can streamline influencer and content creator interactions and campaign execution.
In Closing: Creator-Based Performance Marketing Unveiled
To summarize, the convergence of influencer content and performance marketing encapsulates a dynamic approach that intertwines storytelling with data-driven precision. Integrating influencer and content creator insights within this framework magnifies its impact. By aligning influencer and content creator expertise with e-commerce tools, brands sculpt a seamless journey from intrigue to conversion. This narrative-rich pathway augments user experiences, fuels engagement, and emboldens online sales, forging a harmony between authenticity and commerce.
