Why choosing an influencer to promote a product is more difficult than it seems: this is how Cocunat, a Spanish cosmetics brand with more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, does it
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Network marketing is very important for branding and product awareness, especially now, in times of pandemic. Since March, ecommerce has increased by 36% in Spain, the third fastest growing market in the world, according to an eMarketer report published in December.
Ecommerce is a trend that was already growing at double digits before the pandemic but has accelerated due to the lockdown and changing habits of consumers.
As a result, traditional companies can find great opportunities online. There are different ways to promote products on social networks and one of the most effective is influencer marketing.
But, although it may sometimes seem so, choosing an influencer to promote a campaign is not easy. Everything has an influence: from the subject matter to the relationship with their followers.
For Sara Werner, CEO of Cocunat, the most important thing is that the influencer's subject matter is related to the product. "For example, I'm not going to do a campaign with a very big influencer (...) if all their content is about fashion," she explains. "The user who follows them is looking to see fashion content."
Werner is the CEO and founder of Cocunat, an online toxin-free cosmetics brand that has a strong promotional strategy on Instagram, for which they rely on micro-influencers, consumers of the products, and non-regulatory models.
Cocunat's CEO explains that the way in which the influencer relates to that user also greatly influences the choice. "She may have a lot of followers, but her communication may not work the way I need it to," she explains.
"It's very important that you see and discriminate very well. It's no longer just the issue of engagement, or how many followers they have (...), but you have to see how they relate to your type of user."
Likewise, the type of photos in the Instagrammer's feed also helps determine if they are the right person to promote a product.
"Even if [the influencer] takes photos of all kinds, you realize that they have a trend. For example, they take really nice pictures, or they don't post close-up photos. Or they have more inspirational content," Werner specifies. "When you see their photos, you realize what kind of user is behind it."
The type of user will also determine the type of actions that work best. "Some people find that a contest works best for them, others find that a recommendation works best," says Werner.
Customers themselves, your best advertising
Werner explains that the brand's greatest advertising asset is its own customers, who record themselves testing the products and upload them to networks. The CEO explains that they do this in a spontaneous and altruistic way and that the company does not select them or ask them to do so.
"We all know that when you want to spread a message, the best thing to do is to write to big influencers or people who have a very large audience," she explains. "But if you want to captivate or make people fall in love, have engagement, and click with the customer, the best thing you can do is to trust your product and get word of mouth. Nowadays it's in the networks and you can do it".
Werner is referring to a more amateur type of content, recorded from home with a cell phone. "That is one of the secrets of user-generated content, this strategy that supports the consumer to be the one who abandons and pushes the brand," she explains, adding that although Cocunat makes use of all strategies, this is the one they are most focused on.
The company does share on social networks the content recorded by its customers, the CEO explains, but again emphasizes that they do not receive free products or a discount. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, do receive free products in exchange for content.
At the moment, the company does not have any referral program, but it does expect to launch one in the future. This type of strategy consists of encouraging customers to recommend the company's products in exchange for rewards.
Werner believes that micro-influencers are the most sincere in their opinions, as they do not receive any financial compensation for creating the content, but they also do not detract from the value of the opinion of the big influencers.
"There is usually always paid content, although that doesn't mean that influencer doesn't believe in the product. In fact, almost all of them try it first and then give you the review," she adds.
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