September 14, 2020 | 10 Min Read
From print to digital, marketing has changed dynamically and exponentially thanks to the technological advancements. While word-of-mouth remains one of the most powerful marketing mediums, a digital ‘flavor’ has been added to this – Influencer Marketing. Used by 93% of marketers across the globe, Influencer Marketing has gained prominence, particularly over the past three years.
The “How” and “Why” of Influencer Marketing
This form of digital marketing calls for Social Media Influencers to endorse brands. These influencers create content and post it on their Social Media accounts. Consumers, who are on these social media platforms, tend to trust influencers more than even celebrity brand endorsements and advertisements as they are believed to be more authentic. Influencer Marketing has been on the rise in the recent past years and many businesses across the globe are in the advanced stages of this form of marketing.
UAE has one of the largest no. of social media influencers in the world with fans across the Middle East region and around the world. One of the most popular influencers, of course, is Huda Khattan who started off as an influencer in Dubai and then went on to create what is now a multi-million-dollar beauty brand, Huda Beauty. Many retailers, beauty and cosmetics, food & beverage brands have utilized the strengths of these influencers to engage with consumers. However, very little creativity has been shown by the insurance industry in utilizing this marketing firm to build a connection with their consumers.
By incorporating influencer marketing in your insurance brand’s marketing stack of activities, you reach a captive audience, garner sales traction, and develop brand loyalty. The key to using this form of marketing is the selection of the right Influencer for your business or brand.
Steps to help you build your Social Media Influencer strategy
Choosing the right influencer is very important when it comes to endorsing your brand. The influencer needs to understand the nuances of insurance, interpret and convert it into interesting content for their audience.
- Identify the target audience
To identify your target audience and see which social media platform they prefer. Research the products and services that your target audience follows. Is there a particular trend in their following? What kind of content do they usually like? List down the influencers that are popular among that target group. - Campaign objective
Once you have identified your target audience, set your campaign objective. Is the campaign meant to market a new insurance product? Is it to promote the add-ons of an existing product? Do you want this to be an audience engagement activity or drive sales/leads? By setting a specific objective or goal, it will be easier to recognize the right influencer for your insurance brand. It will also help give a relevant message to potential customers. - Influencers role
Define the role of the influencer in your campaign. What are your expectations when it comes to marketing your products and services? What kind of content response do you expect from the influencer? Is there any specific training that they need to go through or additional duties they need to comply with during the campaign? Clearly defining the influencer’s role will make it easier to search for the influencers that will benefit your brand. - Search for the ideal influencer
There are 2 ways to look for the best-suited insurance influencer –manual and/or online resources.
a. Manual Search: You can search for an influencer using hashtags on Instagram. Hashtags that are relevant to your brand, product, and services can help identify the most popular social media posts on that topic. You can further consult your brand followers/community and existing clients to list the popular social media personalities that they follow.
b. Online Resources: The accessibility of endless online resources can also get us closer to our marketing goals! You can make use of online tools to scour the influencer profile to find that perfect Influencer. You can look for a suitable influencer with a tool called Awario by monitoring keywords across social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, blogs, and news articles). All you need to do is choose the keywords related to your industry and put them on this tool. Klear is another tool specifically dedicated to influencer marketing, which uses a wide range of social data to find influencers. BuzzSumo and Traackr are more such tools to find the right-fit influencer or your brand.
c. Seek help: FWD works with multiple macros, micro and nano influencers to help you identify right influencers to suit your target audience and your brand. We have a unique advantage of understanding both the financial services sector and the UAE social media landscape deeply to be able to advise insurers appropriately to harness the power of social media influencers. - Check Social Media Engagement
Don’t be blindsided by the number of followers that the influencer has. Consider factors such as consistency of the posts, and whether the influencer’s followers are amongst your target audience. Check the number of likes and comments their posts receive. Having an influencer with 10K followers and an average of 900 likes per post is better than having one with 50K followers and an average of 100 likes per post. Frequency of interaction with the audience and publishing of posts as per media schedule are important factors to be considered as well. - Overall Influencer image
The influencer you will choose will be the face of your brand on social media. You cannot have an influencer who is disreputable in any way, to be the face of your brand. Neither can you have someone who clashes with the image your brand wants to portray? Influencers are not your shortcut to fame. To ensure credibility, you must consider the influencer’s image aside outside the social media space.
It is imperative that you give ample attention to the process of selection and on-boarding of an Influencer as consumers want to hear from people that they admire and respect.
Get in touch with us, if you need the support in unlocking the impact influencers can drive to your business.