USING INFLUENCERS FOR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

A PRO OR CON. FOR BUSINESSES?

By Rasha Albani & Aymen Salman , Featuring Masa Thaer

Marketing in general can be overwhelming even for an experienced entrepreneur. Understanding different factors such as what platforms best suit your business, how to produce content in a language that speaks to your target audience and deciding how to brand yourself isn’t an easy endeavour. However, when done right, influencer marketing could really help you expand your outreach and in turn, your marketing ROI.

WHAT FACTORS TO LOOK FOR?

Think of an influencer as a tool to grow your business. Not every influencer has a background in marketing, a lot of the time, it is something they have grown to learn through experience; a lot of trial and error.

However, there are many means of choosing the right person to advertise your business and it does take a lot of hard work and research. You might have assumed at some point that a high following is the first thing to look for, but you’d be surprised to know that this doesn’t equate a good influencer. An influencer may have over a million followers, but his/her outreach doesn’t go beyond 30,000 people. Consider thoroughly studying their page, the feedback they recieve from their audience and what their level of interaction with their audience is. The right influencer is one that dedicates most of their effort in building relationships not only with clients, but with their audience. In other words, having credibility should be a mandatory factor to qualify as an effective influencer and that’s the tool you want to utilize to serve your business endeavours.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFLUENCERS

There are a variety of influencers, and you can make use of many of them for different purposes. For example, you have influencers with a particular expertise and working in a very specific field, meaning they most likely have prior-gained expertise in their field. You have macro influencers – those with a huge following, usually over a million. Their focus is usually vague, nothing in specific and they can be beneficial for expanding your audience outreach. Or you could opt for bloggers with a small, but very active following. These influencers have integrity with their communities and they usually do not accept to market products they do not have faith in, making them a popular choice with small businesses. We have featured a well-known local influencer, Masa Thaer who has provided us with some rich insight into what it is like working as an influencer in Iraq, especially as a woman.

WHAT IS THE MARKET LIKE FOR AN INFLUENCER IN IRAQ?

Iraq is still relatively new to the influencer scene. We still do not have a great number of bloggers and influencers, and maneuvering through the market has been a struggle, especially since it is still not considered a profession. But, it really is a profession in itself and the income is relatively high compared to other professions in the same field of marketing. Fees are negotiated based on the company requesting a marketing campaign. The bigger the brand, the higher the fee and vice versa.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS INVOLVED WHEN RUNNING AN INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGN?

Well, your page as an influencer is step one and most primary. The first impression in this case counts, and every time. The way your profile is structured and the type of content, down to the colours predominantly used are imperative to think carefully about. Once you have defined what is technically the branding of your profile, you need to think about the audience your campaign is targetting. For example, if you’ve been asked to promote a women’s fragrance, your target audience is mostly going to be women and you need to evaluate what posts have attracted most activity from your female followers. Is it your photographic content, reviews in the form of videos or something else entirely? Frequent analysis of your insights will help you determine how to well plan your campaign.

WHY SHOULD I MAKE USE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING INSTEAD OF PAID ADS OR OTHER FORMS OF MARKETING?

Influencers have more of an impact because they have a human touch. Sponsored advertisement for example, is a lot more forced. Influencers have an audience that have actively chosen to connect with them and therefore your campaign is more likely to be effective by making use of them. Also, in Iraq, social media has taken over with pretty much everything. We are turning to it for all kinds of things, even consumerism. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people have turned to social media pages on Facebook and Instagram to buy products, so it makes sense to market your products using social media. The first thing everyone does in the morning is open social media and we turn to it for all sources of information. When I first started out as an influencer, I was still in the process of learning how to form and navigate the relationships I make professionally to ensure both parties are happy. I wasn’t as decisive as I am now and that led to working with clients that I didn’t have a shared vision with and that’s really important. But with anything we start out with is going to have a trial and error process and I’ve learnt that having a shared vision, trust and communication with your clients as an influencer is just as important as everything else.

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WORKING AS AN INFLUENCER IN IRAQ AS A WOMAN?

IT WAS REALLY, REALLY HARD AND THAT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. NAVIGATING THROUGH OUR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS WASN’T AN EASY EXPERIENCE, BUT BREAKING SOCIAL BARRIERS NEVER IS. MY FAMILY WERE QUITE WORRIED ABOUT ME PURUSING THIS PROFESSION BUT WITH TIME, THEIR CONCERNS EASED A LITTLE AND THAT HELPED ME WITH MY CONFIDENCE. HAVING FAMILIAL SUPPORT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY SUCCESS AND I’LL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO THEM FOR SUPPORTING MY DECISION. I TOOK A RISK AND, SIMILARLY TO THE FIELD OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, MOST SUCCESSES ARE BORN OUT OF RISKS AND I CAN TRULY SAY MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN NO LESS DIFFERENT. I WAS TAUNTED ONLINE AND THAT HAPPENS EVEN TODAY, BUT IT DOESN’T AFFECT ME NEARLY AS MUCH AS IT DID IN THE BEGINNING. BUT I HAVE ALSO RECIEVED LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM OTHER WOMEN. MORE WOMEN ARE HAVING THE COURAGE TO FIND THEIR PLATFORM ONLINE AND PUT THEMSELVES OUT THERE AND THIS IS A NEW PHENOMENA IN IRAQ. PHOTOSHOOTS WEREN’T A THING FOR WOMEN, ESPECIALLY ON PUBLIC PLATFORMS, BUT NOW YOU CAN SEE THEM EVERYWHERE. THIS ALSO IMPLIES THAT FAMILIES ARE GRADUALLY CHANGING AND OPENING UP. I HOPE IT CONTINUES TO INCREASE WITH TIME. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST FAILURE AS AN INFLUENCER AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?