Influencers – do Internet celebrities really sell

In February 2017, the International Marketing Agency Tribe Dynamic announced the most influential blogger in the world. According to press reports Maffashion – Polish lifestyle online celebrity – has "earned" for the brands she promoted estimated $ 18 mln. The word "earned" here is quite a lot of simplification, because in reality it is about the so-called advertising equivalent, meaning the number determining how much the brand would have to spend on advertising in the traditional media channels in order to reach a given number of people. So it speaks more about coverage rather than actual sales. So the question arises, which many people considering working with an influencer have : Are online stars actually selling in real life?

It is not necessary to follow the fitness blogosphere in super detailed manner to find out about the spectacular success actions which involved influencers. Just to mention another great Polish example of magazine "Joy" which decided to reprint June issue after readers in first five days have bought more than half of whole issue with "Snapchat princess" on the cover, fitness and fashion influencer Deynn. So the obvious conclusion is: yes, influencers sell, but there is one "but" - in fact they are only a few who actually does that. So if you are thinking about posting a sponsored post by a blogger or vloger and you are already counting on future earnings, then it is better to cool down.

What's with that coverage?

It is true that the best bloggers are reaching a great number of audience and like to brag about it. It will probably be the first thing they mention in the offer for you in the "Why is it worth?" section. If you have already bought TV or radio campaigns for your brand, then the concept of coverage is known to you. And here is the first trap waiting. When you compare the statistics of popular online personalities with what they can offer to so-called traditional media, you can easily get the impression that bloggers have long overtaken TV.  The truth is, radio or TV coverage tells you what part of your target audience will come in contact with your message. The impressive figures of bloggers and vloggers speak of the number of people who will see the message as such. When your campaign's target audience does not exactly match the influencer's audience profile, it may be important for the performance of the entire campaign.

Credibility is more important than coverage

In this way, we reach the heart of the effectiveness of influencers. It’s definitely not about coverage - which was evidently proved by agency Mediakix provocation which bought pictures and likes for about $ 1,000, quickly created two false Instagram rising celebs accounts and then proved how easy it could be to convince advertisers to cooperate on the basis of artificially blown statistics. What makes the audience want to have, wear and eat the same as their idol is that they identify with him/her. Therefore, the success of your action will be determined by its’ credibility. In case of a campaign with a narrow target, a smaller blog may be a better choice but with more engaged community than the industry giant on whose profile you will find a mishmash of lifestyles.

Cooperate or not cooperate?

All of these aspects should not however discourage youfrom working with online influencers. Whether we want it or not, all kinds of bloggers, vloggers and instagrammers have grown to a powerful medium that cannot be ignored when planning your marketing. If you decide to go for it, be sure to align it with your social media accounts and stay consistent with the whole marketing strategy. Let such influencer be the part of a bigger campaign and while sending the newsletter through PerfectGym management system, posting on www or sending text messages – always plan ahead and be stay effective.