By Mical Imbukwa
The digital space is speedily taking over business and this births a need for online presence. To increase presence therefore, most established businesses choose to work with influencers who have a huge presence online, so as to tap in their numbers. As it turns out, numbers are just but a factor.
According to Esther Akoth (Akothee), a musician, influencer and CEO Akothee Safaris, not everyone with a huge following is an influencer. As she puts it, there are people with numbers as low as 10,000 who drive sales and others with millions but don’t give any impact on the brands they are working on.
“Influencing needs skills and marketing background. It is not about holding a product every minute or placing it on the table for the client to see.” she says.
It is according to Akothee about bridging the gap between the manufacturer and the consumer. Introducing the product to the consumer and going as far as making sure that the product is perfect for consumption.
There are strategies involved in Product placement. Noise will apply on some products while on some, class and lifestyle will be required. You can’t for instance expect to see a brand ambassador in a toilet holding tomato source. In Akothee’s view, that will be ridiculous or even worse, disgusting. It would make so much sense if the influencer in the toilet held tissue paper.
Corporates engaging influencers on short timelines of between 1-3 months should know that unfortunately, that arrangement cannot yield sales in most instances. “For you to get value for your money, you have to aim for a minimum of 6 months or 1 year,” she notes.
This is what is involved in the first three months of influencer marketing according to Akothee:
- The first month involves the influencer getting acquainted with the product so as to come up with a proper strategy of introducing it to the market. In most instances the strategy has to do with content.
- In the second month, the influencer strategically introduces the product to the market. Here, the three brands involved have to merge (corporate, ambassador and consumer).
- Product monitoring is done in the third month. This is through engagement with consumers to get their views on the product
Even though digital marketing is not an instant success, corporates are reminded on the importance of getting monthly reports from influencers. This according to Akothee will enable them to ascertain how, where and when the product was aired.
The popular musician commended Kenyan influencers on the good job they are doing.
