The influencer marketing market in Poland is developing dynamically, and brands spend more money increasingly on cooperation with online creators. Since 2020, only 36% of brands did not increase spending on influencer marketing. More and more brands and agencies, including small and inexperienced ones, are starting to get involved in influencer marketing. Unfortunately, due to the growing popularity of this tool, the difference between professional, strategic influencer marketing and mindless spending on cooperation with creators is deepening.
So, when does influencer marketing stop being just an “add-on” to brand advertising and become a full-fledged and, above all, measurable element of the communication strategy? How to define KPIs and monitor the effects of such cooperation?
Forms of cooperation with Polish influencers
There are various forms of cooperation with creators in the Polish market. Unfortunately, many people unknowingly reduce the entirety of influencer marketing to just one tool. Of course, it is about the most popular form of cooperation with famous people, i.e. product placement. In Polish influencer marketing, it most often takes the form of YouTube videos dedicated to a given brand (an option with a higher budget) or a short mention of the brand or product in one of the creator’s materials (an option with a lower budget).
This solution works great in sales activities, but it is certainly not the best option for huge, recognizable brands. Especially if we care about long-term collaboration. So, what to invest in if we want to bet on a long-term relationship with an influencer?
Ambassador program. It is a multi-month brand campaign with the participation of a properly selected influencer (although, more often, it is a mix of different creators). Examples of ambassador campaigns from Poland include: “Cały internet przechodzi do Play” [The whole Internet switches to Play], “To jest Pepsi dla Was” [This is Pepsi for you] or most of the influencer campaigns of the Coca-Cola brand. It can become successful if it is properly planned, interesting enough for the recipients, and involves well-chosen creators
Own brand channel. The largest possible video project (usually on YouTube) that a brand can implement. If it is properly planned, interesting enough for the recipients, and involves well-chosen creators, it can become successful. This can be seen, for example, on channels such as: “Studio Tymbark”, “Urodomaniaczki” (Hebe) or KuchniaLidla.pl.
Subformat. Periodic special episodes on the influencer’s channel, with the partnership of a given brand. Examples are ample: “Warka na 5” on the channel “5 sposobów na” or “Smakuj Życie” (Mirinda) in collaboration with Agnieszka Grzelak.
Video campaign. That is a classic advertisement, but with the participation of an influencer. For example, the Hatchimals brand in cooperation with Hejka tu Lenka, the Samsung commercial with Wojciech Sokół or the RTV Euro AGD spot with the youtubers Abra, Wojan and Klauduś can be mentioned here.
Such influencer campaigns do not happen by chance. Before you start planning, consider:
What goals does the brand want to achieve?
What tools will be appropriate to measure them?
What key indicators to monitor current performance will be the best?
To put it simply, you need to set a campaign goal and define and operationalize a variable.
How to evaluate the effectiveness of an influencer marketing campaign?
Reputation can have a direct impact on the condition of the entire brand. After all, building a positive image affects its recognition, builds loyalty, strengthens (or changes) its perception in customers' eyes, affects the appropriate positioning, and ultimately also the purchase intention. An influencer strengthens the authenticity of communication, 92% of social media users declare that they trust other people’s recommendations (even if they do not know them) more than content from the brand itself.
No wonder that brand image goals are so important in this type of campaign. Influencers are the perfect tool to help you achieve them. How? Well-known and liked creators can transfer their features to a given brand (the so-called transfer and halo effect). If we identify a given influencer with luxury, the brand it advertises will be perceived in the same way.
How to choose influencers in terms of brand image building?
There are several different methodologies on the market: InfluScore developed by InfluTool, Influence Index by Sotrender or Influence Power Index designated by MediaCom media group. Owing to such single indicators, it is easier to rank influencers in terms of their strength and choose the right mix for our campaign. It is worth taking care of this before starting any activities.
Influencer marketing and PR in Poland
In e-commerce, the impact of influencers’ actions on sales can be relatively easy to measure. How do you measure the effect of a campaign on a brand’s public relations? How to increase the positive impact of collaboration with an influencer on the brand image?
1. Make the influencer an ambassador
In order to make the best use of the PR potential of collaboration with influencers, it is worth rejecting thinking in the category of product placement or one-time action. It is better to treat the creator as a long-term brand ambassador. Thanks to this, in addition to creating content, it will represent the brand in the media (which, after all, would rather invite a well-known YouTuber than a representative of the brand).
2. Use the PR tools
Other PR tools should be added to the campaign carried out with creators: create a press release and plan follow-up to increase your communication reach. The rule of thumb is to give the campaign a broader context, too (e.g. educational or social). A great example of such a solution is the campaign of the Durex brand on the Matura to Bzdura channel. Its “higher” goal was sex education. As a result, the media called this the “Educational campaign of the Durex brand”. Two in one.
3. Monitor campaign progress
In order to monitor the effects of the campaign, we need tools to capture mentions and articles in the media, the reach of earned media or the sentiment of comments. Using more advanced tools, we can measure the brand's image and, for example, the change in consumer attitudes after watching the material with the influencer.
How to measure the effectiveness of campaigns on a brand’s own channel?
The brand’s own channel on YouTube allows you to keep the viewer’s attention for longer and ensure maximum exposure of the brand. By drawing consumers into the created world of the brand, it is possible to shape their attitudes, build relationships and loyalty, and appropriately model the brand image.
Measuring such benefits is not an easy task, but with the right methodology, it is possible. Some Polish tools and research houses provide research on the effectiveness of campaigns with influencers and brand activities on YouTube.
Key indicators, or how to determine the KPI of influencer campaigns?
Once the goal of the campaign and how to measure its achievement have been clearly defined, it’s time for the final stage. It is the ongoing monitoring of the campaign's effectiveness throughout its duration.
Here it is important to set critical indicators (KPIs):
In the case of content positioning campaigns, it is, for example, changing the position in the Google search engine.
In brand awareness campaigns (such as an ambassador program), reach is key. Remember, however, that it can never be the total number of fans, followers or subscibers, but views of specific content in a specific target group.
In video marketing campaigns, this will be VTR (which determines what percentage of ads displayed on YouTube were not missed).
Reactions to materials, comments and interaction rate, which show how engaging the content that influencers created as part of the campaign is. Don’t forget, however, that the reactions themselves to the content most often come from an unrepresentative group, and the views do not say anything about the frequency of the recipient’s contact with the message or its duration.
In the case of a brand’s own channel, one of the most important indicators is watch time. This is the most “organic’ indicator because the viewing time is consciously spent here – YouTube is not an accompanying medium, i.e. consumed in the background without the viewer’s attention. Watch time distinguishes good content (which wins the viewer’s attention) from all the rest.
Influencer marketing is often referred to as a new phenomenon. In fact, it is only new in terms of scale and methods by which celebrities reach their audience. Therefore, professional influencer marketing is neither an experiment of the 21st century nor an innovation. Thanks to the Internet, it has become a measurable, standardized, and effective tool for achieving business goals, both for global corporations and brands.
If you're looking to take your influencer marketing efforts to the next level and want expert guidance on defining and monitoring your KPIs, consider reaching out to our PR agency in Poland. We can help you create a customized influencer campaign that aligns with your business goals and ensures you get the most out of our partnership.
Feel free to request a free consultation with the experts at Awesome PR girls using the button below.