Which platforms should you work with influencers on?

Influencer marketing remains, as ever, one of the most promising forms of online marketing.

As a broad concept, it encompasses not only a wide range of creators and advertisers, but also collaboration platforms, each with its own distinct character. Choosing them when planning and launching an influencer marketing campaign is just as important as choosing the right influencer – the brand’s temporary representative.

Virtual territories of collaboration

When planning an influencer marketing campaign, you need to think carefully about the advertising needs of your brand or product. Whether your goals are strictly sales targets or, say, improving the image of your company, you should pay particular attention to choosing an influencer based on the online platforms they communicate on. These platforms differ in how they are used and gather diverse social groups, which must be taken directly into account when defining and seeking out the target audience of a planned influencer campaign.

An empire built with an influencer’s help

Building consumer awareness, recommending the right products, well-thought-out business promotion and all kinds of creative advertising activity run by influencers are hugely important from the marketing world’s point of view. Using someone’s image in advertising is nothing new, but in marketing campaigns involving influencers the essence lies in shortening the distance between the influencer and the community gathered around them.

The advertising is more “human”, accessible and credible, because it is based on the recommendation of an influencer who most often becomes an authority or idol for their followers.

This happens because the creator invites followers into their private world through their social media profiles. The influencer sets no visible boundaries and gives no impression of being out of reach; they identify with their audience, creating a space open not only to observation but also to dialogue.

Social media has become part of everyday life for a huge part of society. Living and acting in the virtual network has a direct, powerful influence on real-world behaviour – and influencers skilfully shape some of it. These two spheres are tightly coupled, which, from the perspective of online advertising, including influencer marketing, creates an invaluable field for communicating, recommending, selling, inspiring, informing… But how do you harness the potential of a brand and match the right communication platform to it?

Instagram – an unlimited archive of images

Influencers on Instagram work mainly with images – the written copy attached to visual content is usually brief and to the point. Posts are tagged with hashtags – on this platform they have led the way from the very start, defining the categories of the photos that appear. It is no accident that influencers have taken to Instagram – it can quickly gather a broad, diverse audience and keeps adding new ways to communicate. Playing with images prompts quick reactions from followers – what matters is that those reactions are in line with the vision and objectives.

YouTube – a film script for advertising

As the “homeland” of online video, so to speak, YouTube has not stopped being used and never will. Its value lies in countless minutes of films and clips. Many creators – vloggers and streamers – have built huge careers and made a great deal of money on their YouTube channels. In their videos they included all sorts of tips or product placements, which translated into substantial earnings – for them, but above all for the owners of the companies whose products were being advertised. Video marketing in the form of influencer marketing is a synergy of new trends and tried-and-tested marketing tools.

Facebook – (un)familiar faces of advertising?

The social network grew quickly and widely – and it still has not stopped, while ads remain as ubiquitous and as popular on it as ever. Influencers active on Facebook publish strategically planned, crafted and scheduled posts, videos and sponsored updates. Facebook is very flexible when it comes to promotional activity, and influencers make full use of it, constantly coming up with new, ever more sophisticated forms of content. Facebook offers a wide spectrum of ways for users to “react”. Beyond likes, emoji and comments, it provides ample room for discussion in a sizeable public forum.

TikTok – a complete set of short-form content

The platform is most popular above all among young people. It stands out for its wide reach and the relatively low cost of advertising. Influencers not only publish short, dynamic videos, but above all meticulously thought-out, inventive video content that catches the eye and holds the audience’s attention. The TikTok community soaks up content like a sponge – the influencer’s key task is to stand out properly amid a sea of message-packed videos.