INFLUENCER MARKETING AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR PROMOTING PRODUCTS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

Abstract

For the past few years, influencer marketing is becoming more and more common in fields of innovative technologies and new tools of marketing communications. Influencer marketing constitutes involvement of opinion leaders or agents of influence on social networks aimed at attracting attention of a target audience and dissemination of advertising information. The key advantages of using this innovative marketing communications tool in the company's marketing activities are: effective informing of the target audience about the unique characteristics of the product, peculiarities of its consumption, shaping the product / brand's consumer value, forming the necessary perception of the target audience, information obtained through direct communication of the target audience with opinion leaders, enables the company to follow market trends. The article defines the stages of marketing activities oriented towards the direct or hidden influence on a target audience with the help of opinion leaders. At the first step, marketers should determine the purpose of marketing influence. At the second step, it is necessary to build a profile of a target audience, applying demographic, psychographic and behavioural features. At this step, marketers should do a consumer survey aimed at determination of a profile of a person, who has earned the confidence of representatives of a target audience and will affect them. The third step contemplates the search and assessing aspiring candidates for the position of an agent of influence. The next step consists in establishing a relation with the selected candidate, obtaining consent to collaboration. At the fifth step, marketers should involvement of the influencer in creation of an advertising concept. At the sixth step, advertising messages through a profile of an influencer are posted. The last step encompass such measures: analyzing feedbacks of a target audience and its activeness; an influencer involves followers in a discussion in order to determine their attitude to a brand, peculiarities of consumption, identification of factors impeding potential consumers to make a buying decision. According to the consumer survey, distinguish certain personal and behavioral characteristics of consumers who has positive attitude to promoting new products by opinion leaders on the Internet and who are potential audiences of influencer marketing were identified in the article.