FINDING A NICHE
How influencing consumers became specialised
Being an online influencer is mightier than the sword these days. With a certain number of social media followers and the ability to assert opinions, theoretically anyone can become one. But it is not easy to sustain power if the influencer cannot maintain focus.
Besides trying to be different, online influencers must have their unique selling points, be consistent in the field and stay tuned to their direction, said Suvita Charanwong, CEO and co-founder of Tellscore, an automated micro-influencer platform, in an exclusive interview with Life.
Micro-influencers are those who operate in niche markets.
Consumers nowadays are likely to listen to influencers, rather than brand advertising, before deciding which product or service they are to opt for. Influencers are thus one of the key factors significant to brands and marketers.
Some micro-influencers relate and communicate directly with consumers because they are also consumers and speak from their perspective rather than as corporate mouthpieces. This is their real power.
Compared to bigger marketing heavyweights, there are many diverse and niche micro-influencers, offering a direct line of communication straight to market. Micro-influencers, according to Tellscore, are anyone who has around 5,000 to 10,000 followers.
Suvita said there are several categories of content and influencers based on people’s interests, such as fashion, food and drink, travel, health, property, investments, and so forth — each category can have a number of followers varying from 5,000 up to millions.
“Consumers these days are likely to follow niche content. This leads to what we call subcultures. Such general categories ‘food and travel’, for example, are no longer interesting, for instance, while exclusive clean food gains more followers,” she said.
Suvita, who has been in marketing and advertising for almost 20 years, found that the figures representing the brands have been evolving — from celebrities to net idols to today’s influencers.
“To be able to keep their followers, they must be really influential without losing their focus. That means they must be consistent in the way they send their message.”
For example, if they position themselves as an influencer for travelling alone, they must be consistent in producing interesting content, and should not distort their brand by presenting something else.
Micro-influencers should also know about technology or tools that make their content stunning — techniques like cinematography and vertical video are now popular for video-producing.
“Vertical video has become more popular than the widescreen format normalised by cinema and television. Clips of seven-second video and vertical video are now gaining acceptance, and the micro-influencers should pay attention to the changing technology of content production.”
The CEO pointed out that influencers will not replace news agencies. Their role is almost comparable with the news agency, but consumers still rely on the mainstream media. Influencers are like a validation medium for audiences to cross-check the mainstream media.
There are many micro-influencers in Thailand, but they are not on the radar of marketers and brands.
“We take advantage of this phenomena, by being a powerful digital tool that enhances business reach and conversion through social-media channels. We enable micro-influencers to earn and brands to benefit by expressing genuine opinions and authentic branded content online,” she said.
Tellscore utilises micro-targeting technology, allowing brands to customise the number of micro-influencers they work with based on their areas of expertise, size of followers, and most importantly engagement rates that works as an automated system directly connecting brands and micro-influencers.
The incorporation of algorithms creates a Tellscore that is not only effective but measurable, projecting a preview of the exposure brands are likely to receive from the budget of their choice, with wide-yet-precise digital targeting.
Besides just number of followers, consumer engagement matters too.
A successful marketing campaign relies heavily on the level of engagement, proven to be best-garnered by micro-influencers. Micro-influencers add credibility to brands through the role of a trusted friend that can earn them anywhere between 100-50,000 baht for a content share or product review, depending on their level of engagement and number of followers.
Tellscore today has more than 20 million reachable audience members in every field altogether, and expects to reach up to 30 million by connecting micro-influencers with top brands via the platform. There are around 3,000 micro-influencers working on the platform of Tellscore, and the number is expected to reach 10,000 by the end of this year.
Micro-influencers are vital because of the extent of social media engagement. In Asia, Thailand is leading the way with 47 million Facebook users, accounting for nearly 70% of the population. According to Facebook, in Southeast Asia that figure is around 241 million users. In just over a year, Instagram users in Thailand have risen from 3.2 million to 9 million. Southeast Asia is gathering pace at an impressive rate when it comes to online connectivity.
Tellscore’s campaign-management tool assists both brands and influencers in managing their busy schedules when launching a campaign. The platform helps reduce campaign-setup time for brands, and provides influencers with a scheduled timeline for sharing their content. Both Thai- and English-language micro-influencers are being actively sought prior to the Thailand launch.
Tellscore is widening its digital reach in Thailand and potentially beyond by the end of 2017. The company has invested 50 million baht towards this platform, which includes design and development, licensing costs and other technology fees.
Micro-influencers range from individuals and bloggers with 500-10,000 followers and A-lists such as movie-review page Nang-Prod-Kong
Kha-Prajao; news synopsis page Job-Khao, travel page Sapai-Pae, soccer page Tem-Khor, dining and travel page Pai-Donnnn and beauty page Cocopsy
che, along with many more.
Consumers these days are likely to follow niche content. This leads to what we call subcultures. Such general categories ‘food and travel’, for example, are no longer interesting, for instance, while exclusive clean food gains more followers