What Does a Brand Influencer Actually Do?

This is not an unexpected question, even when asked by people who have already realized the need to use influencer marketing. The notion gets tossed about all the time, but can we define what a brand influencer really does on a daily basis? Are they limited to taking nice photos and attending different events? Not necessarily.

Actually, the situation is more complicated than that. Knowing what the true function of a brand influencer is, one can easily collaborate with them or the entire team.

Beyond Just Posting Pictures — The Function of a Brand Influencer

Firstly, the term suggests that a brand influencer utilizes their influence to advertise the products/services of a company or its event. However, it would be a mistake to think that this explanation says it all.

Not only do they have to advertise the brand, but they have to be interpreters translating the messages of the company into something more understandable and relatable to their audience.

What makes an excellent influencer? Firstly, the influencer needs to have a loyal audience who listens to what he/she has to say. Secondly, the influencer must be capable of telling the story in such a way that the listener will take some sort of action after listening to the story.

Creating Organic Content

One of the primary tasks of a brand ambassador is to create content. But there is one crucial point regarding this aspect: the content needs to be organic on the particular platform they operate on.

This means that influencers are always busy making things happen:

• – Photos and short-form video content such as Instagram Reels and TikTok videos showcasing the brand in a real-life setting.
• – Long-form content like review videos on YouTube, vlogging about the brand or even long-form content on websites.
• – Live streams featuring the influencer interacting live with their followers and featuring a brand or service.
• – Campaign-related content that builds urgency around the campaign using stories or other forms of ephemeral content.

The difference between an average influencer post and a good one is how natural the integration of a brand is in the context of the content created. People are perceptive – it doesn’t take much for someone to figure out if it looks like a brand plug rather than an honest review.

Related: Here’s how a KOL can benefit a brand

According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, 63% of people trust influencers’ content more than branded content itself as long as it’s authentic. And it’s usually very much so – influencers work hard to make their content authentic.

Building and Building up the Audience – The Core of Their Worthiness

Each influencer of the brand usually spends a couple of years building up their audience through continuous posting, engaging and commenting back with their audiences, collaborating with other influencers, and developing their niches. They don’t just wait around for something to happen without putting in any effort on their part.

In the country of Malaysia, in particular, there has been quite some development in the number of social media influencers in the last five years. Influencers belonging to various niches such as fashion/lifestyle, technology, travel, food, and entertainment have emerged in the social media platform like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. As per We Are Social’s study of the year 2023, there are more than 29 million users of social media in Malaysia.

That is the audience behind the influencer’s power. Without this, the position doesn’t even exist. But with this, they form a straight line between themselves and the audience who have consciously decided to listen.

Representing the Brand — Virtual and Actual

The position of a brand influencer is not limited to virtual interaction. As time passes, partnerships with these individuals evolve into actual space — and that’s when the position becomes exciting for the events and experiences industry.

At branded activations, product launches, and actual events, the brand influencer holds two positions at once. They are there as participants, creating content firsthand, and they are there as representatives, dictating the experience of an event they were never a part of through thousands of followers’ eyes.

This is one aspect that Kollysphere recognizes and incorporates into its event strategy. The value of influencers goes beyond the simple guest appearance as they are incorporated into the narrative of the event. It allows for content creation of a higher calibre that comes from a sense of believability and energy that simply isn’t captured by regular promotional activities.

The live aspect of influencers creates authentic engagement through the use of content such as reactions and excitement that simply isn’t achievable through typical advertising.

Driving Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion

Essentially, a brand influencer funnels the attention of their followers through the marketing funnel – all in one post!

Firstly comes awareness. An influencer acquaints his followers about a brand, product, or event. There could be many who have not seen the brand at all before in their lives. Such a first contact from someone whom they trust creates an impression in their minds.
Another step that comes under consideration is consideration. The influencer ensures that his viewers get information from him via his content to form opinions. It is either if the product will fit me or whether I need to attend the event.

Conversion concludes the entire process with the use of some incentives, such as discount codes or offers for limited time periods. Or even if there are no incentives offered, the presentation of the influencer makes them convert to purchases or attend the event.

The entire process is why a brand influencer plays such a pivotal role in the success of your partnership. Some websites may succeed in covering some steps from the funnel process but not all of them. The influencer brand covers the whole funnel process in just one campaign.

Balancing Brand Consistency With the Voice of the Influencer

This is an issue faced by all brands using influencers for their social media marketing campaigns. Brands demand consistency – correct messaging, tone and branding, while at the same time, influencers need creative freedom because otherwise the content will appear forced and the audience will be turned off.

The most successful cooperation of the brand with the influencer is when there is a balance of setting some strict rules regarding what the content should convey, the subjects discussed, the objectives of the campaign and what cannot be done. The influencer gets all this information and creates his/her unique content according to these rules.

It is necessary to keep this balance since, in case of giving too much freedom, content becomes not relevant at all. In case the brand gives too many limitations to the influencer, content is artificial. Yet, when this balance is found, both sides benefit from the deal – the brand gets good content and the influencer gets involved into promoting his/her brand.

This skill of Kollysphere agency in managing influencer-brand collaboration.

Measuring Results and Sharing the Data

What may be surprising to some is that not only are brand influencers passionate about their roles, but they are also data-savvy. Professional influencers closely monitor the following metrics related to their work: reach, impressions, engagement rate, click-through rate, story views, and conversion.

It is important to note here that the demand for measuring performance is increasing among brands when collaborating with influencers. Posting once and leaving is no longer acceptable – there is now an increased level of accountability. It is now important that the influencers provide evidence of the value that they create and prove that their partnership with the brand was productive in terms of financial gain. The metrics used to do so include the following:

• – Reach and impressions – the number of people exposed to the content
• – Engagement rate – the percentage of audience interaction
• – Click-through rate – the number of people who responded to the CTA
• – Saves and shares – measures the worthiness of content posted
• – Conversion tracking – linked to purchase/sign-up using unique links or codes

Professionalization has significantly impacted influencer marketing practices.

Strategic Layer – Long Term Brand Ambassadorship

Aside from single campaigns, some brand influencers function as long term brand ambassadors. This entails a much deeper level of collaboration since the influencer will be connected with the brand in a sustained manner over a long period of time.

What such a partnership brings about is the element of familiarity, something that cannot be bought but cultivated through time. An influencer’s engagement with a brand, through repeated exposure, creates familiarity with the brand to the point that it becomes almost organic in its connection with the influencer.

For the purposes of promoting Kollysphere events, cultivating relationships with such influencers will provide another layer of authenticity to everything else they do through their campaigns.

What role do brand influencers play, however?

Firstly, much more than you would expect.

They create content, generate communities, tell brand stories, experience and cover events, deliver results, and maintain connections with their audiences that the brand itself cannot build.

This is an activity that requires imagination, planning, and the ability to communicate. And when brand influencers are employed effectively by brands – with a proper brief, proper collaboration, and proper KPIs – they are incomparable to any other marketing platform.