Influencer marketing is the art of connecting brands and the powerful voices of digital content creators to drive authentic conversations around a product message. Many marketers assume all influencer campaigns are revenue generating opportunities for influencers. This is not always the case. Depending on the product or service offered, some influencers are open to exchange opportunities – an exchange of a brand’s product/service for an influencer’s unique content. In April 2019, Find Your Influence introduced FYI Exchange, creating opportunities for brands of all sizes to better understand and experience influencer marketing. Last month, Find Your Influence surveyed a sample of influencers to learn more about their experiences with Exchange.
“It has been exciting to watch the growth of FYI Exchange over the last year,” explains Cristine Vieira, President and Co-Founder of Find Your Influence. “We have seen brands of all sizes as well as influencers of all audience sizes have tremendous success with FYI Exchange. The feedback influencers shared in this latest survey will further inform both Find Your Influence and brands as we create additional opportunities for influencers.”
Using Find Your Influence’s proprietary survey technology, more than 340 influencers within the Find Your Influence platform were surveyed online from June 22- 24, 2020 reaching nano influencers, micro influencers and macro influencers. The survey reached a sample of Find Your Influence’s influencer database of active U.S.-based social media influencers to better understand their experiences and motivating factors when using FYI Exchange.
The complete survey and results:
What is your most effective channel to drive sales?
60% Instagram
23% Blog
8% Facebook
7% Twitter
2% Pinterest
What matters most to you when considering an FYI Exchange opportunity?
62% If I am truly interested in using the product myself
23% If I believe my followers would be interested in learning about the product
13% Product Value matches or is higher than my typical rate
2% Brand name is recognizable / well known
What kinds of products are you most interested in receiving and posting about via an FYI Exchange campaign?
28% Travel (including hotel stays / trips)
21% Home Goods
17% Clothing/Apparel
10% Food/Beverage
8% Fitness
8% Health/Beauty
8% Technology
What advice would you give to advertisers who are willing to work with influencers on a product exchange basis? (sample, edited for brevity)
“You have to remember that you are asking someone to do the same amount of work as they would if they were paid. So it’s best to offer a fair trade in the exchange for those same services.”
“Advice that I would give to advertisers working with influencers on a product exchange basis would be to take into consideration the value the influencer can provide is not always linked to the amount of followers they have.”
“We love having promo codes to offer to our audience!”
“Trade should be a short term plan, moved into a paid format. Also, when doing trade-only, the expectations and guidelines for content must be lowered.”
“Be flexible in allowing us to promote/discuss the product in a way that is organic to us and our platforms. When working for product-only, I tend to be turned away by strict and intense guidelines.”
Influencers who responded to this survey ranged in total audience reach from 450 to 9.3 million.
To speak with Find Your Influence directly about survey results, please contact Tami Nealy, tami@findyourinfluence.com.