

The influencer business has been dragged into the highlight lately, due to a much-highlighted examine that checked out engagement charges on Instagram.
With headlines summarising that “influencers are shedding their affect”, the Malaysian influencer business additionally took successful. In accordance with the examine, Malaysian influencers had comparatively decrease engagement charges, and a few information headlines haven’t held again, with phrases like “pretend” and “much less influential than their SEA counterparts” being thrown round.
We determined to deliver up this current subject to KOMACI, a data-driven influencer advertising and marketing platform, and requested for the workforce’s ideas.
“We don’t agree with the assertion that influencers in Malaysia are ‘much less influential’ as a result of Malaysia is a multi-cultured nation, and we’re very numerous, from race to language, to tradition. That complexity and the dimensions of our inhabitants might be one of many causes the metrics are low,” stated Ben Wong, the CEO of KOMACI.
However the subject goes slightly bit deeper than that, and the workforce believes that how many people see the business is inherently flawed.
The Extra The Merrier… Proper?
“The notion has at all times been, the upper the followers the higher it’s, nonetheless that’s not at all times the case,” defined Ben.
Within the 12 months that they’ve been lively on this area, the KOMACI workforce has seen it occur time and time once more.
“The misunderstanding is that the bigger the follower rely, the higher the influencers get. Or a reasonably face has higher engagement,” stated Nicholas, the COO of KOMACI.
He additionally defined that some purchasers confuse social influencers as common ambassadors, when they need to as an alternative be in search of people who find themselves related for his or her manufacturers.
“You possibly can’t run KOL (key opinion chief) campaigns as when you’re operating on conventional media,” he stated.
KOMACI has been preaching the identical message from day one, and so they’re repeating it once more: relevance is vital.
“It’s all about focusing on the fitting influencers to ship a related content material, and likewise creatively delivering their communication messages by way of the medium of influencer advertising and marketing,” shared Nicholas.
Making Information The King
It’s all discuss with out real-life examples, so KOMACI gave us one among how focusing on the fitting influencer allowed an advertiser to achieve their goal market.
“For a undertaking with an airline, the platform was in a position to establish influencers who had travelled to a couple ASEAN locations, with out having to ship the influencers to the precise location once more. We solely had three days to assemble the fitting folks, and the platform was in a position to try this by getting these influencers to publish ‘throwback’ posts, after which deliver within the airline’s marketing campaign. This was each environment friendly and related, and likewise helped the airline save value,” stated the workforce.
What precisely does information imply although?
In addition to the full follower rely, engagement, and content material area of interest, KOMACI really useful that potential advertisers ought to have a look at the influencer viewers demographic, relevance of their general content material, and authenticity of their followers.
On their very own platform, KOMACI additionally has a score system, and the place influencers are rated when it comes to their general efficiency: from response, to high quality of labor, and supply of timeline.
“The truth is, if any influencers fail to ship, the platform is ready to shortly substitute them with one other influencer,” stated Nicholas.
Additionally, this helps to deal with any issues that micro-influencers specifically aren’t very skilled, and that it’s a problem to work with them.
KOMACI’s latest module to their platform, KOMACI+, divides influencers in class sorts (e.g health, foodie, dwelling and dwelling) and you too can have a look at particular person accounts and see what are their most engaged posts, which is able to enable you determine if they’re appropriate on your marketing campaign.
Different information factors embody phrase clouds that present you the hashtags that the influencer makes use of essentially the most, estimated value per publish for campaigns, model sentiments (e.g. whether or not the feedback are optimistic or detrimental, how related are the feedback), averages like counts, and common feedback per publish.
A have a look at KOMACI+.
On prime of their present function serving to companies handle their influencer campaigns, KOMACI envisions KOMACI+ as an area the place purchasers can effortlessly purchase into influencer advertising and marketing.
“A variety of manufacturers would think about that influencer advertising and marketing is dear, however we’re making it extra reasonably priced now,” stated Nicholas.
“For entrepreneurs or manufacturers on the market, we shall be a full-fledged, self-serving platform throughout Southeast Asia. In the intervening time, KOMACI is current in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia. Being a platform, increasing and scaling to different nations is simpler so long as we discover the fitting companion.”
“And as for influencers that be part of us on KOMACI, we may have actions, workshops, collaborations inside the group to domesticate influencer advertising and marketing as a complete.”
The platform is ready to formally launch in Q3 2019, with the beta being open to public by August 2019.
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Going again to the examine talked about firstly of this piece, Nicholas might solely conclude, “The expansion of social ‘influencers’ peaked too quick, to the purpose that we kind of forgot the fundamentals. All people needs to be one these days; you would, however there’s extra to simply rising your variety of followers.”
“Influencers must know that the bags that they carry displays on their viewers and being engaged with them is the important thing. However with the adjustments within the algorithm of attain, influencers might want to discover methods to manoeuvre round it.”
And with adjustments taking place as soon as once more on Instagram with likes being hidden from posts, the KOMACI workforce had this to say for the way forward for their business, “Engagement will certainly nonetheless be the important thing measurement. It could not come from likes in future, however we consider that there’ll be a alternative for it. Even then, with information, you continue to can just about know who your audiences are.”
You will discover out extra about KOMACI on their web site right here.
This text was written in collaboration with KOMACI.
Function Picture Credit score: Unsplash