How to master an Influencer strategy?

Discussing thoughts and ideas on the role

influencers play in destination marketing strategies.

Isabel Mosk, Destination Marketing Strategist

Expert Digital Tourism Think Tank
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My story
“Guiding companies along new paths and unexplored stories”
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The world of influencer marketing

92% of consumers trust online WOM, while only 33% of them trust online banner ads- Nielsen.

Marketing-inspired WOM> 2x sales - McKinsey.

Customers acquired via worth of mouth have a 37% higher retention rate -  McKinsey.

Marketers received $7.65 in earned media value for every $1 spent on influencer marketing-
Influencer Marketing Hub.

47% of online consumers use adblockers – Digital News Report.

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What is Influencer Marketing?

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According to wikipedia…

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing in which focus

is placed on influential people rather than the target
market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have
influence over potential customers, and orients marketing
activities around these influencers.
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I would like to add something…

An “influencer” in the context of marketing is a person

who has developed a large social media following of
engaged users. Being an influencer isn’t just about having
a lot of followers. It’s also about expertise and credibility on
subject matter. And about the trusted relationship between
the influencer and his or her followers.
The world of influencer marketing 7

Influencers are:
- content creators
- storytellers
- ambassadors
 Influencer “levels”

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Mega influencer Meso influencer Nano influencer
> 1.000.000 50.000 - 250.000 100 - 5000

Marco influencer Micro influencer

250.000 - 1.000.000 500 - 50.000
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Destination brands are built socially

• The sum of all stories people hear about a destination

• The sum of all experiences people have about a destination
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Employees Tourism by
activating
Influencers Locals
Storytellers
Destination

Stakeholders Visitors
 Which influencers
Marketing fit with your
door storytellers te stories
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activeren
(brand DNA) and reach your target group ?

Stories Influencers Target group

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What strategy do you apply….

 Influencer strategies

Creative storytelling /
(Niche) press trips Campaigns Linkbuilding
content marketing 13

Audience growth Influencer

Blogger residencies Ambassadors
gatherings
(Niche) press trips
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Focus on niche marketing
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Work together with ambassadors/influencers
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•  Antwerp in top ten of
Fashion capitals in the
world (Global language
monitor)
•  A fashion community
that keeps on growing
•  Good contacts with the
fashion bloggers (that
kept coming to Antwerp
in the months after the
blog trip and kept on
writing after the blog
trip)
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Global Campaigns
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#DUITSLANDDICHTBIJ

Raise awareness of a short citytrip in Germany (close by the

Netherlands) via social media, to a younger target group (18-35 years).
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Campaign with
11 Instagram
photographers
and 4 Youtubers
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623.800
total followers on Instagram.

265.910
total likes on Instagram.

13.864
total amount of comments op
Instagram.
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Total reach of the

campaign:
> 4 million within
target group
Creative Storytelling - Content Marketing
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Creative 

content creators
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Fun for Louise

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UK shooters -
Events
Linkbuilding
Audience Growth
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Creativity is
important
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Blogger Residencies
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Julie -
Lonelyplanet
Pathfinder
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Influencer gatherings
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Storybase
- 1 mountain hut
- 5 days
- 10 points of views
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Instameets
Rijksmuseum
#EmptyRijks
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New exhibitions
& events: Escape
game
#Rijksmuseum
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The Gallery of
Honour
#Rijksmuseum
ADE x Iamsterdam meetup
Brand ambassadors
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Result

Their wedding, a 3-day event dubbed #TheFerragnez,

generated a total audience-driven Media Impact Value of
$36 million across online and social, and sparked over 67
million interactions (a.k.a engagement).
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Ambassadors of VisitBrabant 2017-2018

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Marloes - Travelblogger Netherlands and

Jann - Instagrammer / design / art / culture
“Brabander”

Bart - Travelblogger Belgium Katja - Travelblogger Germany

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Een DMO is a media company

How do you select the right influencers?
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1. Value to the influencer / win-win

2. Reach; the size of the audience
3. Audience demographic
4. Influence in a niche
5. Connection to other influencers
6. Quality and creative style
7. Use of technology and tools
8. Personality
 Find, connect and select influencers
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• Google.com
• Paid tools
• Work with an agency
• FB groups, Twitter, offline meet-ups Instagram meet-ups, use your communities, staff and other
influencers.
• Be proactive - don’t wait for you to contact them. Find the right ambassadors for your destination.
• Go beyond (travel) bloggers; Tweeps, Igers, Vloggers, Youtubers - What first the objectives?
• Be part of the network
• Trust your gut. Compare experiences offline and online
• Research their communities: followers/fans, comments, reach and more
• Get their statistics!
• Ranking influencers
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Pay or not?
 Paid influencers
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• Brand messaging: use of brand specific copy points, content review and
approval
• Content quality: able to review, provide feedback & changes
• Contract/agreements: brand can specify contract & terms
• Campaign metrics: ability to track metrics & use tracking links
• Scheduling: brand can specify dates to coincide with campaign initiatives
• Call to action: brand can offer specific incentives to drive conversion & traffic
• Social promotion: agreed upon in advanced
• Brand competitor exclusivity: able to specify exclusivity terms
• Working with top influencers: access & ability to work with top, in-demand
influencers
 Unpaid influencers
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• Brand messaging: no control of brand messaging

• Content quality: no control of content quality
• Contract/agreements: no ability to use contract
• Campaign metrics: no metrics available
• Scheduling: no ability to schedule for specific dates
• Call to action: no ability to control use of CTA
• Social promotion: uncertain
• Brand competitor exclusivity: none
• Working with top influencers: uncertain
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What is your influencer strategy?

 What would you like to achieve?
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Target KPI
Awareness CPM, Reach, Media value

Engagement new target group Audience growth social media

Engagement existing target group views/impressions, engagement

Activate target group CTR, website visits, newsletter registrations,

 DMO take aways
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1. Define strategy, campaign objectives (KPI’s) and adjust them

2. PR, social and online should work closely together
3. Invest time to identify and connect the right influencers (IRM)
4. Research the audiences of the talent you work with
5. Reach doesn’t equal influence
• Niche influencers; subject or channel
• Nano and Micro-influencers
6. Carefully align your destination with the right talent
7. A blog trip IS NOT a press trip;
• Wifi everywhere, all the time
• Personalise and build in free time
8. Rethink your measures of success
9. Think outside the box; influencers can offer much more value than a few posts
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Group assignment

• 3-4 groups, one assignment per group, 1.5 hours time to

work on the assignment

• 10.00 - 12.00 - group assignment

• 12.00 presentations (5-10 minutes per group)
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Group assignment

1. Develop an concept for influencer marketing for Visit Jersey

2. Choose a target group
3. Define themes / unique experiences
4. Define the storytellers
5. Define KPI’s / budget
6. Presentation
 Brand Jersey
Promise Product Themes Signature Experiences

Nature & Wilderness Experiential Tourism

i.e. coastline, nature, rural & wildlife 4 Signature Experiences per Theme
An island shaped by the sea

Come up for air

Shoulder seasons:
Wellness & Active
identify opportunities and develop creative
Family time to explore i.e. retreats, mindfulness, training camps
concepts and ideas

Optimism, individuality, togetherness,

harmony
Bookability:
People & Culture
quick and easy booking process directly
Pride and passion i.e. local culture, ancestry, field to fork
through the website

Reconnect with nature

Refresh in the fresh sea air Availability:

History & Heritage
delivery of experiences is manageable and
i.e. occupation stories, military history
achievable
 Who is this for?

Jason & Lee-Anne Simon and Emily Arthur and Joyce Geoff and Fiona
Late 20s,
Live in Wokingham
Late 60s,
Early 30s,

Rent a flat in Two young children:

Live in Worcester,
Live in Wimbledon,

Wakefield,
Alfie (4) and Grace (2) Retired a few years Work in Central
Hope to buy next ago London
year
 Jason and Lee-Anne

• Work locally as a plumber and midwife

• Household income of around £40,000

• Where taken to Jersey when children

• Budget conscious about their accommodation choice

• They would like to go abroad if they had more disposable

income and if there was a broader choice of destinations
from either airports nearby (Leeds Bradford, Doncaster
Sheffield)

Late 20s,
• They went to Portugal last year with Jet2

Rent a flat in Wakefield,

• Spend a lot of times on their phones but are passive social
Hope to buy next year networking site users

• Use the Jet2Holidays app and navigate to Premier Inn to

plan a domestic break
 Simon and Emily

• Simon works full-time in London

• Household income £90,000

• Own their own home, no financial worries

• They spend more evenings and weekends at home, their

grandparents live nearby

• When going away with their children, they use TripAdvisor to

identify properties that have good reviews

• Holiday research is done online and booked too

• Their main holiday in the last years has been a week in

Live in Wokingham
Devon or Cornwall

Two young children:

• They pack everything they need into the car and rent a self-
Alfie (4) and Grace (2) catering cottage outside of the main holiday period

• Share holiday content on Instagram

 Arthur and Joyce

• Good company pension - their annual household income is

just over £40,000

• Their children are both married with families of their own

• They go away 4-5 times a year, at least one of these trips is

with their children or grandchildren

• Interest in history, spend a weekend each year exploring

castles in nearby Wales, staying in B&Bs or small hotels

• Keen on visiting gardens when on holiday

• Use smartphones/ iPad to gather information about places

Late 60s,
they might visit

Live in Worcester,
• Nervous about making online purchases, book holidays with a
Retired a few years ago travel agent
 Geoff and Fiona

• Household income of £100,000 p.a.

• Time poor because of an extensive social circle, always busy

doing stuff

• Short breaks to European cities

• 'Life is short and there is a lot of world to see'

• Once a year they spend a few days away in the Cotswold with
friends

• They will stay in a wide variety of accommodation (budget hotel,

Airbnb or boutique establishment with a good spa and dining
option

Early 30s,
• Want to experience different cultures, try different food and their
Live in Wimbledon,
hand at new things

Work in Central
• Use the Internet to discover information and purchase services

London
• Care about getting value for money
 Thank you!

Isabel Mosk @IsabelMosk

Expert Digital Tourism Think Tank