Unit 12: Influencer Marketing

Level: 3

Unit type: Internal

Guided learning hours: 60

Unit in brief

Learners investigate influencer marketing and develop an influencer marketing plan for a specific organisation.

Unit introduction

Influencer marketing is a growing business. While considered a new idea, the concept of influence has been established for many years and influencers are not a new concept but an updated form of opinion leader. In a changing marketing environment, where traditional methods of promotion, such as newspaper and terrestrial television advertising, have decreased, combined with a decline in trust in organisations, new ways of communication have emerged through social media platforms. This has resulted in the growth of influencers, also known as key opinion leaders, who are being engaged by organisations to promote their goods. In their online platforms, influencers generate content, share material about brands and discuss their experiences.

There are two main influencer categories – macro and micro. The macro influencers have many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms and may be well-known celebrities. At the other end of the scale, micro-influencers may have followings of 5,000 to 100,000, and may be more dedicated individuals focused on a particular area of interest that may have started as a hobby, sharing information about an interest, later turning professional. Many types of organisations use influencer marketing, from opinion leaders in charities to well-known businesspeople in business-to-business (B2B) organisations, as well as celebrities for well-known brands.

In this unit, you will investigate types of influencer and the requirements for a successful influencer campaign. You will contextualise this in an influencer marketing campaign. Based on this marketing research, you will develop an influencer marketing plan and a brief for the influencer. This unit will help you to progress to employment in the digital marketing industry.

It will also help you to move on to further study in higher education and to professional qualifications related to marketing.

Learning aims

In this unit you will:

A     Investigate influencers and their associated marketing campaigns

B     Explore the use of influencer marketing within a specific market sector

C     Develop an influencer marketing plan for a specific organisation.