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Last updated on 10/12/22

Rely on Key Opinion Leaders and Influencers

You have identified your company’s employees and customers as potential stakeholders. Now let’s look at two other possibilities for your influence strategy: the opinion leaders (key opinion leaders) and influencers.

What is the difference between an influencer and a key opinion leader (KOL)? 

Unlike influencers, the KOL is not necessarily very active online. Companies contact them for their expertise and not their audience. 

For example, in one episode, Dr. Sydnee McElroy discusses the history of health advertising, including the examples of cereal companies promoting lower cholesterol and heart disease prevention.

On the other hand, the influencer has a larger audience than KOLs on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, or even LinkedIn). They are not officially recognized as experts, but instead connoisseurs and enthusiasts on their topics. 

To help you choose your influencer, Ben Pearson shares his expertise:

So, how do you choose your influencer?

The first criterion for choosing an influencer is the size of their community.

The five main categories of influencers according to the size of their audience
The five main categories of influencers according to the size of their audience

Other criteria come into play, such as engagement, audience segmentation, price, ease of access to the influencer, etc.

Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the various categories of influencers:

5 types of influencer

Community size

Benefits

Disadvantages

Mega-influencers

1M+ subscribers

  • Reaches a very large audience 

 

 

  • Content can reach millions of people

  • Massive following made up of very diverse audiences (difficult to identify a particular segment within them) 

 

  • Very high cost for the service which limits the possibility of partnerships for many brands

Macro- influencers

500K to 1M 

  • Large audience with different communities

  • Higher prices than other types of influencers: they have less competition and are often listed by influencer agencies that take a margin

Mid-tier influencers

100K to 500K 

  • Possibility of an exclusive partnership while benefiting from a large audience, as multi-brand collaborations are still rare for this type of influencer these days.

  • Their collaboration costs are still affordable for small and medium-sized companies

 

Micro-influencers

10 to 100K

  • Better engagement than macro-influencers (up to +60%!)

  • Less expensive and more accessible

 

Nano-influencers  

1 to 10K 

  • The most accessible

  • Small community but with a strong engagement

  • Niche areas that bring together enthusiasts

  • Possible partnership in exchange for product 

 

 The Deditex Case Study

Have you thought about it? Compare your idea to Michael’s .

Let’s Recap!

  • KOLs and influencers are two categories of personalities the company could use to develop its awareness and clientele.

  • KOLs and influencers benefit your brand with their expertise and audience quality.

Your objectives and targets of influence are defined. How about launching your first influencer campaign? Go to the next chapter! 

Example of certificate of achievement
Example of certificate of achievement