YouTube education influencer marketing guide

YouTube is one of the most popular online video sharing platforms in Russia. 82% of its users are aged between18 and 44, and almost half of all viewers are paying subscribers. Even the segment of viewers above 45 years is growing, comprising about 10% of the viewership. It’s no surprise that budgets for influencer marketing promotions are growing in proportion with YouTube content. Today, working with influencers is an absolute must for big brands. We will tell you how to establish successful cooperation with leading opinion makers (including in the education niche).

Why do you need influencers?

• They ensure a celebrity effect on the viewers. Bloggers are more popular than domestic pop stars, and their authority becomes one of your main weapons.
• You immediately reach the desired audience segment.
• Your product is served in the most appropriate tone. Also, you get to know about it in advance.
• The audience has higher trust in the influencer. This is due to the trusting relationship between the YouTube blogger and the audience (and on YouTube, influencers are much more talkative than on Instagram or Twitter).

You can be sure that the ad will have a long-term effect. The size of the market that can be reached through influencer marketing is estimated to exceed 5 billion rubles. According to forecasts this market will peak in the next five years, growing at approximately 18% per year. The market growth in the West is more impressive, expected to leapfrog by 50% in 2019, grossing up to about $ 7 billion in advertising campaigns in total. Let's now review the tangible benefits of placement of ads through influence-marketing.

Goals of influencer advertising on YouTube

Attracting attention. Influencers deliver on this account no worse than a display advertising campaign. The results of this promotion should be judged by gauging how broad the coverage of unique users is, frequency of brand mention in the program, and CTR with CPM. Some companies prefer to run contests along with the influencer ad - this is great for drawing attention to the product.

Example: Beauty blog LenskiBeauty. The girl talks mainly about luxury cosmetics and introduces certain brands through the video with the "first glimpse" of a new cosmetic brand. In the niche of "unobtrusive" advertising, Dewar's whiskey placement is considered classy- it appears just about once every 4-5 episodes on the table of Sergei Minaev, who hosts a program of the same name on YouTube. The partnership between the company and Minaev has been going on for several years; the brand came to him at a time when Sergey hosted "Minaev Live" program. During the period of self-isolation, the whiskey brand "moved" to another site of the presenter and was seen on his table more than once during live broadcasts on Instagram (which were then published on YouTube).

Increased interest. The influencer's recommendations are trusted, so collaborating with bloggers helps to overcome resistance from potential buyers. The results can be judged by the number of views, likes and dislikes, tonality of comments and their numbers.

Example: Integration of Aviasales promotion into Anton Lyadov's video. These ads can appear several times in a row in different episodes. Since the influencer shoots videos for the series "How People Live", clearly his audience is very likely to be interested in the advertiser's offers. Lyadov persuasively shows how to use the company's service and explains advantages of opting for Aviasales.

Persuading to buy. This is achieved in one single video completely dedicated to your product. The audience of the influencer should be given an exclusive offer - a promo discount code, additional gifts, and so on. Results are assessed by the number of clicks to your site and the number of targeted actions. Take for example the show "Beware, Sobchak!" Advertising promotions integrated in the show are shot very imaginatively, for example, at the Journalism Academy of the Kommersant Publishing House or at an unauthorized rally. Unlike the previously mentioned channels, Sobchak aggressively persuades the viewer that the proposed product is the best in its niche and is worth purchasing.

In order to achieve all the goals of influencer marketing, and ensure a significant increase in the number of your customers, use targeted and contextual advertising, focused on the viewership of the influencer. Retargeting works great - a"warmed up" audience will be more favorably predisposed towards revisiting your offer.

Approximately 1 percent of video viewers actually end up completing the purchase. This is a good ball park indicator. To achieve this, try out various options with different influencers.

Types of YouTube influencer ads

Product placement. Native advertising, in which the product either participates in the video or is in the frame. A wide variety of such native advertisements can be seen in the clips of domestic performers - and if previously every video was full of such placements, now musicians and their labels are more careful when choosing sponsors. An obvious example is the video for the song "Sparks" by Hilary Duff. It contains native Tinder ads - according to the plot, the heroine Hilary meets a young man via this app.

Integration. The product is mentioned in a separate video, but there is no dedicated video about the specific product. As an example, one could cite videos such as "First Impressions" and "Empty Jars" about newly launched cosmetic products that had already been tested and have their price tags. For example, blogger Natalina Mua has indicated on several occasions that she finds ways to place cosmetic products in her videos that are sent to her for promotion.

Exclusive video. On the same lines as the above method, the product is shown in the video, but this time the whole video is dedicated only to the said product. This can be a crash test (popularly used for passenger cars and other vehicles), product review (suitable for almost all product segments), feedback (which is closer to educational topics). Blogger Anastasia Kay repeatedly refers in her videos to the language marathon offered by online school "Lingoda". At the same time, the video contains useful tips relevant to viewers interested in the topic, and also product placement.

Ambassadors. Here, the blogger is appointed as the brand ambassador. He promotes the company's products on all of his platforms and is the face of the advertising campaign. For example, the blogger Yuri Dud has been promoting Alfa-Bank and Hyundai cars for a long time, including integrating their promotion into his YouTube videos.

Insert. A separate ad of the advertiser in a separate insert. This is the most popular format that can be found in the issues of "Redaktsia", "The People", on the channel of Katya Konasova and in entertainment TV-shows that are a regular feature on the online video platforms (such as Regina Todorenko's show or the "Gentle Editor" channel). Usually bloggers shoot the insert themselves, but sometimes an advertiser may request the integration of their ready-made material into the blogger's video. However, online platform management many frown upon such video inserts, they can block the video, and deprive the Blogger of monetization dues on the entire channel.

How to find the right company influencer?

You can contact an advertising agency, find an influencer through the Bloggers' Exchange (Sociate.ru, GetBlogger, LabelUp, Epicstars, Plibber), or research yourself. In the table below, we have listed several bloggers whose channels cover the topic of education.

Once you have a summary table of the influencers that fit your brand, you should ask them for video-formatted account statistics, audience data (percentage), and then double-check the information provided. Compare audience size, number of views, ratio of likes to views, frequency of ad insertions inside a video (more than two is already a reason for a "red flag"). The ratio of comments to likes should be about 1 to 100. Blogger's videos should be viewed by at least 15 percent of their audience. Make sure that the channel does not lose popularity and that the blogger's video is actively watched and commented upon.

How to work with an influencer?

The first option for cooperation is barter. Suitable for bloggers who have not yet reached 40-50 thousand subscribers on YouTube. With barter advertising, it is important to clearly spell out the terms of reference, which will help the blogger talk about the product even if he has not yet had time to use it.

The second option is paid advertising. The cost depends on how popular the blogger is (judged by number of subscribers and mentions in the media) and how many views his video is gathering. Education is one of the most expensive categories for advertisers on YouTube. If the micro-influencer (up to about 80 thousand subscribers) is not willing to cooperate on a barter basis, one of the payment options can be a cost calculation based on number of subscribers: 100 rubles per 1000 subscribers.

How to start promoting your product with YouTube influencers: A checklist

• Determine your target audience.
• Find the right bloggers by using all the information provided in this article.
• Conduct channel analytics (for example, through the LiveDune service; the audience engagement index as per this service should be at least 2 percent).
• Evaluate how likely the target audience of the product is to intersect with the selected influencers.
• Connect with influencers, discuss terms of reference, and select bloggers you are going to collaborate with.

How to get the most out of your advertising with an influencer: A checklist

• The link to the product is placed in the description of the video in the first lines.
• Your SEO specialist is very happy with the video metadata (check title, description, tags and picture).
• The blogger promoted the video in their social network posts in the first two days after it was released.
• You haven't forgotten about retargeting.
• Your sales department (or the technical specialists) is aware of the placement with the Blogger, and is ready to meet the increased demand for the product.

Working with YouTube influencers is only part of promotion campaign for your product. However, if you research thoroughly, carefully select bloggers, and then "connect" to Instagram and YouTube, while not forgetting to use retargeting, you will reap the rewards in the form of a loyal audience and a growing number of customers.