Influencer marketing as a strategy of international marketing communication

Naraščajoča popularnost družbenih omrežij in s tem pojav spletnih vplivnežev sta popolnoma spremenila način kako potrošniki odkrivajo, doživljajo in kupujejo izdelke ter storitve. Ne želijo več agresivnih in vsiljivih oglasov, temveč si želijo slišati kakšno izkušnjo imajo z izdelkom ali storitvijo običajni ljudje. Ravno zato se po nasvete danes vse pogosteje obrnejo na spletne vplivneže, ki so zaradi svoje strasti do nekega področja pričeli snemati videe, fotografije in pisati prispevke ter te deliti na družbenih omrežjih. Tako so si čez čas vzpostavili bazo ljudi, ki jim sledi in zaradi svoje pristnosti, domačnosti ter kredibilnosti zaupa. Posledično so tudi podjetja prepoznala pomen in vpliv teh oseb ter začela z njimi sodelovati. Diplomski projekt obravnava trenutno zelo aktualen trend na področju marketinga, vplivnostni marketing oz. oglaševanje s pomočjo spletnih vplivnežev. Posluževanje vplivnostnega marketinga smo analizirali skozi pregled digitalnih vsebin šestih podjetij iz treh panog. S tem namenom smo v teoretičnem delu najprej opredelili pojem in nato v empiričnem delu prek analize profilov izbranih podjetij na družbenih omrežjih Instagram in Facebook analizirali uporabo vplivnostnega marketinga v praksi ter s pomočjo vprašalnika pridobili mnenja slovenskih podjetij o vplivnostnem marketingu na družbenih omrežjih ter njegovi uporabi.The growing popularity of social media and the phenomenon of online influencers have completely changed the way consumers discover, experience and buy products and services. They do not want aggressive and intrusive advertisements anymore, but rather wish to hear about personal experience that ordinary people have regarding a product or service. Consequently, consumers nowadays often seek advice from online influencers – people, who are passionate about certain activities, and have therefore begun making videos, posting photos and writing blog posts on social media. This enabled them to establish a network of followers, who trust the influencers because of their authenticity, familiarity, and credibility. The effect of influencer marketing thus reached the companies, who recognized the importance and influence of such marketing strategies and consequently started working with the influencers. This Bachelor thesis project concerns itself with a currently very mainstream trend of marketing, the so-called influencer marketing or advertising with the help of online influencers. The thesis analyses the use of influencer marketing with the help of digital content of six companies from three different industries. The theoretical part therefore includes a definition of concepts used in the thesis, whereas the empirical part deals with the analysis of Instagram and Facebook profiles of the chosen companies, which allowed us to further analyse the practical use of influencer marketing. We also conducted a questionnaire survey in order to obtain the opinions of Slovenian companies