Influencer marketing for a small business owner: Planning an influencer marketing campaign

In Finland influencer marketing is still a relatively new concept compared to the phenomenon world-wide. It is a marketing opportunity for businesses regardless the size of the company. The purpose of this thesis was to give advices for a case company to facilitate the start of the influencer marketing campaign. The objectives were to define characteristics of a good influencer in general and to provide knowledge for identifying a suitable influencer matching the case company’s brand and values. The last objective was to introduce to the business owner different ideas to collaborate with the chosen influencer. A qualitative research method was used to conduct the study. The data was gathered by using observation technique and document analysis. The research was including four Finnish influencers and the observation period was in total eight weeks. The research was narrowed down by observing certain areas determined beforehand such as content quality, followers’ interaction and paid partnerships. There were two social media channels included in the study; Instagram and Blogs. The results were presented from each influencer separately to provide perspective to the reader about their different styles and characteristics. As the results and analysis were based on researcher’s observations and opinions, it was important to add influencers’ straight quotations and examples of their postings to increase the validity of the research. The analysis was carried out with the support of the theory by using the ABCC- tool. This abbreviation indicates the most important factors when selecting the influencer; authenticity, brand fit, community and content. The analysis of the results implied two of the observed influencers could be potential candidates for the case company. As a part of the results, certain influencer characteristics were emphasized, and campaign ideas suggested. The results led to the conclusion that the case company can either consider the influencer options researcher provided or use the information given in the thesis to search and identify other suitable prospects