Secrets to Success with Influencer Marketing

The Benefits of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has become a vital strategy, especially in the hospitality and restaurant industries. Its power lies in its ability to create emotional connections, build trust, and spread messages naturally.

A study by Nielsen revealed that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from individuals over direct brand advertisements. This explains why many businesses leverage influencers to enhance brand recognition, particularly boutique hotels or high-end restaurants. These influencers not only highlight unique styles but also create a distinct impression for the brand.

A recent case encountered by KTGA involved a small restaurant in Da Nang. Through collaboration with a famous food blogger, online reservations doubled within just three weeks. This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of attracting new customers.

Additionally, influencer campaigns help establish credibility through authentic reviews. Brands are not only promoted but can also measure campaign results through metrics like views, engagement rates, or direct revenue.

How to Choose the Right Influencer

Clearly Define Your Target Audience

Before searching for influencers, it’s essential to understand your target customers. In the hospitality and restaurant sectors, customer profiles can vary widely:

• Adventure-seeking travelers: Those who love exploring and crave novelty.
• Business professionals: Prioritize convenience, workspaces, and premium services.
• Families: Need spacious areas and child-friendly amenities.
• Couples: Prefer romantic settings and refined services.

Each customer group has unique preferences and habits. The influencer you choose must align in content and style with the customer segment your business is targeting.

For example, a beachside resort might collaborate with a travel-focused influencer, while a fine dining restaurant should partner with influencers who frequently review high-end dining experiences.

Select Influencers with an Audience Relevant to Your Industry

An influencer’s audience must overlap with or closely resemble your target customers. For instance, a fitness blogger isn’t suitable for promoting a buffet restaurant but could work well for a healthy café.

Review their past content, the profiles of those who comment and interact frequently, to evaluate whether their audience matches your desired customer base.

Check Actual Engagement Levels (Engagement Rate)

Follower count isn’t the deciding factor. More critical is the engagement rate, which includes likes, comments, and shares on their posts. An influencer with 100,000 followers but only a few hundred interactions per post is less effective than one with 10,000 followers and thousands of interactions.

Ideal engagement rates:

• Micro-influencers (under 50,000 followers): 4-6%.
• Macro-influencers (100,000 to 1 million followers): 2-3%.

Use tools like Social Blade or HypeAuditor to examine engagement metrics in detail.

Weigh Micro vs. Macro Influencers

• Micro-influencers: Those with smaller followings (around 5,000–50,000) but closer, more genuine connections with their audience. They are ideal for building trust and strengthening brand image.
• Macro-influencers: With larger audiences (over 100,000), they are suitable for campaigns requiring broad reach and targeting multiple demographics simultaneously.

A high-end boutique hotel might prefer micro-influencers specializing in travel for a more personal touch, whereas a large restaurant chain could collaborate with macro-influencers for mass appeal.

Assess Their Personal Image and Values

Influencers represent your brand to the public, so their image and values must align with yours. Avoid those with histories of scandals or controversial statements, as this could damage your brand’s reputation.

For instance, a vegan restaurant wouldn’t partner with someone who frequently posts about meat-based dishes.

Evaluate Consistency in Their Content

Trustworthy influencers maintain a consistent style and tone across platforms. This ensures that your brand’s message isn’t “off-key” when conveyed through their channels.

Spend at least 4–6 weeks following their content to assess its quality and how they engage with their audience before committing to a partnership.

Review Past Collaborations

If an influencer has worked with other brands, review the effectiveness of those campaigns. Posts with high engagement and positive feedback indicate good potential for collaboration.

For example, a food blogger who has successfully promoted well-known restaurants could be an excellent candidate for your campaign.

Ensure They Fit Your Budget

Influencer fees vary significantly based on their popularity and the type of content they produce. Determine your budget early and negotiate clearly to avoid exceeding financial limits.

 Don’t hesitate to experiment with smaller influencers first to test effectiveness before investing in larger campaigns. This approach helps optimize your budget while achieving campaign goals

Mistakes to Avoid

Choosing the Wrong Influencer

This is one of the most common yet dangerous mistakes in marketing campaigns. A fine dining restaurant with a romantic ambiance cannot partner with an influencer specializing in street food. Similarly, a resort on a remote island is unsuitable for an influencer focused solely on urban living.

KTGA once encountered a boutique hotel that collaborated with a famous beauty blogger. However, the blogger’s audience showed little interest in travel or accommodation. The campaign cost tens of millions of VND but did not generate a single booking. This highlights the importance of thoroughly researching the target audience before deciding on a partnership.

Misaligned Messaging

The success of a marketing campaign depends not only on the influencer’s reach but also on the consistency between the brand’s message and the influencer’s content. If a brand emphasizes luxury, but the influencer uses overly casual language and imagery, customers may sense a disconnect.

KTGA emphasizes that, before launching a campaign, the brand and influencer should agree on a detailed plan covering tone, visuals, and core content to ensure alignment.

Ignoring Real Engagement Levels

A large follower count does not equate to effectiveness. Many accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers have low engagement rates on posts. This often results from unnatural growth methods, such as buying followers.

A common mistake businesses make is basing their collaboration decisions solely on the “follower” count without considering the engagement rate. KTGA recommends a minimum engagement rate of 2-3% for macro-influencers and 4-6% for micro-influencers to ensure campaign success.

Failing to Monitor and Evaluate Campaign Effectiveness

Running a campaign without tools to measure its success is a significant oversight. After collaborating with an influencer, businesses must closely track metrics such as views, interactions, click-throughs, and additional revenue generated.

Campaign failure often occurs when businesses lack a clear evaluation plan. For instance, a restaurant in Hanoi partnered with a renowned food blogger but did not include exclusive discount codes or specific tracking links. As a result, they could not determine how many customers the campaign brought in.

Lack of Budget and Expectation Alignment from the Start

Another mistake is failing to discuss budget and expectations clearly with the influencer. Without specific goals—such as the number of posts, content types (videos, articles, images), or posting schedules—both parties risk misunderstandings.

KTGA once advised a resort facing this issue. They paid a substantial amount but only received two basic social media posts. Due to the lack of a clear contract, the resort could not request additional content.

Poor Timing of Campaign Execution

Timing is a crucial factor in campaign success. A common mistake is launching campaigns during periods of low customer interest, such as the off-season for travel or right before major holidays when numerous brands are running extensive promotional campaigns.

KTGA advises businesses to select a timing that aligns with campaign objectives. For example, promoting a restaurant during wedding season or advertising a resort at the start of summer, when travel demand is high.

Tip from KTGA: Before collaborating, evaluate an influencer’s suitability by observing their content for at least 4-6 weeks. Assess their style, engagement levels, and personality to ensure they align with your brand