Influencers are winning the hearts and minds of consumers all over the world, so it’s no surprise that large international brands are using influencer marketing to promote themselves. The main question from brands is no longer whether it works. The business focus has shifted to working out what the most effective ways of leveraging the channel are.

HelloSociety has found that micro-influencers (accounts with 30,000 or fewer followers) are more beneficial for marketers to work with. According to the agency, micro-influencers drive 22.2 times more weekly engagements than the average consumer does and those campaigns are 6.7 times more efficient per engagement than influencers with larger followings are.*

This got us thinking about how destinations are using influencers, so we spoke to our trusted partners at the Catalan Tourist Board (Asia Pacific office) to find out whether they have adopted influencer marketing as a strategy.

What is your strategy for working with influencers and does it work?

The Catalonia Tourism Board has been working with influencers since 2014. Each campaign differs according to the target markets. One of our earliest campaigns, commissioned by the headquarters in Barcelona, worked with 5 different bloggers filming various regions of Catalonia in a varied number of ways. You have to check it out here.

Our strategy in Asia Pacific is slightly different. Aside from regular press trips for targeted magazines and media members, our Asia Pacific office is focused on bringing a certain number of bloggers on trips so they can leverage on each other’s talents and creativity to create even more compelling content. Last year we also experimented with celebrity influencers, and brought the famous Korean TV celebrity, Mina Sohn, with KBS World to do a TV series in Catalonia. This worked really well to promote Catalonia in South Korea.

How do you measure the success of an influencer campaign?

Admittedly, it is difficult to determine the actual earning per investment for these projects because the increase in following from the use of these influencers does not materialise in immediate travel to Catalonia. We take into account an increase in tourists from our Asia Pacific regions to Barcelona/Catalonia as a mark of success for these campaigns. We like to cultivate a following through influencers from various Asian cities to act as ambassadors for our region.

How do you choose the right influencers for your brand?

We work closely with our representative offices across the world to identify popular influencers. Being in contact with various travel and blogger associations helps us to keep updated with recent activities and information about this sphere of media. Lastly, we do our own research to ensure influencers’ profiles match the requirements, personality and aesthetic of our brand.

Are there any top tips you have learnt that you can share with us?

Take a multi-pronged approach to working with any influencer. Yes, influencers play a role in cultivating brand awareness among their followers and this is especially useful for destinations which might be relatively unknown. However, there needs to be a tangible “point of sale” that is incorporated into these campaign to persuade the target audience to make a trip to Catalonia, for example.

Thinking about joining the micro-influencer revolution? Read our 5 top tips guide to choosing the right influencer for your brand.

*Source: HelloSociety Report