Sharon Mundia, popularly known for her blog ThisisEss, is an award
winning, fashionable and classy blogger. Shea is also on YouTube as
“This is Ess” and she also generates thousands of hits per video.
PHOTO/NATION
Photo/ARNOLD BUYU
Fashionista Sharon Mundia is one of the most popular bloggers in
the country. After her “over the top” engagement to fiancée Lonina
caused quite the stir on social media, she undoubtedly became one of the
most famous people associated with fashion and style.
Her
social media following consequently grew. She has a strong social media
presence with over 126,000 followers and subscribers; 28,000 people
like her Facebook page, more than 12,000 people follow her on Twitter,
she has 6,000 subscribers and more than 250,000 views on her YouTube
page.
Not forgetting her fashion blog Thisisess, she also has over 80,000 followers on Instagram.
On
her recent adventure to Istanbul, Turkey, she posted scenic, exotic
photos of her trip. Fans marvelled at the exquisite shots and suggested
various places that she could visit while there.
However, one fan in particular asked why she kept using the same hashtag on every photo she posted.
“Why do you keep tagging Turkish airlines did they sponsor your trip?” Edythjames asked before adding “good view.”
According to Ms Mundia, it wasn’t a sponsored trip, but a partnership between Turkish Airlines and her brand Thisisess.
“We
wanted to share with Kenyans a different angle to Istanbul, a city that
is often praised for the shopping opportunities but overlooked for its
rich culture, incredible cuisine and unique location.
From my readers’ reactions, I believe they valued what my team and I had to share from our adventure in Istanbul,” she says.
The
practice of using social media users with a large following
(influencers) like Ms Mundia started locally about three to four years
ago as advertisers sought to capitalise on the audiences these users
have.
WIDESPREAD USE
Mr
Jack Mugi, a digital marketing practitioner at Internet Exposure
Limited and Digital Media trainer at International School of
Advertising, says this trend has seen widespread use in the last two
years and is currently reaching its peak. It might however not be the
case in the future.
“I expect it to
decline in future since social media platforms are making it easy for
advertisers to use these platforms directly to reach the audiences, it
will ultimately limit the opportunities for influencers,” he says.
Meanwhile,
still a hot trend, advertisers are reaching out to these influencers
whose value is in their big social media following, shares Mr Mugi.
Advertisers, he says, go where the audience is and currently everything
is moving online with a bias towards social media.
HEALTHY NUMBERS
“Facebook
has 4.1 million monthly active users locally, Twitter almost a million,
advertisers know social media is getting bigger and bigger.
Most brands took a while before adopting social media and integrating it into their overall marketing strategies.
A
lot of individual users joined the platforms and formed healthy numbers
before the corporates took notice, so they of course want to capitalise
on the more popular users to increase their digital footprint,” says Ms
Mugi.
With this in mind, influencers
are becoming smarter and picky over the sponsorships and partnerships
they choose to associate themselves with to remain organic and not be
seen as sell outs.
Ms Mundia, like a
few other influencers, works with brands she only believes in regardless
of how much money is put on the table.
“I
only work with brands that I genuinely like and in the case of product
reviews, I always give my honest opinion,” she says, “In the past, I’ve
turned down really great deals because I didn’t feel that the brand was
aligned to mine. I’d never want to compromise my authenticity because in
the end, my readers will start to lose interest, the endorsement will
be watered down and my brand will suffer. Everyone loses,” she says.
Creative
photographer Mutua Matheka who boasts over 83,000 Instagram followers
only picks brands that are aligned to what he is trying to achieve.
“If
there is a high chance that I can tie the brand to photography, and it
shares what my grand plan is – having Africans document Africa with
dignity – then we would work together. Taking pictures of starving
children and other photos that depict Africa negatively is not my thing,
we are trying to move forward,” says the photographer.
Mr
Matheka, who has worked with brands like Coca Cola, Safaricom, Airtel
and recently Chase Bank, says he has had to pass down some offers for
fear of making his platform an advertising one, some did not allow him
creative freedom.
Influencers have to
walk a fine line between endorsing a product and keeping their own
brand afloat as well without going overboard on the sponsorship. For Ms
Mundia, it’s all about informative content.
“I
like to focus on giving creative and informative content, whether or
not a brand is involved. I believe if you’ve got something interesting
to offer then your readers, clients and fans will be willing to listen.
I’ve had to learn this the hard way but it’s a lesson I’ll never forget!
Content is king and as long as I’ve got something worth their while,
I’m sure my readers will be interested,” she says.
STYLE AND VISION
Mr
Matheka on the other hand knows that he wields the power to choose
which products and campaigns to associate his brand with, his clients
know that they have to work with his style and vision first before
finding a middle ground.
“I don’t
want to take advantage of my followers that’s why I don’t do many
campaigns at a time. Instagram is a continuation of my work and some
people concentrate on the photographs, not the captions. I’m trying to
do something good, original, cool and adventurous,” he says.
Other
people considered influencers who drive conversations and promote
products on social media include Soko Analyst, Masaku, Brian Mbunde,
Rammzy, JichodaDog, and Caroline Spencer.
Although
advertisers look for cool social media stars to amplify their messages,
it is not usually just about the numbers. Mr James Wamathai, a director
at Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) says an influencer has to
relate to what he is promoting.
“We
really don’t just look at the numbers, an influencer can have as little
as 3,000 followers but be able to speak to the brand both in language
and reach. They also have to be consistent and create content in that
area,” he remarks.
Mr Wamathai
reveals that advertisers test an influencer’s temperament in campaign
meetings to see if he or she is willing to listen. From these meetings,
it is easier to know whether to continue, stop or change the tack with
an influencer.
The BAKE director says using influencers is not a trend rather an online business module that is cheaper.
“Online
banners, Facebook and Google ads are cheaper than traditional
advertising. The number of people who have viewed the ads and the
impressions left are a measure of how successful a campaign or promotion
is,” he offers.
Mr Mugi adds that
exposure, engagement and the domino conversation that come from the
influencers’ work is a sign that followers are getting the message.
“If
you get high exposure, good engagement with positive sentiments in the
responses and other people join the conversation, and take it further
without direct effort from the initial initiators, then the influencer
did their job well,” he says.
So just
how much do these influencers get to cash in at the end of the day
after “loaning” their impressive social media following to advertisers?
“The current practice is a pre-agreed figure per campaign with most campaigns running between a week and a month.
The
range is too wide with some getting a few thousands and others getting
six figures in single campaigns,” says Mr Mugi, who also notes that
influencers’ pay is dependent on the content they create and the
visibility they generate.
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