Influencers as Support for Public Relations Campaigns

Abstract

Summary The article is a collection of analyses carried out on the basis of literature on the subject and data collected with the utilization of desk research method. It also presents conclusions from surveys conducted by means of a qualitative method — IDI technique — during the Congress of Public Relations Professionals, which took place in April 2018 in Rzeszów. In the group of respondents there were representatives of public relations branch who cooperate with influencers and on top of that have rich experience in the area of PR activities conducted by means of the Internet. The goal of this article is assessment of the relationships occurring in the context of cooperation of PR specialists with influencers, as well as identifying the prospects for changes and potential trends in this area. Among the key conclusions drawn in course of the conducted research we find the one which suggests that using influencers for communication and promotion-related activities is recognized as both a chance and threat for the public relations industry. However, the aspect of threats is particularly important, as it has a direct impact on the emerging and persisting image crises. Due to the fact that influencers enjoy a lot of freedom in their activity in combination with the faith of their clients in their professional approach, there is a risk of emergence of actions which will not just fail to satisfy the assumptions of a promotional campaign, but may also directly hit the image of a given entity. Experts predict that using influencers for promotion will also in the nearest time be a growing trend, which will take hold among solutions used in communication with target groups.

The current role of influencers in public relations: Comparing Spain and the USA

“…As proof of this, studies such as those by Charest, Bouffard and Zajmovic (2016), Tworzydło et al (2019), and Davies and Hobbs (2020) show that many public relations managers and practitioners are already incorporating influencers into their activities on a regular basis. Although for some of them it is still not a common practice, the goals of reaching new potential audiences, and ones that they are not usually able to approach through other channels, and contributing to better results in terms of two-way communication, are great incentives to make influencers part of general communication strategies.…”

“…In fact, Herzig, Mass and Roitman (2014) argue that they are able to "disseminate interesting content, ideas or opinions to others, hoping to stimulate some intended reactions by potential readers, e.g., be endorsed, followed, cited, or even trigger an active discussion" (p. 46), which applies to commercial environments but also to other fields such as political communication. Probably for this reason, many PR professionals believe that using influencers can in some cases be more effective nowadays than standard advertising and traditional press releases, as many consumers now trust and/or actually listen to the latter less than to influencer-created content (Tworzydło, Zyczynski and Wadja, 2019).…”

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“…Through longterm cooperation with an influencer, a brand strengthens its relations with customers, and in the era of information society any actions related to influencer marketing gain in importance (Jin, Muqaddam, Ryu, 2019). Influencers are a opportunity for strengthening brand image, they effectively affect their followers by sending messages to potential customers (Tworzydło, Życzyński, Wajda, 2019).…”