Why choose DRIM?
Working with bloggers requires an individual approach. Sometimes it can be challenging to negotiate with an influencer, things may not go as planned, or even get canceled. When it comes to a large-scale campaign involving at least 50 bloggers, it becomes difficult to select the most suitable candidates, interact with them, negotiate terms, and internally manage the company's commitment fulfillment.
Working with bloggers in the United States can be a complex task. Traditionally, companies have relied on targeted advertising on platforms like Facebook to raise brand awareness and drive sales. However, this approach may prove ineffective and lack native content. Social media users have grown weary of such advertisements, developing what is commonly referred to as "banner blindness." They often approach targeted content with skepticism, instinctively scrolling past such posts.
Integration with bloggers, particularly micro-influencers, is perceived differently. They are not seen as soulless advertising tools or unattainable celebrities by their followers. Instead, they are relatable individuals with whom one can easily identify. Their advice and recommendations can be trusted just like those of friends and acquaintances, making their opinions more valuable to the audience.
However, challenges can arise even when working with micro-influencers. To achieve the desired reach, it often requires engaging a larger number of influencers than usual. One option for streamlining the process of working with micro-influencers is the use of blogger platforms, which are widely available worldwide, including in the United States. However, there are nuances to consider. Most of these platforms allow advertisers to independently select bloggers and send them collaboration offers. Yet, often there is no response to such messages.
Careerist faced similar challenges when collaborating with bloggers. They encountered predictable difficulties such as how to negotiate with each blogger, how to align content, and how to measure the effectiveness and results after each publication.
DRIM is not just a marketplace or a database of bloggers. It is a platform where influencers choose advertisers based on their understanding of their audience. We have a dedicated team of scouts who constantly monitor social media, analyze accounts, and carefully select bloggers for each specific project. This approach represents an innovative and unconventional way of collaborating with brands, in the United States.
By the time DRIM partnered with Careerist, they had already gained impressive experience working with micro-influencers from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. However, we realized that this campaign would be a true challenge. Careerist believed in DRIM, and they were determined not to disappoint them!
About Careerist:
Careerist — online career training platform that provides people with different education, work experience and background find a well-paying job and master their skills in a prosperous IT sphere.
At Careerist, you not only acquire practical skills but also learn how to market and sell them for a good price.
The strategy
Our partnership commenced in the summer of 2022. As anticipated, we had to navigate uncharted territory and experiment with different hypotheses before yielding more impressive outcomes by the following autumn.
Careerist had set two crucial objectives for us, focusing on expanding their collaboration with bloggers:
Increase brand awareness
Attract new users.
We developed a profile of the target audience for the ideal blogger and began testing the following hypothesis:
The primary audience for the perfect blogger for this project is young individuals aged 22 to 45 who want to quickly and affordably acquire in-demand IT skills without possessing technical knowledge or work experience. They aspire to work from home in a reputable company and earn a minimum of $50,000 per year. The main areas of education that predominantly interest this audience include Manual QA, System Engineer, Sales Engineer, UX Design, and etc.
In theory, an audience matching the described profile can be found within a broad spectrum of blogs. Thus, we chose to identify and test several specific niches.
We prioritized blogs in the "family and parenting" and "lifestyle" categories since individuals with children often seek online work opportunities to have more quality time with their families.
Additionally, we targeted blogs related to travel and education, as online work enables the flexibility to travel and work from anywhere in the world.
Blogs focused on finance, economics, career, business, science, and technology ranked third in our selection. We chose not to restrict ourselves to a specific publication format or social media platform but rather observe the results of the initial phase and make adjustments to our strategy accordingly. We crafted several key messages that bloggers would convey to their followers:
Practical training: The course provides comprehensive training on job application processes, CV preparation, and negotiation skills. Upon the completion you will have all the required documents to get a great job;
Accessible to Everyone, No IT Experience Required: You don't need prior IT knowledge to pursue a lucrative career in a prestigious company and earn over $50,000 annually.
Placement Guarantee: Our Robotic Automation system streamlines and automates the job application process, ensuring quicker and higher placement rates for participants.
A Strong Foundation: Benefit from mentorship and support throughout the training program and job search, offering a solid starting point for your career journey. Gain not only new skills but also the ability to secure new job placements and excel in interviews.
The Fastest Path to a Lucrative Career: Acquire knowledge in high-demand IT fields and secure a well-paid job within 2-6 months after completing the program.
Always in High Demand: Rest assured about job placement as nearly every company has an IT department. Embrace the extraordinary array of opportunities available in this thriving industry.
Escape Dead-End Jobs: Boost your earnings with a prosperous career in the IT sector, enjoy the flexibility of remote work, and strike a balance between your professional and personal life.
The possibility of paying for training in installments or through credit.
Maiden Voyage
For us, as a performance-based platform, it is crucial that the client knows where every spent dollar goes. That's why for the Careerist project, we chose an attribution method using a personalized link that bloggers could share in their posts or in the header of their profiles. In turn, based on the results of the advertising campaign, we could analyze and determine the source of each traffic.
We have identified the target audience, formulated hypotheses, selected an attribution method, and created triggers. Now we need to decide where and how to find bloggers for the advertising campaign.
Specifically for this project, we built a team of trained scouts whose task was to find suitable bloggers, introduce them to the project, provide them with a personalized link, assist them in publishing a post, and enter it into our system.
The results of the first flight have revealed the following pattern: it turned out that family and travel blogs have a lower conversion rate compared to blogs focusing on finance, economics, career, and business topics.
Furthermore, based on our findings, we have determined which publication format performs better. It appears that short videos are the most popular format among our target audience, while static posts did not prove to be as effective.
Using the machine learning algorithm of our platform and the look-alike tool, we have analyzed the data on successful bloggers in different segments. With this information, we have generated a list of bloggers from our database who have not yet collaborated with our project but have a high probability of bringing in good conversions.
Having reviewed the results, made necessary adjustments to our strategy, and equipped with a fresh list of bloggers and our scout team, we launched the second round of testing.
Here's what we achieved this time:
Examples of YouTube publications:
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRGPdQjW/
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFo1YsRr/
It is worth mentioning that certain bloggers demonstrated impressive outcomes following a series of publications, and some even became brand ambassadors. This leads us to the conclusion that purchasing a series of influencer is worth doing. The number of brand interactions is crucial for making purchasing decisions.
The results:
The strategy proved effective as we witnessed a substantial increase in lead generation in November.
A significant breakthrough occurred in TikTok, influenced by several factors:
The TikTok audience enthusiastically embraces new trends and shows a keen interest in online learning and remote work opportunities.
Targeting niche accounts dedicated to finance, business, and career topics allowed us to hit the bullseye.
During the period from November to March, we published a total of 59 integration videos on TikTok, which resulted in the following outcomes for us:
4,723,424 views
538 leads
12,729 clicks
On YouTube, during the period from November to March, we published 6 videos that resulted in:
226,100 views
14 leads
1,526 clicks
The data was solely obtained by analyzing the clicks on individual blogger links, but it's important to consider the impact of organic traffic when evaluating campaign results. Not all followers use the blogger's specific link when visiting the website. Many users may discover the client's platform through organic search, as the decision to visit is often not immediate.
Careerist diligently monitored the number of organic leads on a daily basis. When overlaying this data with the publication schedule, it became evident that the publications triggered a significant surge in website applications. If we consider organic applications as a constant factor, these surges resulted in hundreds of applications that were not attributed to the links throughout the entire campaign period.
If we combine the organic growth with the applications generated through blogger links, the results reach into the thousands: micro-influencers from DRIM brought approximately 4,770 potential clients to Careerist.
The reasons behind the surge are supported by other traffic analysis methods, such as call monitoring. By listening to recorded phone conversations with users who have submitted applications, analysts can identify how users learned about the service and evaluate the effectiveness of the blogger's message in their creative content. This approach also allows for collecting valuable feedback to make timely campaign adjustments, such as choosing the right platforms, optimizing scripts and more.
Client's Comment:
Collaborating with micro-bloggers is a complex and challenging process that requires working with a robust analytical framework and a skilled team. It takes time and patience to test all hypotheses and reach the right solution that drives real conversions. However, the successful Careerist case demonstrates that this endeavor is worth the effort, and partnering with micro-influencers is the most effective strategy for attracting new clients.
The project was worked on by:
Kate, Head of Latam
Jane, Head of Scouts
Olga, Head of Accounting
Adelina, Senior of Scouts