Let’s meet him up close. Stefano Cicchini, Travel Influencer & Food Blogger, is considered to be one of the 250 top content creators in Italy. Among the others, he’s partnered with several Tourism Authorities such as Visit Finland, Visit Britain, Visit Thailand, the Polish Tourism Organisation, VLC Valencia and This is Eindhoven.
Stefano Cicchini is one of Italy’s leading experts in influencer marketing and he has worked with many important brands to develop social media campaigns. Let’s find out what his view is on influencer marketing in 2020.
We had a chat with him where revealed what his job entails:
1) On your Instagram profile @stefano_cicchini we can see that you are a travel influencer, food blogger and influencer marketing expert. How did it all begin? What side of your job do you like the most or the least?
What you can see today is the result of several years of work. I think I was quite good at anticipating a trend before it caught on. Italy is almost always among the last countries to embrace a trend, I started doing and researching on influencer marketing through social media when this phenomenon was still rising in the U.S. I’ve always looked up to the U.S. market and I believe one should always hold it as an example for any new project that is being developed. I used to write a travel blog that had quite a lot of followers, but I then decided to shut it down for several reasons and I went on creating my own website. However, what really made me stand out was my Instagram profile, now with more than 160k followers. I love my job, I’m really lucky to be able to travel and make a living out of it and I can see how this is a dream for many people. Even so, despite what one might think, this job can be sometimes stressful too. My trips require a lot of work on the content I am creating. The negative side of all of this is that social media can alienate from real life, so you have to be really careful with this.
It is through social media campaigns and by working with agencies that I have truly understood the different facets of influencer marketing, and I now manage influencer campaigns for brands – such as Puma – and local organisations.
2) What’s your view on influencer marketing in 2020?
When I started, I was among the first ones in Italy to be approached by brands asking to review their products. What used to be a novelty is now quite common, and brands nowadays invest incredible budgets on this activity. I think 2020 will be a positive year for this market which is set to increasingly grow, and despite what many people think, the future of influencer marketing looks quite bright as this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down any soon.
4) What’s the best social media platform for finding the right influencers?
There’s no such thing as the best social media platform, as it all comes down to the type of market or niche you are trying to tap into. For some brands, a YouTuber could be more suitable than an Instagram influencer, while TikTok might be better than Facebook. Overall, Instagram and YouTube tend to be more suitable for this activity – but watch out for the up-and-coming social media platforms!
5) Are you referring to TikTok?
Yes, indeed. Just like Instagram, TikTok too is a springboard for content creators to influence the consumption behaviors of its users. In this sense, the next years might be crucial for the development of social media marketing, especially since the average age of influencers is increasing. Even now many brands are already leveraging the power of musers – this is how influencers on TikTok are called – for advertising purposes and to generate an incredible turnover from social media platforms. We can definitely say this is truly influencer marketing.
6) How do you develop an influencer marketing campaign?
Once you’ve acquired a new client, it’s time to set a budget and to decide on the most suitable strategy for that particular campaign. The influencers whose characteristics are closer to the goal of our campaign will be contacted and a deal will be negotiated with them. Instead of revealing the campaign’s budget, each influencer will be asked to submit their required fees.
After an initial scouting process in which the influencers are chosen, the actual organisation and development of the sponsored campaign can begin, be it a simple sponsored social media post or an actual sponsored on-site activity.
Throughout every stage of the campaign, it’s crucial to always monitor the quality of the content created and to ensure that the content creator maintains a certain degree of professionalism. Once the campaign has come to an end, my team and I develop a detailed report on the activities undertaken, considering all the available KPIs.
7) How can anyone get in touch with you to discuss a potential collaboration?
My email address is marketing@stefanocicchini.com
Visit my website www.stefanocicchini.com
DM me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/stefano_cicchini
Check out my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/cicchinistefano
Image credits: FB
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