Presented by Pia Schröder, Misereor (Germany)

Influencer marketing is one of the most prevalent trends of our time. The increasing importance of digital media means that cooperation with opinion leaders in social networks is becoming more and more important. Non-profit organisations are also discovering cooperation with influencers for themselves.

Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation, has asked itself how influencer relations can be used meaningfully in communications work. In April 2019, we started our first influencer project: two YouTubers visited Misereor projects in Brazil. Through their social media channels they raised awareness within their communities of the situation of disadvantaged young people in Rio de Janeiro, reported on the project work on site, and called for support.

Another important pillar of Misereor’s external communication is the organisation’s own "corporate influencers": Misereor employees who use their own social media channels and their status as experts in their fields to act as multipliers and enter into dialogue.

The workshop participants jointly developed ways in which influencers can be integrated into communication from and with the margins.

What makes this experience relevant to others?
Influencer marketing as a communications tool holds great potential for non-profits: it enables organisations to enter into dialogue with new target groups, to tell authentic stories, to raise awareness and mobilise people for the global issues of development cooperation. Another important question is how to encourage and support your employees to become multipliers for your own organisation as "corporate influencers". Last but not least: the power to tell your own story is where equality and a more just world begins

Interested in further resources?

Find here a selection of publications on Social Media Marketing, YouTube and on Influencers from the CAMECO literature database.