THE INFLUENCE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING AS AN EFFORT

TO INCREASING SALES ON THE DIGITAL ERA

THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

Yossy Eka Pradita

Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business,
University of Jember
37 Kalimantan Street, Jember, Indonesia, 68121
yossy2000.yp@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Di dunia yang serba digital saat ini, tak jarang banyak orang menggunakan dan
memanfaatkan media sosial yang dimiliki untuk mempromosikan barang atau
jasa. Oleh karena itu, akhirnya banyak juga influencer yang muncul dengan
membawa tawaran mempromosikan barang atau jasa penjual. Penelitian ini
merupakan penelitian kualitatif deskriptif dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui
seberapa besar pengaruh influencer dalam mempromosikan barang atau jasa untuk
menaikkan suatu penjualan. Jenis penelitian ini juga menggunakan data sekunder
yang didapatkan dari literature yang telah ada dan telah dikaji oleh peneliti
sebelumnya. Peneliti menggunakan sumber penelitian empiris dengan
mengumpulkan data dan informasi yang berkaitan dengan pemasaran melalui
media sosial dan seberapa besar pengaruh seorang influencer dalam memberikan
informasi terhadap sebuah barang atau jasa kepada konsumen online, sehingga
tujuan yang ingin didapatkan secara siginifikan adalah meningkatan penjualan.
Hal ini tentunya tidak lepas dari media sosial yang berperan penting dalam
pemasaran digital, seperti instagram, youtube, twitter, facebook, google ads, dan
media sosial lainnya.
Kata kunci: media sosial, influencer marketing, mempromosikan, penjualan

PRELIMINARY
In today's business world, the level of competition between industrial
companies is getting tighter, this is also the case for companies in Indonesia. This
higher level of competition is accompanied by the advancement of technology in
the digital era. All companies are definitely competing to produce superior
products with high quality and maximize marketing for these products. This is
done by the company with the aim that the company can maximize its profits so
that it will be in accordance with the targets the company wants to achieve. In the
increasingly competitive business world, companies are required to create product
innovations in order to compete with other companies.1
The innovations that have been produced and issued must of course be
supported by marketing techniques that are able to attract consumers to buy the
company's products. In recent years, digital marketing trends have exploded in the
world, and have also entered Indonesia. In addition, entering the era of the
industrial revolution 4.0, where in this era machine technology automates its
application without the need to rely on human labor anymore. In the era of the
industrial revolution 4.0, there are many developments in digital technology that
are developing very rapidly. Technology is a tool that can be used by humans and
can help humans meet their needs. Technology can be used by humans to make it
easier to do any task and job. In today's digital era, humans generally have a new
lifestyle that cannot be separated from all electronic devices. Humans depend a lot
on applications in gadgets to make ends meet. The increasingly sophisticated
digital technology in today's digital era has resulted in the birth of various kinds of
digital technology.2 One of the types of digital technology that has been born is
digital marketing. In today's digital era, where humans cannot be separated from
their gadgets and enjoy opening social media, some people actually use it to
market their products through social media. This activity of marketing products
through social media is what is usually called digital marketing. According to
Hestanto, digital marketing is a practice of utilizing web-based channels to
disseminate information related to company brands, products or services to
potential consumers. Methods that can be used in digital marketing are email,
social media, display advertising, search engine optimization, and so on. Digital
marketing also has a goal, namely to reach potential consumers through channels
where potential consumers often spend time reading, searching, shopping, or
socializing online.3

1
Nugroho, Ikhsana Rifqi. 2019. Peningkatan Penjualan di Era Digital Berkembang Pesat.
https://www.hipwee.com/narasi/peningkatan-penjualan-di-era-digital-berkembang-pesat/.
2
Setiawan, Wawan. 2017. Era Digital dan Tantangannya. ISBN.978-602-50088-0-1.Online
journal.
3
Hestanto. 2017. Konsep Dasar Pemasaran Online (Online Marketing).
https://www.hestanto.web.id/konsep-dasar-pemasaran-online/
 Reporting from republika.co.id, the number of internet users in Indonesia in
2020 was recorded at around 175.5 million people from a total population of
268,583,016 residents. This number has increased by 25 million or 17 percent of
the number of internet users in the previous year, namely 2019. Director General
of Post and Information Administration of the Ministry of Communication and
Information, Ahmad M Ramly said of the number of users, penetration or national
digital coverage is 64 percent in the whole region.4 Meanwhile, if reported from
beritasatu.com, until January 2021 internet users in Indonesia were 202.6 million
people. This number increased by 27 million or 16 percent compared to the
previous year. while internet penetration reached 73.7% until January 2021. Based
on a survey conducted by GWI in the third quarter of 2020 as follows,5

Picture 1.
The Most Popular Social
Media in Indonesia in
2020 - 2021.
Source: beritasatu.com

4
Mursid, Fauziah. 2020. Kominfo: Pengguna Internet di Indonesia Capai 175,5 Juta.
https://republika.co.id/berita /
5
Dahono, Yudo. 2021. Data:Ini Media Sosial Paling Populer di Indonesia 2020-2021.
https://www.beritasatu.com/digital/
 From this data, it can be seen that the most popular social media in
Indonesia is Youtube. WhatsApp is in second place and continues in third, namely
Instagram. With this data, it can be said that the more popular social media is, the
more often it is seen and used, this also opens up opportunities for producers to
market their products through social media so that sales continue to increase.

In marketing products through social media, there are two options. The first
option is to post product photos and advertise, and the second option is to market
the product through well-known influencers so that potential consumers are more
interested in buying. One of the factors that underlie the success of marketing
through media social is to use influencer marketing by definition influencer
marketing is a method by designating a person or figure considered to have
influence among the community or target consumer segments which will be
targeted and felt can be the promotional target of the brand. Using this method
will make the influencer play the role buyers or users of a brand who are able to
represent the positive things the brand has so as to increase sales levels of the
product brand. Based on the existing data and definitions Researchers want to
know the role of these influencers as a way to increase sales in the digital era
through social media.6

LITERATURE VIEW
Marketing
Definition of marketing according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI)
is a process, method, action to market a merchandise, while the definition of a
marketing strategy is a plan to increase influence on the market, both in the short
term and in the long term term, which is based on market research, appraisal,
product planning, sales promotion and planning, and distribution. While the
definition. Marketing according to Kotler (2018) is a process in which the
company engages customers, build rapport with customers, and create value for
customers, so as to get good value/feedback from customers in order to increase

6
Hariyanti, Novi Tri, Alexander Wirapraja. 2018. Pengaruh Influencer Marketing Sebagai
Strategi Pemasaran Digital Era Moderen (Sebuah Studi Literatur). Jurnal Eksekutif Vol. 5.
profit and customer equity. Wrong one element of marketing is the marketing mix
which is a variable within marketing in order to meet sales targets. Inner element
marketing mix is known as 7p, namely: product, price, place, promotion, physical
evidence, process and people.7 So the definition of marketing in general is the
activity of utilizing sales variables to bring in consumers, increase sales, and
maintain good relationships with consumers so that transaction activities that
occur can be carried out continuously and continuously.

E – Marketing
E-Marketing (Electronic Marketing) according to Tjiptono (2016) is
strategic process, develop, distribute, promote, and setting prices for goods and
services to target markets via the internet or digital tools such as smartphones. At
this time e-marketing is one of the options made of entry that is considered
effective and efficient, especially for products digital, such as software, video,
music and the like.8

Social Media
Social media according to Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller (2012; 568) in
(Fauzi, February 2016), is a means for consumers to share text, image, audio and
video information with one another and with companies and vice versa. The role
of social media is increasingly being recognized in boosting business
performance. “Social media allows small businesses to change the way they
communicate with customers, market products and services and interact with
customers in order to build relationships that are good. Abdullah (2012: 32) states
that if a brand / product is to be launched, social media is used to disseminate
information that makes friends or followers curious".

Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is all forms of marketing products or services using digital
technology, especially the Internet and including cell phones. Digital Marketing,
which has been developing since the 1990s, has changed the strategy of

7
Kotler Philip. 2018. Principles of Marketing : Global Edition, 17th. United Kingdom : Pearson.
8
Tjiptono, Fandy. 2016. Pemasaran : Esensi dan Aplikasi. Yogyakarta : Andi.
companies and brands using technology for marketing. As more and more
companies are incorporating digital marketing as one of their marketing strategies,
and more and more people are shopping online, digital marketing campaigns are
becoming a necessity and are becoming increasingly efficient. There are five
forms of digital marketing, including SMS marketing, e-mail marketing, search
engine marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing.9

RESEARCH METHODS
The research method used in this research is qualitative research methods.
The data collection technique is done by triangulation (combined). According to
Creswell in Sugiyono (2012) quoted in realm research.com, qualitative research
methods are divided into five types, namely phenomenological research, grounded
theory, ethnography, case study and narrative research. In this study, researchers
will use a qualitative research method in the form of case studies.
This case study is a qualitative research in which researchers conduct in-
depth exploration of programs, events, processes, activities, influencer marketing
and social media that serve to increase sales. Researchers conducted detailed data
collection using various data collection procedures and in continuous time. This
case study aims to determine the influence of influencer marketing in an effort to
increase sales through social media.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The use of social media is not only seen as a means for self-actualization but
can develop towards the business world, one of which is that social media can be
a marketing tool and can also be used as a means to get reviews or information
about a product or service that will be or is being marketed so that it can be used.
attracting interest or response from customers in deciding to make a purchase
transaction.

9
“Apa itu Digital Marketing?”. 2020. https://marketingcraft.getcraft.com/id-articles/apa-itu-
digital-marketing
Picture 2. Use of the Internet Platform by Indonesian Millennials
Source : Databoks.katadata

Millennials seek entertainment from a number of platforms on the internet.

Based on the results of the Global Web Index survey, social media is the longest-
accessed platform, with an average of 2.5 hours per day. Meanwhile, music and
video streaming services are used for 1.7 hours and 1.6 hours, respectively. This
generation also reads articles in online media for 1.4 hours and listens to podcasts
for 1.1 hours per day. This is what causes marketing done through social media to
be considered effective and has great potential to increase sales of the product or
service being marketed.
Influencer Marketing is seen as one of the best strategies for bring in
potential customers when doing marketing using social media by leveraging the
mass owned by an influencer, an influncer can create a better product and brand
image at a lower cost than using an artist endorser brand or public figures who are
already among the top artists. An influencer in general, it is usually chosen based
on ability, expertise, level popularity, as well as the reputation it has. By using this
method a certain company or brand is expected to be more loyal to the company
influencers namely by building deeper relationships and not only just limited to
explaining about the product, but more to information as well as special facilities
obtained for new products and processes behind the scenes of the brand to be
promoted.
 Things that need to be considered when choosing influencers are of course
back to the concept of segmentation, targetting and positioning of targets the
desired consumer because this will affect the amount followers and engagement
level of the platform to be used, which platform What is meant is that sometimes
an influencer can create communities that can give an impression of the product to
be marketed, in some cases sometimes influencers with a small number of
followers but who have high involvement can be more effective in influencing the
level of product sales to consumers.
The popularity position of social media also affects the level popularity of
an influencer and increase the number of influencers that, it will indirectly reach
the consumer level wider range that adapts to these social media, in Indonesia
itself, like data on katadata.co.id in 2020, YouTube is the platform most
frequently used by social media users in Indonesia aged 16 to 64 years. The
percentage of users accessing Youtube reaches 88%. The next most frequently
accessed social media were WhatsAppa at 84%, Facebook at 82%, and Instagram
at 79%. For information, the average time Indonesian people spend accessing
social media is 3 hours 26 minutes. The total number of active social media users
is 160 million or 59% of the total population of Indonesia. 99% of social media
users surf via mobile.
Picture 3.
10 Frequently Used
Social Media 2020
Source :
Databoks.katadata
 A marketer in utilizing influencer services must create cooperation contracts
to avoid future conflicts, in payment is not always the influencer has to be paid in
nominal terms money, but can use promotions or other facilities owned by the
brand so that it can be used as a experiences that can be posted back on their
platform.

COCLUSIONS
Based on the results and discussion that has been done, it can be withdrawn
conclusions include:
1. The marketing potential of the modern era is dominated by marketing
through social media accessed through personal devices.
2. Influencer Marketing is a marketing strategy using social media.
3. Using Influencer Marketing can significantly cut the expenses used for
promotion.
4. The application of Influencer Marketing is very suitable to be applied to
increase the brand image (Brand Image) effectively and increase the
Brand Awareness of consumers towards the brand.

REFERENCES
Dahono, Yudo. 2021. Data:Ini Media Sosial Paling Populer di Indonesia 2020-
2021. https://www.beritasatu.com/digital/. Diakses pada 17 April 2021.
Hariyanti, Novi Tri, Alexander Wirapraja. 2018. Pengaruh Influencer Marketing
Sebagai Strategi Pemasaran Digital Era Moderen (Sebuah Studi Literatur).
Jurnal Eksekutif Vol. 5.
Hestanto. 2017. Konsep Dasar Pemasaran Online (Online Marketing).
https://www.hestanto.web.id/konsep-dasar-pemasaran-online/. Diakses pada
17 April 2021.
Kotler Philip. 2018. Principles of Marketing : Global Edition, 17th. United
Kingdom : Pearson.
Mursid, Fauziah. 2020. Kominfo: Pengguna Internet di Indonesia Capai 175,5
Juta. https://republika.co.id/berita/. Diakses pada 17 April 2021.
Nugroho, Ikhsana Rifqi. 2019. Peningkatan Penjualan di Era Digital Berkembang
Pesat. https://www.hipwee.com/narasi/peningkatan-penjualan-di-era-
digital-berkembang-pesat/. Diakses pada 14 April 2021.
Setiawan, Wawan. 2017. Era Digital dan Tantangannya. ISBN.978-602-50088-0-
1.Online journal. Diakses pada 17 April 2021.
Tjiptono, Fandy. 2016. Pemasaran : Esensi dan Aplikasi. Yogyakarta : Andi.
“Apa itu Digital Marketing?”. 2020. https://marketingcraft.getcraft.com/id-
articles/apa-itu-digital-marketing. Diakses pada 17 April 2021.
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2021/02/03/milenial-paling-intens-
akses-internet-untuk-media-sosial
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2020/02/26/10-media-sosial-yang-
paling-sering-digunakan-di-indonesia#