About
Ciao Bella is a lifestyle and travel brand based in Italy. With beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and travel among the top five most profitable niches on Instagram, Ciao Bella is the perfect multifaceted endeavor (Razo, 2020). The ultimate goal of this brand is to document all of the things that make Italy so special. This could include anything from food and fashion to hotels and hidden gems. Scroll down to find out more.
Italy is a dream that keeps you returning for the rest of your life. — Anna Akhmatova
Target Audience
Ciao Bella will target women between the ages of 18 and 34—around 30% of female Instagram users fall into this age demographic—who are interested in topics of beauty, fashion, food, lifestyle, and travel (Statista, 2020). I am choosing to target women specifically because more than 50% of women say that influencer content on Instagram and Facebook has led them to make a purchase (Digital Marketing Institute, 2020). Because I’ll be working with brands to sell their products and services, this factor plays a tremendous role in my decision to target women.
My two primary social media platforms will be Instagram and YouTube. I chose Instagram because “6 in 10 online adults have an Instagram account”—56.3% of which are women (Omnicore, 2020). I also chose YouTube because it "is the second most-preferred platform for watching video" among 18 to 34 year olds, which is the exact age demographic I'll be targeting (Hootsuite, 2020). YouTube is also a great social media platform for me to use because beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and travel are among the top 10 most popular types of videos on the website (Mediakix, 2020).
Objectives
- Convince HYPER that Ciao Bella is worthy of being added to their reputable list of social media influencers.
- Become one of the most followed female lifestyle/travel influencers on Instagram and YouTube.
- Provide my young female audience with quality content that will inspire and empower them to travel.
Similar Influencers
Carin Olsson
Carin Olsson started using her Instagram account—@parisinfourmonths—as a way to document her experiences while living in Paris for four months. After her trip was over, she decided to move there full time and has been sharing her amazing life with her followers ever since. Carin’s niches are beauty, fashion, photography, and travel.
- 866k followers on Instagram
- 31k likes on Facebook
Sponsors
- Dior Perfume
- Channel
- Louis Vuitton
- Atelier Swarovski
- Narciso Rodriguez Perfume
I chose Carin because her entire brand focuses on her incredible life in France, much like what Ciao Bella focuses on in Italy.
Belen Hostalet
Belen Hostalet is a Spanish influencer who has traveled all over the world and has beautiful photos on her Instagram—@belenhostalet—to show for it. Her platform revolves heavily around luxury brands, international travel, photography, and fashion.
- 815k followers on Instagram
- 7k likes on Facebook
Sponsors
- Louis Vuitton
- BMW
- Dior Perfume
- Nespresso
- Belmond
I chose Belen because she combines travel and lifestyle in the most beautiful way—something my brand also strives to do.
Matilda Djerf
Matilda Djerf is a popular lifestyle influencer from Sweden. Her Instagram account—@matildadjerf—covers everything from beauty and fashion to food and travel. When she is not uploading content to her Instagram account, she is managing her clothing brand—@djerfavenue—or posting videos on YouTube.
- 1.2m on Instagram
- 135k subscribers on YouTube
Sponsors
- Revolve
- Volvo
- Away Travel
- Frankies Bikinis
- Maria Nila Stockholm
I chose Matilda because YouTube is a big part of her brand. Her content revolves heavily around lifestyle and travel, similar to Ciao Bella.
Potential Sponsors
Gucci Fragrance
Working with Gucci will allow me to appeal to my followers who are interested in the areas of beauty and fashion. As an Italian luxury brand, Gucci matches Ciao Bella's aesthetic quite well because my platforms are all about living la dolca vita.
Fragrance companies tend to partner with influencers who have high levels of engagement because they are able to successfully "build awareness and anticipation" about their products (Mediakix, 2020). This is why a Gucci x Ciao Bella partnership is such a good idea. With my large following and outstanding engagement, I'll be able to use both of my social media platforms to generate excitement about Gucci's most popular fragrances and increase sales for the brand. This would make the company's investment in Ciao Bella well worth it because I will be strengthening their brand loyalty and increasing conversion rates.
Belmond
Belmond is an Italian travel company that specializes in everything from hotels and river cruises to restaurants and tours. Because I'm a travel influencer, this partnership is the perfect way to show my followers just how incredible vacationing in Italy can truly be.
By tagging Belmond in my Instagram photos and including clips of their hotels and excursions in my YouTube videos, I will be exposing thousands of my followers to their brand. With 82% of people stating that Instagram influences their travel decisions, a Belmond x Ciao Bella partnership would be huge for the company (Amadeus, 2017). This would lead to a dramatic increase in bookings for various Belmond offerings, which I'm sure stakeholders would appreciate. Not only will the company see an increase in their number of guests, but they will also experience an improvement in credibility because Ciao Bella loved them enough to post about their goods and services.
Illycaffè
Because Ciao Bella is a lifestyle brand at heart, it's important that my sponsors come from a variety of backgrounds. That's why a partnership with Illycaffè is the perfect decision. By promoting an Italian coffee company that can be purchased all over the world, my followers will be able to catch a glimpse of the Italian lifestyle no matter where they're located.
With nearly 55% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 drinking at least two cups of coffee per day, Illycaffè products would likely appeal to more than half of my target audience (MyFriendsCoffee, 2020). By posting photos of my Illy coffee on Instagram or posting a tutorial on how to make a cappuccino using Illy espresso on my YouTube, the brand will gain notoriety and sales will skyrocket. Because so many people tend to buy their coffee from shops rather than making it at home, a partnership with a coffee company is a great way to encourage my audience to follow my lead and brew it at home. By partnering with Illy to inspire others to make their own coffee, the company will experience an extraordinary boom in business that will make their investment in Ciao Bella well worth it.
Why Ciao Bella?
While there is certainly no shortage of lifestyle and travel influencers on social media, Ciao Bella provides followers with an entirely different experience. Despite posting similar content to Carin Olsson, Belen Hostalet, and Matilda Djerf, my platform stands out because I:
- Embody multiple niches to appeal to a wider audience
- Focus solely on posting content about Italy
- Partner with diverse brands that align with my brand
- Edit all of my own content for the sake of authenticity
- Interact with my followers consistently to maintain relationships
With 92% of Instagram users saying that “they’ve followed a brand, clicked on their website, or made a purchase after seeing a product/service on the platform,” it’s apparent that quality influencer marketing is more important than ever (Cooper, 2020). By partnering with companies that directly align with Ciao Bella’s values, sponsored content will always come across as genuine, which is absolutely essential in any successful brand deal. Because Ciao Bella has such a large following on both Instagram and YouTube, sponsors are likely to see significant ROI considering that the majority of a brand’s influencer marketing budget goes to Instagram and YouTube creators (2020).
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Credits:
Created with images by Braden Collum - "untitled image" • Nellia Kurme - "life is a beach," Unsplash, and Haylee Thorson. References: Brown, J. (2017). Your hotel's guide to partnering influencers. Amadeus. Retrieved from https://www.amadeus-hospitality.com/insight/hotel-guide-to-partnering-with-influencers/ Cooper, P. (2019, December 17). 23 YouTube statistics that matter to marketers in 2020. Hootsuite. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/ Coffee industry statistics. (2020, June 22). MyFriendsCoffee. Retrieved from https://myfriendscoffee.com/coffee-industry/ Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of July 2020, by age and gender. (2020). Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/248769/age-distribution-of-worldwide-instagram-users/ Instagram by the numbers: Stats, demographics & fun facts. (2020, February 10). Omnicore. Retrieved from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-statistics/ Instagram marketing case study: How Chanel wins on Instagram. (2020). Mediakix. Retrieved from https://mediakix.com/blog/instagram-marketing-case-study-chanel-fashion-beauty/ The 20 most popular types of YouTubers. (2020). Mediakix. Retrieved from https://mediakix.com/blog/most-popular-types-of-youtubers/ 20 influencer marketing statistics that will surprise you. (2020). Digital Marketing Institute. Retrieved from https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you