The Peak is Yet to Come

Influencer Marketing Trends in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Influencer marketing is a relatively new instrument in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Influencers only became truly popular two-three years ago, when more and more brands started hiring them for collaborations. Now, we have a large number of popular figures from various market niches, and we expect these numbers to be even higher in the future.

A booming sector 

It all started five-six years ago, when a small number of companies started using public figures for marketing purposes. One of the first local influencers was Bosnian TV-host Hana Hadžiavdagić Tabaković, who might have actually been the first to start advertising products via social networks.

Today, the number of influencers is drastically higher, both major and minor brands using this tool for their niche products and target groups. According to certain assumptions, about 25% of brands use influencer marketing nowadays.

Popular and lacking niches 

According to statistics, the top 10 most popular Bosnian influencers are active in the lifestyle, fashion, makeup, celebrity, and music scene. 

Though not living in the country at the moment, we should definitely mention the successful influencer, the Dubai-based blogger and YouTuber Sabrina Tubić with a million followers, whom the media call the ""Bosnian Kim Kardashian"". Another person to mention is Erna Saljević, better known as “Diva is back”, who was one of the first in the country to combine fashion and social media. The charismatic influencer on Instagram is followed by 95,000 people, and drew attention with her fashion combinations and inspiring descriptions.

Although the number of influencers in these fields have been on the rise in the past two years – and due to the popularity of TikTok, it is increasing further and rapidly –, there is still much room for growth and progress. There are many niche categories where we do not have the appropriate influencers yet. We have only a few of them covering travel, family life, cooking and fitness, and for other topics like digital marketing, health, or finance we do not have influencers at all. 

In traveling, the most popular figures are Željka Kočić (72.9K followers) and Robert Dacešin (57K followers), in the family theme Ivona Aleksić (163K followers) and Jelena Đokić (126K followers), and the most popular “cooking influencers” are Maja Gojić (99.2K followers) and Ibrahim K. (67.6K followers). 

Short-term collaboration is the norm 

Most of the influencer campaigns in Bosnia and Herzegovina are smaller, stand-alone activities. Brands generally hire influencers for one-time collaborations, and much less often, as brand ambassadors. The campaigns are focused on social networks, and aimed at increasing sales or brand awareness. 

The problem with this short-term focus is that influencer marketing is not a sprint but a marathon. One-time cooperation with influencers bring results, but they are short-lived. Constant collaboration with quality content, a well-designed plan and strategy would bring better long-term results.

Another mistake that many brands make is choosing an influencer only based on the number of followers. The point of influencer marketing is to find an influencer from the niche segment you are working in and who suits the brand and only then look at the statistics and make a profile analysis (what is the engagement rate, type of posts, target audience, number of visits, etc.).

A new-age job

Bosnian influencer marketing has yet to reach its peak, and this is expected to happen in the next two-three years. In the future, the market will keep on growing as an increasing number of companies and brands will engage with this marketing instrument. More niche segments will develop, and micro-influencers will be more and more appreciated. Their smaller follower base enables a higher engagement rate, and their collaborations look more honest and warmer recommendations than paid advertisements. 

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, influencers are usually in connection with the fashion industry and create their own clothing brand. This could be one of the reasons why – according to researches – more and more children mention “influencer marketing” as their desired future profession.