Marketing strategies are constantly changing, and Influencer marketing isn’t just another form of marketing; it is much more than that. It’s a powerful strategy that helps you reach out to a new audience. Today, it has become an essential way for brands to integrate and interact with the audience. It’s one of the best ways to advertise and promote your brand.
Influencer marketing is expected to grow from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $13.8 billion in 2021. It’s a strategy that helps to get your brand in front of a wider audience. So, how exactly do you go about influencer marketing, and what are the things you need to avoid?
This ultimate guide will tell you everything about influencer marketing and what you need to know before implementing it in your marketing strategy.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is when brands work with famous individuals who have a large following on social media platforms. These influencers help businesses with their marketing strategies and get their brand out to a broader audience.
Influencer marketing aims to identify and approach these influencers to work with them to help promote your business. An influencer is a person who can affect the purchase decisions of people because of the knowledge, position, or relationship he has with his followers.
One great example of influencer marketing is celebrity marketing. However, modern-day influencer marketing is much more than a famous star promoting a brand.
Why do you need influencer marketing?
When was the last time you took the time to look at a display ad while surfing the internet? Most people just scroll through and do not even notice ads anymore. Many who do notice them find ads so annoying that to get rid of them, they go ahead and install AdBlockers. Here are a few reasons why you must consider influencer marketing for your brand.
Enhances brand awareness
Paid influencers will work towards promoting the brand. They might even go ahead and film a few products to promote your products and brand. Using their social media accounts with a huge following, they can post pictures or videos while using your service or products. For example, Hello Fresh, a meal kit service, has worked with a wide range of influencers. Right from popular foodies such as Emilie Hebert to celebrities, they know the influencer game. They own 55% influencer share, showing that the brand dominates when compared to its competitors.
Builds trust
Social media influencers have a strong relationship with their followers. Users trust them and are more likely to take suggestions and recommendations from them. For example, when celebrities endorse a service or product, it immediately helps to establish credibility. In the same way, when you get an influencer to talk about your brand, it helps to build trust and credibility for your brand with the audience at large.
Connect to a broader audience
With influencer marketing, you reach out to your target audience and reach out to other segments of the market. This helps you to connect with a broader audience and eventually grow your business. Here’s another great example of successful influencer marketing. Timex received amazing results with the #TakeTime campaign.
With the help of 22 influencers who had an average following of 85,000 each, Timex reached a wider audience and achieved a 7.5% engagement rate during the campaign.
How do influencers help to reach out to the audience?
With short attention spans and the ever-increasing competition, it’s challenging for brands to reach out to audiences. Hence, influencer marketing is an intelligent strategy that brands can adopt to get through the masses.
People do not like marketing that is too heavy and pushy. This can ruin your chances of growing your business. Initially, you may see an increase in conversions and clicks, but this will eventually disappear.
Influencers know how to reach out to their followers by focusing on providing value. They know precisely how to put out information and promote your brand in the best way possible. Instead of just telling their fans to go ahead and purchase the product or service, they show them pictures or short video clips of them using the particular product. This helps trigger an emotional connection and response in the customer’s mind, thus subtly promoting your brand.
How to identify the right influencer?
Now, before you begin your search for the right influencer, you need first to consider two areas of your campaign. Who is your marketing audience, and what response do you expect? This will help to create clear goals that you want to achieve.
Once you know exactly what you want, you can identify the influencers you would like to work with to achieve your goals. Here are a few tips for identifying the right influencer:
Reach and Engagement
How many people is the influencer reaching out to? Do they drive engagement? Is your audience interacting with the influencer or just like the content?
Compatibility
Compatibility plays a vital role when it comes to influencer marketing. A large audience does not necessarily mean that the audience will be easily susceptible. Hence, it would help if you looked at how compatible you are with the audience.
Personality
Not all influencers have followers that like them. There could be troublemakers, rebels, or controversy creators. You must ensure that negative comments and traits won’t cause any problem to your campaign or brand.
Media impact
Which social media platform is the influencer more active on? Do you want someone from Pinterest or Instagram, or maybe someone who is a blogger? Remember, every channel has its drawbacks and benefits, so choose wisely.
You can search for influencers through blogs, keywords, industry, hashtags, products, and even competition. LinkedIn and your own social media interaction can also help you select the right influencer for your brand.
Influencer marketing is going to be around for quite a while now, so trying it out may help your brand in many ways, given the fact that it is a very cost-effective option as well.
