The term influencer marketing has recently become extremely popular and highly relevant in current times. The online community is growing at a phenomenal speed providing a suitable platform to upcoming, innovative, and relatable content creators and bloggers. Social media algorithms are designed in a way that encourages engagement and displays the timelines based on the reach of an account or ‘influencer.’ We are here to discuss why this realm has become the talk of the town and how you can make the most of it.
Interpreting the fundamentals
So if we consider the nitty-gritty, influencer marketing is not a new concept. It has been based on the pillars of word-of-mouth recommendations and the trust referrals used to come from our near and dear ones. Initially, the interwebs and later the ease and comfort of social media have just revitalized the impact of this age-old marketing technique.
Companies and brands can utilize this power and integrate their services or products with relevant online personalities for heightened brand awareness authentically and organically. Your brand can reach potential customers in a much quicker way through influencer marketing.
The concept of influencer marketing revolves around building trust by associating a trustworthy personality that targets a group of like-minded people who might find your product or service helpful.
Should you hop on the bandwagon?
Marketing and sales for your brand and company are obviously in full swing, with several campaigns across multiple channels to elevate the conversions. Therefore, it is evident for you to ponder on why you should consider investing a considerable amount of resources into influencer marketing. Let us have a look at a few statistics that might catch your interest.
Approximately 49% of the consumers rely on the influencer’s final word for making a purchase decision. Around 80% of marketers have observed that influencer marketing has been as effective for them as much as any other channel they might be using. It has brought about almost eight times the return on investment when the campaigns are focused on accelerating brand awareness and engagement. Also, 71% of the marketers notice that the quality of traffic and customers are pretty genuine from the influence marketing campaign, looking to purchasing the product or service.
Different types of influencers you might encounter
The social media platforms house a highly variable mix of people, with several great influencers covering all sorts of niches from all nooks and corners of the world. They can range from fitness trainers, interior designers, makeup artists to aspiring actors. They bring forth their day-to-day adventures that are relatable, and when collaborating with a brand, they can bring forward a genuine use or need for your product or service that their followers can quickly adapt in their lives as well.
Here are a few types of influencers that you should be aware of:
Micro-influencers
They have extreme niche content and might not have strength in the number but have a loyal and engaged audience that regularly tunes in for their content.
Celebrity influencers
Here you will find strength in numbers, and we are talking about several million. Even if you can manage to convert a small fraction of their following into your customers, you may benefit exponentially.
Social media stars
These are the talented lot that uses TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms in the most innovative way and tunes with the algorithms that bring about conversions.
Easy steps to initiate an influencer marketing campaign
When venturing into this scene for the first time, it can be daunting to make some final decisions. Here are a few basic steps that can produce substantial results when scaling with the help of influencers and social media.
Adequate research from the start
Doing your homework in this matter can be the make or break of your campaign. There are many lessons one can learn from brands who have tried this method and know how to go about the process and specific deals that you should altogether avoid. This might give a head start to your strategy, and you can take pointers from the competitors and brands who have masters influencer integration.
Choose the correct influencers
This is a crucial step. Performing background research, being familiar with the type of content they post, their reach, and relevance to your product or service. Check out the accounts followed by most of the demographic you are targeting and spend appropriate time for this step to observe actual results.
Etch out the reasonable deal
The collaboration structure needs to be specific concerning the timeframe, output, content usage rights, payments, campaign goals, sponsored hashtags, and the value addition you require. A transparent relationship can lead to quite creative content and outcomes for both parties.
Lastly, make the most content value
Maximize the value of this integration by posting about the same on your product page, publishing the detailed review as a Facebook ad, and other social media platforms to utilize the experiments to the maximum.