Influencer marketing is not a trend; it’s here to stay. In fact, its influence is set to grow even stronger in the coming year. The rise of social media has led to a viral pandemic of Influencer Marketing as brands have discovered new and exciting ways to leverage the power of micro-celebrities in their marketing efforts. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not you should be investing in influencer marketing, read on to find out why so many marketers are obsessed with this strategy.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on generating sales leads and promoting your product/service through influential people. These can be celebrities with millions of social media followers or micro-influencers with a few thousand. While influencer marketing is not a new concept, the rise of social media and the ease with which micro-influencers can be discovered and engaged has led to a viral pandemic of Influencer Marketing. Unlike traditional advertising, in which companies pay to have their products featured, influencer marketing lets brands partner with people who have established followings and reputations for being genuine and trustworthy.
Why brands love influencer marketing
There are many reasons why brands love influencer marketing. Here are a few that stand out: – Convenience – Influencer marketing is scalable and can be deployed on a large scale. It can be as simple as sending a few personalized messages to micro-influencers on Instagram. – Controllability – The nature of influencer marketing gives brands control over how the message is delivered to their target audience. There is little to no risk of going off-message or being negatively received. – Cost-effectiveness – Influencer marketing has been called the most cost-effective form of marketing. Not only do brands benefit from the positive word-of-mouth that comes with being associated with influencers, but they don’t have to spend as much to get their message out. – Customer engagement – The majority of influencer marketing campaigns involve some sort of giveaway with the goal of driving engagement. The more engaged the customers are, the more likely they are to become loyal brand advocates.
How to get started with Influencer Marketing?
There are a few steps you’ll need to take in order to conduct influencer marketing successfully. – Identify the right influencers – You’ll first need to identify the right influencers for your marketing campaign. This includes researching the right platforms to find them on (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) as well as finding a tool that can help you automate the process of finding relevant influencers. – Put together a campaign – Once you’ve identified the right influencers for your campaign, you’ll want to put together a campaign that outlines what you want the influencers to do and how you want them to do it. Don’t forget to outline the type of incentive you’ll be providing the influencers for the campaign. – Execute the campaign – Once you’ve put together your campaign, it’s time to execute it. You’ll want to work with your influencers to make sure they’re delivering on the campaign guidelines you laid out for them. – Measure and evaluate results – Finally, you’ll want to determine how effective your influencer marketing campaign was. This will help you make adjustments for future campaigns.
3 ways brands can benefit from Influencer Marketing
- Brand awareness – Influencer marketing campaigns are great for increasing brand awareness. Influencers should be instructed to post about your product/service and how it has benefited them. This will help you get the word out about your brand and generate new leads.
- Lead generation– If you’ve laid out the campaign correctly, your influencers should be able to collect email addresses from their followers. They can then use these addresses to send out follow-up emails promoting your product/service and encouraging leads to buy.
- Pricing– This is one of the best benefits of influencer marketing: you’ll set the price. While you’ll have to negotiate a price with influencers, you have the power to set an amount that you’re willing to pay. – You’ll also want to keep in mind that influencer marketing is not a short-term solution. You won’t see immediate results but rather a gradual increase in revenue as you continue to work with the influencers over time.
2 pitfalls to avoid when working with Influencers
- Not vetting your influencers – Always be sure to vet your influencers. This doesn’t just mean making sure that they have a large enough following (although that’s definitely a factor). You’ll also want to make sure that the content they’re creating for your campaign is suitable for your brand.
- Not setting expectations – Just like you want to vet your influencers, you also want to set expectations with your influencers. Make sure that you lay out a detailed campaign plan and outline what you want your influencers to do.
Bottom line
Influencer marketing is a long-term strategy that requires patience, but the results are well worth it. By investing in influencer marketing campaigns, brands can expect to reap the rewards of increased brand awareness, better lead generation, and increased revenue. With the right campaign, you can also expect to see an increase in customer satisfaction as well as positive word-of-mouth from your satisfied customers.
Cluezilla helps organizations in digital branding, reputation analysis, strategy development and online reputation management.