Influencer Marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to deliver the message of your product to a large market. Instead of marketing directly to a large group of consumers, instead, you encourage / hire/pay influencers to give out your name to the world. An influencer can be attributed to a person who has:
- The power to influence the purchasing decisions of others because of his authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his audience
- A following in a different niche, with whom he or she actively involves with. The following size depends on the size of his niche topic.
Most people mistake influencers to be celebrities with a huge following which is not the case. Influencers, unlike celebrities, can be anywhere. They can be anyone. What makes them influential is their strong following on the web and social media. The influencer could be a popular Instagram photographer, or a well-educated security blogger on Twitter, or a well-respected advertising manager on LinkedIn. In any industry, there are influential people – you just have to find them.
But before diving into influencer marketing, here are the 3-R’s of Influence which is worth considering:
- Relevance: the influencer you choose for marketing should have some relevance with your brand. A relevant influencer shares content pertinent to your business and industry. They need to have an audience that fits your target market. For example; if you have a fitness product you should choose any athlete or fitness trainer as your facilitator.
- Reach: It is the number of people you can reach based on the influencer’s follower base. Remember: a small audience can work, but you need to make sure there is enough following to suit your goals.
- Resonance: This is the level of engagement that an influencer can do with the audience associated with your product. Not to exaggerate the point, but a large following isn’t always good. A large number of followers means nothing if those followers have no interest in your offer. Niche influencers, on the other hand, can have very dedicated and betrothed followers.
Influential economies have changed the way we buy things – permanently. About 67% of advertisers report that they are involved in some form of influencer marketing, a number that can grow as social media promoters experience regular exposure. With great demand, the influential economy is shifting to more efficient solutions, taking on tools such as influential networks; match-making platform services and even a system to facilitate brands tap influencers more easily. Brands that aren’t part of it are losing control. Conventional digital marketing is incapacitated at this time. 66% of major customers are frustrated with too many online marketing messages, and 20% of consumers may boycott a product due to excessive advertising. Advertisers should pay attention to influential content because it provides a complete solution to “ad fatigue” and, unlike traditional advertising campaigns, it brings authenticity.
Brands today face some serious issues that diminish consumer confidence. Nielsen reports that 92% of people rely on recommendations from people – even if they don’t know them – more than brands. Today’s consumers, especially the millennials, will be more than 1.4 Trillion in spending expenditure by 2020, to have meaningful connections with products they feel stand for something. The result is that consumers prefer to hear from real people rather than tags, and influential marketing brings a connection to the real experience consumers want. According to BrightLocal, 92% of consumers now read online reviews, up from 88% in 2014, and nearly 90% of customers trust online reviews by strangers as they can accept recommendations from friends.
If you still have doubts that influencer marketing is worth the price or not, here are some more statistics to clear your second thoughts:
- Influencer marketing is expected to grow to $ 13.8 billion by 2021.
- Businesses make $ 5.78 ROI for every $ 1 spent on influential sales.
- There has been a 465% increase in searches for the term “influential influence” on Google alone since 2016.
- 90% of respondents believe that influencer marketing is an effective marketing strategy.
Smart brands are combating shrinking consumer’s trust by using influencer marketing to create a continuous conversation with consumers, recognizing that they are influenced by different people, at different times, in different ways. Instead of reducing returns from digital advertising, social and content marketing, influencer marketing transcends the past and clicks on ongoing engagement and on-going marketing discussions, providing you with key metrics and alignment with your business objectives, such as:
INFLUENCERS ESCALATE BRAND AWARENESS
This marketing strategy enhances your reach and awareness in your market. Since your consumers are initially your target audience, influencers give you a golden opportunity to upsurge your brand name in the market almost immediately. The catch here is to find an influencer whose audience aligns with the product or services you wish to offer.
INFLUENCERS BUILDS TRUST AND CREDIBILITY
Why do you think people follow influencers on social media? Because they are inspired by them and value their work. These influencers have taken years to grow their following and that is why people trust them with their recommendations which eventually surge your leads generation. So when your brand is advertised by any influencer, it instantly creates credibility in the mind of your target audience. Studies have shown that tweets from influencers when coupled with those from brands have increased purchase intent 5.2X. Not only that, 40% of people have reported having purchased as a result of an influencer tweet.
INFLUENCING MARKETING CREATES LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS
Akin to SEO, influencer marketing is a long game and it is here to stay. You cannot expect your leads to increase immediately by a single influencer post. It is a long-term strategy where consumers take time to buy your product by verifying everything just like they do for other types of marketing. But your relationship with the influencer could be the beginning of powerful opportunities such as joint ventures or live events.
If you are a marketer and you feel pressured to bring in more returns while you have less control over messaging, you are not alone. The marketing situation has changed dramatically and consumers are deciding what messages they want to see. Products no longer have a center stage, consumers have. If you want to be a part of consumer conversation, you have to play by their rules. Social media is where consumers have conversations today, and one of the most impactful spinoffs to emerge is that of influential advertising.