Who would have thought, myself included, that gummy bears would be viewed as a statement piece? Today, people from all over the world are dashing to get their hand on a gummy necklace that is immensely over-priced, all thanks to influencer marketing. It takes one influencer, the right influencer, to start a huge buzz around the world.
What is influencer Marketing?
To understand what influencer marketing is, we need to first define an influencer. An influencer is a person that possesses the power to influence other people’s buying decisions, because they view them as a trusted figure within a certain niche. An influencer’s job status can range from Instagram model to professional marketing executive. Every niche has its influential people.
According to most people, an influencer is anyone who retains a large following, but the authentic influencer is the one who retains a loyal following. An influencer following count can be as low as 5,000 followers if they still experience a high engagement rate. Moreover, they are content creators. Influencers build communities by creating engaging content that resonates with their audience.
The relationship between a brand and an influencer is referred to as influencer marketing. Influencers help brands promote their products on numerous social platforms. They tend to have a large following base, so promoting your brand through them helps increase brand awareness and convert new customers. Influencers are trendsetters and their audience waits for their recommendations on a daily basis.
There are endless possibilities for what a brand and an influencer can do together. Consider these possibilities: Partner with them to create a co-branded product or campaign. Invite them to your events, or have them create a branded social post.
Why is Influencer Marketing Important?
Influencer Marketing is important because customers are becoming increasingly skeptical and aware of the common marketing tactics taking place around them. So, trust is an important factor for customers. Moreover, it is becoming harder to reach your exact target audience because they are scattered around several social platforms.
Having said that, influencer marketing is a good option to reach your target audience. Advertise through an influencer to help promote your products directly to your target market and build trust in your offering. Customers become less skeptical when you advertise your products through someone they follow and trust. They believe that if the influencer they trust and love loves it, then they will too. Build your brand and trust in it using influencer marketing.
An Example to Consider
According to a Tomoson study, Influencer marketing return on investment equates to 6.50$ per dollar spent. At the same time, it has been reported that 40% of people made a purchase online after seeing an influencer promote the product.
Take Daniel Wellington watches as an example. Daniel Wellington. Founded by Flip Tysander, Daniel Wellington used influencer marketing to its full advantage. He started targeting small influencers by giving away thousands of free watches. In return, the influencer had to promote his brand on their social platforms. He also drove customer engagement by including special discount codes. In addition, he created a branded hashtag, #danielwellington, to encourage social media users to post their own photos. As a result, the Daniel Wellington branded hashtag received around 800K Instagram photos. Moreover, their followers increased from 850K to 1.2 million in the time frame of a year.
This led Daniel Wellington to become Europe’s fastest-growing company, making over $220 million in revenue. Daniel Wellington, a standard watch brand, is now a staple in the fashion world. All hail influencer marketing.
How to Kickstart Your Strategy?
- Start by determining your goals. What exactly do you want to achieve through influencer marketing? Understand whether your goal is to increase brand awareness, sales, or to generate leads. After defining the goal of your campaign, figure out the KPIs you will use to measure the success of your influencer marketing.
- Define the relevant influencers. This is crucial as it plays a main factor between setting apart a successful campaign from a failed one. Make sure their followers fall within your target audience. Make sure the influencer posts high-quality content regularly and that his followers engage with his posts quite often.
- Map out the influencers you want to target. Do not focus solely on follower count. An influencer follower count can be as low as 5000 and you can still have a successful campaign. Consider micro-influencers (small influencers), as they are more able to interact with their followers. Their followers tend to be significantly more loyal than larger influencers. Their following is made up of people that trust them and are more likely to take their endorsement seriously.
- Create engaging content. What will the content piece look like? Give specifications as to what you want to be included in the post or allow the influencer to use their full creativity. Allowing the influencer to have full control over the content piece will most likely be more engaging and impactful. Even though it comes with a higher risk, it allows the message to be conveyed in a more personalized way. Minimize the risk by asking the influencer to send you the content piece before having them post it.
- Measure your results. Set your KPIs and measure the success of your campaign. Track your KPIs progression and observe how your influencer’s audience is interacting with the branded post. Optimize your strategy accordingly.
Takeaways
Influencer marketing is one of the fastest-growing channels in the digital world. Instagram ranks as the number one platform that helps in influencing consumer purchasing decisions.
With the rise of word-of-mouth marketing and social proof, Influencer Marketing is here to stay. Be the recommendation customers are now looking for from their communities. Influencer marketing does a great job at authentically exposing your brand to your target audience. 71% of customers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.
With that being said, influencers can benefit you no matter what your goal is. Increase brand awareness. Boost conversions. Connect with your target market. Start developing your influencer marketing strategy today!
