“Don’t speak about your brand yourself; Let good people speak good about it to make the world believe the good in it.”
Mark Zuckerberg once said, “People influence people.” This seems to be true enough when it comes to marketing. We see many advertisements on various channels but rarely do we rush to buy a new product or service. But if the same product is recommended by a close friend or relative, we are most likely to buy it.
Such is the power of influencer marketing!
Based on the foundation of word-of-mouth and recommendations, influencer marketing has long been in existence. While earlier celebrities were approached to endorse brands, individuals with a dedicated social existence are also considered as “influencers” by most brands today.
Before we dig deeper into the topic, let us understand the fundamentals of Influencer Marketing.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is all about influencing or motivating the audience to buy products and services on social media channels. Brands reach out to influential people to increase traffic and sales for their services or products.
This type of marketing works really well for brands because it is based on the trust and bond between the influencers and their audience.
In return, the influencers are paid a handsome amount (or other things that add value) by the marketers. You would be amazed to know that Selena Gomez earns about $550,000 for one sponsored Instagram post, while Cristiano Ronaldo makes about $400,000 a post.
Influencers are like content machines pumping out pieces of content that engage a large number of people over the internet. They create high-quality content that is used to build unrivalled brand awareness. Since consumers are more likely to trust the recommendations of their favourite personality than the brand itself, it is easier for the brands to build their success over it.
So, how can brands use influencer marketing to meet their business goals?
Leveraging Influencer Marketing
Undoubtedly, influencer marketing has made decision-making interesting and marketing easier for the audience and brands, respectively. The fact that influencer marketing has won the trust of nearly 89% of marketers for generating better ROI than any other marketing channel says it all about this marketing technique.
However, just like every other marketing tactic, influencer marketing also demands deliberate planning. Sending free things to the audience won’t help you find strategic success in the real world.
So, how can this be achieved?
1 Hunting the right influencer for your brand
Working with influencers is way cheaper than paid advertising, only if, you have the right influencer standing by you. The first criterion to find the perfect influencer for your brand is their REACH. A social influencer with 1000 followers may be able to generate some results, but an influencer with 100,000 followers can do some real wonders for your brand. This is simple – The larger the following, the better the reach.
However, here’s a catch!
Not every social media user with a huge following on their channel can be considered as an ideal influencer. All thanks to paid marketing that has aided users to buy followers for their social channels. To overcome this challenge, you should take into consideration past engagement records of the influencers. This will help you understand if their words really matter to their audience.
2 Approaching the Influencer for Partnership
Reputation plays a crucial role in influencer marketing both for the brand and the influencer. How? No influencer would put their reputation at stake for supporting a brand that fails to offer them a pleasing value. Therefore, it is important that you approach the influencers in the right way stating what’s in it for them.
Firstly, the way you approach speaks a lot about your brand. Don’t opt for cold calling as you might end up annoying the influencer. Instead, think about common interests you both have and bring them into the line with your motive behind approaching them. Whether or not you are an avid fan of their channel, you should be able to tell them how their work relates to the goals of your brand.
Secondly, make a great offer that they find worth investing their time and efforts. Simply offering them a budget won’t work here. You can also include offering social shares from your own channel, the ability to get free products or making them your first-time user for every new product, etc.
Remember, influencers to want to increase their reach and engagement. Make sure your influencer marketing campaign comes out to be a mutually benefitted arrangement.
3 Creating the Right Campaign
A goal without a proper plan is a failure. No matter how efficiently you might have accomplished the first two steps, failing to have a surefire campaign will take your brand to nowhere. Therefore, take into consideration two important aspects of your influencer marketing campaign – 1) Goal, 2) Message.
While it’s true that every brand aims to boost its brand awareness and sales, kicking off on your strategy by working on your brand current needs seems to be more effective. For instance, you may want to increase your customer base in a specific location or demographic, or build a customer base for your new product, or simply spread your brand values. For your campaign to succeed, you should be clear about your goals. Only then, you will be able to communicate properly your needs to the influencer.
Determining your goals will ultimately help you create your message. Remember, your influencer can help you reach a specific audience who is likely to be interested in your services or products. While it depends on an influencer’s ability to spread the message in a very creative way, it is important for you to create a message that sticks to your goals.
Why work with an Influencer Marketing Agency?
An influencer marketing agency makes sure that your influencer marketing campaign remains effective and delivers goal-oriented results. With our years of experience, we can help you find influencers that best fit your budget and goals. We believe that it’s not always about finding a big name to promote your brand but somebody who could make true and significant efforts to help you meet your business goals.