Influencer marketing has grown from a fad into an incredibly powerful social marketing strategy. Influencer marketing relies on influencers to drive the attention and actions of target audiences by leveraging an influencer’s online presence. Working alongside an influencer marketing agency can ensure your brand works with influencers whose audience is made up of your target demographic and can help you activate influencers on the platforms that matter.
Influencer marketing has become a go-to marketing tool for brands of all sizes, but particularly globally renowned brands. But why is this? What does influencer marketing have to offer renowned brands?
With the rise of social media and its increasing daily active users, using influencer marketing means brands are able to reach a huge audience. As more consumers spend more of their free time online, there is a larger pool of potential customers waiting to be targeted.
Influencer audiences are also highly engaged. They enjoy the content an influencer posts, and perceive most brand partnerships positively. They are open to brand and product suggestions from their favorite influencers, which boosts conversions and website traffic, something desirable to even huge brands.
Consumers also are highly trusting of influencer recommendations. Influencers are considered experts within their chosen fields, meaning their opinions are taken to heart by their audiences. The trust between an influencer and audience is extremely beneficial to brands. An influencer is able to position a brand as desirable to audiences, or at least sway viewers’ opinions in some way.
Influencers have taken time to understand their niche, the type of content their audience enjoys, how best to use social media trends, and the best way to communicate brand partnerships to their audience. By consistently publishing high-quality and valuable content, influencers continue to develop their audience growth and the emotional bond between audience members. Brands can tap into this trust and bond to encourage consumers to learn more about their brand, visit their website, make a purchase or download, and more.
When working with influences, brands are able to target super specific audiences. If a brand is launching a new range that’s outside of its traditional target demographic, using influencers can be an incredibly powerful way to boost interest and create a buzz around the launch, for example. While macro and hero influencers will have a wide range of demographics within their audience bases, more niche influencers have hyper-specific and interested audiences, which is helpful in building brand reputations.
So, how can brands get started with influencer marketing?
The first thing brands should consider is working with an influencer marketing agency. Influencer marketing agencies are full of social media and influencer experts that understand social media from the inside out. These agencies know exactly how and where to find the right influencers to create content for target audiences to ensure impactful and lasting success. Additionally, influencer agencies can help businesses track the results of their campaigns and make adjustments when necessary. From creative proposals, to briefing, and to campaign reporting, influencer marketing agencies can help brands from start to finish.
The second point to consider is available budget. Influencer marketing budgets vary widely. Some companies choose to spend a little money on influencer marketing, while others invest considerably more. It’s critical for businesses to personalize their influencer marketing budget based on their specific goals. For example, if a business wants to run a one-off campaign, they will likely need less money than if they want to create a long-term strategy.
The final, and most important consideration, is to align on exactly what brands want to achieve from influencer marketing. This decision will dictate the type of campaign, influencer, content and platforms used.
