“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis
It is extremely unlikely that any individual in today’s modern world is unaffected by social media influence. The colossal impact of this medium has led to the development of a new variance of digital marketing in which companies are using popular icons from across diverse industries to market their brand in a subtle manner. Social media users keep a close watch on what their favorite models and stars are doing on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Over the past few years, influencer marketing has become one of the sharpest tools for digital marketers. With more and more people turning to their favorite stars and models for advice and recommendations on purchasing decisions, influencer marketing has exploded.
The trust factor that consumers have in influencers is sky-high. Marketers are leveraging the power of influencers because they are aware that these powerful icons can turn things around for their brand quickly and decisively. That’s why a significant part of the marketing budget is now ear-marked for influencer marketing.
The highly interactive and engaging social media platform has given even ordinary people a great opportunity to create and promote their own brand by using stimulating content and effective influencer engagement. In some fields of business, consumers are able to relate to these influencers in a more intense manner than they can do with traditional celebrities. More such people are joining social media networks every day and they are influencing buying decisions too. Companies are realizing that these resources can be leveraged to boost the reach, visibility, and popularity of their brand.
Interest in influencer marketing is increasing with more and more brands using this marketing strategy to surge ahead of its competitors.
The coming of the internet and social media has changed the entire marketing and advertising industry. At a time when a strong presence in social media may be worth more than an expensive advertising space, the role of influencers continues to grow stronger. Every influencer is incredibly powerful in his or her niche and commands not only the audience’s attention but also their trust. It has become vital to foster engagement industry influencers if you want to have an effective marketing strategy. In this article, we discuss why.
An influencer is someone who has recognition and respect in their chosen niche. They usually have a large audience and recognized authority among their followers. This audience may be found in social media, YouTube channels, blogs, or online communities. If you want to build an audience online and convert them into customers of your brand it takes a lot of time and work. That’s where influencers come in, they become valuable as they already have the attention of the audience you want to reach.
The sheer number of brands and companies engaging industry influencers is proof that this strategy works. Do remember that advertising and other commercial messages are especially easy to block out on the internet and social media. If you want to reach potential customers online then influencers can be a big help. Influencers gain a certain amount of respect and authority because they produce engaging content that the audience is interested in. Reaching out to your target audience then becomes that much more effective when you compare it with advertising.
Just to get a grasp of how important influencer marketing is becoming, a 2016 study found that “94% of marketers found influencer marketing to be effective. As a result, influencer marketing budgets are set to double in 2017!”
Another major advantage of resorting to an influencer is the time it will save you to reach a qualified audience. You might be getting more traffic to your website tor on your social media profiles organically too. But it will take some time to grow and be successful. Starting a partnership with an influencer might be that little push to speed up this process.
And even if you already have a large audience, online word-of-mouth from a partnership with an influencer may further increase the reach of your message.
For the many subscribers of Relevance, influencer marketing is a well-known, and perhaps, mature channel. Unfortunately, though, there’s still a significant swath of marketers still not leveraging influencers in their marketing mix. This is ill-advised because studies show that for every one dollar invested, influencer marketing delivers six dollars of return.
The importance of good content cannot be overstated. To build and engage an audience you ultimately have to deliver good quality content. The primary advantage of working with an influencer is that they create quality content that already has good engagement. In fact, an influencer by virtue of being an expert in their niche knows the correct way to best educate the target audience about your brand or products. The influencer can create content for you or you can collaborate to create the best possible content to effectively market your brand.
Introducing your brand to thousands of people – who in turn can make it known to thousands more is a wonderful platform for success. Working with influencers allows you create effective campaigns that increase your brand value. As more and more people interact with your message, the greater the chances become, that they will become customers of your brand or product later on.
A growing percentage of digital marketers are of the opinion that influencer marketing is one of the most reliable and effective ways of customer acquisition. Only email gives influencer marketing tough competition as a powerful marketing tool. It is also a cost-effective way of acquiring more customers and galloping fast to become one of the most important marketing channels ever.
A close look at the marketing strategies of major global brands will reveal that budgets for influencer marketing are growing fast as marketers are convinced of getting strong returns. A vast majority of marketers are investing in influencer marketing and generating real revenue – reaping rewards many times over their investment. If this pace of growth and power of influencer marketing remains steady – as it most likely will – marketing budgets for this channel will keep increasing according to experts.
Leading digital marketers are of the opinion that influencer marketing has a lot of steam and hence can go a long way from here. In its current form, influencer marketing is extremely cost-effective. This is something that works to the advantage of marketers as they can take risks, afford a few mistakes, absorb the methods, analyze the outcome, and refine the process to match their needs and goals.
The low-cost of this strategy gives marketers the liberty to experiment with different influencers, gather the kind of deep analytics needed to fine-tune plans, and achieve better output.
It must also be noted that every influencer is becoming more savvy and figuring out the best way to boost audience engagement.
If you are yet to get started with influencer marketing, there has never been a better time.
In this book, Content Promotion Expert and Relevance Co-founder, Chad Pollitt explores the Influencer Marketing strategies and tactics that led one company to grow its revenue 35% YoY.
