The word “influencer” gets thrown around a lot these days. There are influencers in politics, on social media, and even among high school students who have large followings on YouTube or TikTok. But what exactly is an influencer? And more importantly, why should you care? In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about influencer marketing: what it is and how it works; why your company should use it, how to find the right kind of person for your campaign, best practices for running a successful campaign, and a few examples of companies that have done well with their own campaigns.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is when you use social media influencers to promote your products or services. Influencers have followers who trust them and will therefore trust the product or service as well. In this way, an influencer can act as an ambassador for your brand by bringing attention to it in a trusted manner.
While there are many types of social media content creators (e.g., bloggers, Instagrammers, TikTokkers), the most common type of influencer is someone who has a large following on one platform (typically Instagram). In addition to providing endorsements, they may create original content that features your product or service in some way, like a photo or video showing how they use it or wear it; this type of creativity drives engagement among followers and has been shown to have a significant impact on purchase decisions as well.
Influencer marketing campaigns are paid advertising opportunities—you pay the influencer when they create content that includes your brand name/logo/product images/etc., which can be included within their existing posts (e.g., an Instagram post about their favourite books) or through a standalone piece where they talk about why customers should consider purchasing from you instead of competitors.
How does influencer marketing work?
Influencers are people with a large following on social media, usually celebrities and other social media personalities. They can be paid to promote a product or service, but they’re also likely to post about it voluntarily as part of their own content creation strategy.
In the case of paid promotion, there are two ways that influencers can get paid:
- Incentives (cash or prizes)
- Affiliate income
Why should you use influencer marketing for your company?
Here are a few reasons you should consider using influencer marketing in your plan this year:
Reach new audiences
Influencer marketing is a great way to reach new customers, especially when you’re trying to reach a younger demographic or you have a product that can’t be sold online.
Build trust
Consumers are more likely to buy from brands they trust, and influencers can help build trust in your brand by sharing their experiences with your products or services and recommending them to their followers.
Build brand awareness and visibility among your target demographic
If you have an established audience of influencers who align with your target demographic, they’ll help spread awareness of what makes your business unique while establishing a positive association between the two entities in people’s minds (i.e., “They use [company name] so I should too”).
What makes a good influencer?
Well, depends on what you’re looking for
They usually have a large number of followers, and they are more likely to be active on the platform that made them famous. For example, if you are an Instagram star with 500,000 followers, you will likely post more often on Instagram than on any other platform.
Influencers can also be found on Twitter and Facebook as well as YouTube and TikTok. If they produce original and highly engaging content, it’s a good start.
How do you find influencers to collaborate with?
The next step is to find the right influencers for your brand. There are two ways in which you can do this:
Look at social media
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter are all great places to search for influencers. The best thing about these platforms is that they make it easy for you to see who has influence over your target audience by displaying engagement metrics such as how many followers an account has and how much attention they are getting on their posts (likes, comments etc.).
Consider what makes someone an influencer in your industry
If you’re looking at a brand that sells clothing, then any fashion blogger with a large following could be considered an influencer for their clothing line.
Work with an Influencer Agency
You’ll have fees associated, but working with an influencer agency can help you find the perfect individual for your marketing objectives. Check out this article on the top influencer agencies in Australia.
How do you choose the right social platform to run an influencer marketing campaign on?
You should choose a platform where your target audience is active and an influencer with a large following and a good fit for your brand on that platform is a good place to start. You should also look at some basic criteria when choosing which social media channels should be used during your influencer marketing campaigns:
- Choose platforms where both sides (your business and influencers) will benefit from collaborating together;
- Both parties need clear guidelines about what they are expected from each other;
Influencer marketing works and is worth the investment.
When it comes to influencer marketing, the evidence is undeniable.
According to Tribe, a whopping 80% of marketers say that influencer marketing is effective; while 89% think it works just as well as, if not better than, other marketing channels. That’s why many brands have already turned their attention to influencers as an effective way to reach new audiences.
Influencer marketing works because it gives brands access to highly targeted consumer groups on social media channels like Facebook and Instagram—without having to pay for ads or invest in sophisticated targeting technology.
In fact, while traditional advertising reaches less than 20% of its target audience (and often costs more than $1 per engagement), influencer marketing can achieve engagement rates as high as 20% with only a couple hundred dollars spent on promoting each post. So if you’re looking for a cost-effective way to expand your reach without breaking the bank or wasting money on ineffective ad buys, influencer marketing might be the answer!
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for brands to use when looking to reach new customers and grow their business. It allows you to connect with your target audience on a personal level, while still being able to control the message you’re sending out there into the world. This can be especially helpful if your brand has become too saturated online or even offline where it might not know how to reach new audiences organically anymore without relying on paid ads as well!
