You’ve most likely heard about influencer marketing and social media influencers. And perhaps even come across influencer promoted posts on social media. If you’re a digital marketer or looking to promote a product online via social media, you should be learning about and potentially considering partnering with social media influencers.
This short guide can help you to understand what influencer marketing entails, how your business/brand stands to benefit, and how to get started.
Influencer marketing is a marketing strategy that involves recruiting popular people, known as influencers, to promote your brand or products. It doesn’t have to be a national celebrity, though. An influencer is anyone who has sizeable influence in a particular industry.
Although it can take many forms, influencer marketing primarily goes hand in hand with social media. Most influencer marketing activities will take place on social media, with Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter being the three biggest platforms used. A social media influencer can have anywhere from a few thousand to tens of millions of followers on one or more of these platforms. Thanks to the versatility of content, diverse audience, and stunning visuals, Instagram influencer marketing attracts more brands and marketers than the other two platforms.
Studies show that the return on investment (ROI) for influencer marketing is 765%, meaning that you can expect $7.65 for every $1 spent. How accurate those figures are is often up for debate. What you can’t dispute, though, are the tangible benefits of influencer marketing. Among other things, influencer marketing;
Consider a scenario where an influencer with a million followers shares a post with your product or brand name on it. Within seconds, hundreds of thousands of people can see the post and learn about your brand and the product.
As already mentioned, influencers are individuals who have a massive influence. They enjoy the trust and support of their fans. As such, if one of your influencers endorses a product or simply speaks favorably about it or is seen using it, a significant portion of their followers will also develop an interest in the product. This instantly generates more leads for your product and business.
When an influencer directly asks their followers to try out a particular product or brand, sales numbers for that brand are bound to go up. This especially applies among the top influencers. Personalities like Kylie Jenner, for example, will tell people to consider a product, and thousands of their fans obey. While Kylie Jenner may be an extreme example, having a well-known local personality pictured with your product can generate positive buzz, trust, and a burst in sales.
Influencer marketing can also help to fill the gaps in your social media content strategy. Times may come when you run out of ideas. Or, maybe you have a campaign that needs to take off with a bang but you aren’t exactly sure how to make that happen. A social influencer can come in and take that burden off. By sharing on their account to their audience, you get the benefit of their community connecting to you.
If you’re ready to dive into influencer marketing, you need to learn how to find the right influencers and develop a mutually beneficial partnership. Here’s how to proceed;
There are three broad ways to find influencers; Google, the influencer marketplace, and through social media monitoring.
Factors to consider when evaluating influencers include; website authority, relevance and interest, social authority, quality of content, and track record. You want to be sure they flow with your company culture and values.
The easiest way to reach out to social media influencers is through a message on social media. But, for a more formal approach, send them an email. If the influencer agrees to work with you, the next step is to draft an agreement. The agreement should address the; type of campaign, goals, plans, fee, length of the contract, and privacy clauses.
Once the influencer starts promoting your product or brand, you can’t just sit back and relax. It’s your job to keep track of the performance of the campaign and raise any concerns with the influencer where need be. As a result, this will ensure that you get the desired effects from your campaign.
Need help finding an influencer or working out a partnership, let me know!
