Influencer marketing has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years. This rise in popularity has a lot to do with the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, in which consumers were unable to shop via brick-and-mortar stores. This led to increased online shopping and brands turning to influencers to interest the public in new products.
micro-influencers vs. macro-influencers.
First of all, what is an influencer? An influencer is a social media user with a substantial following who has built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. Influencers are broken down into categories such as micro and macro-influencers. A micro-influencer is someone with a social media following larger than the average person but smaller than a celebrity. A macro influencer will generally have more than 500,000 followers but no more than 1 million. Most brands typically participate in micro-influencer marketing, depending on the size of the brand and available budget. Influencers generally are paid via a free product or charge a fee per post/story mention.
So, why is it beneficial to consider an influencer marketing campaign? Below are our top 5 benefits of influencer marketing that could just become your best campaign yet.
brand awareness.
When partnering with an influencer in a given field, you pay them to expose their followers to your brand. This essentially puts your brand’s name in front of thousands of new eyes, increasing your reach exponentially. But how do you find influencers to connect with?
Depending on your campaign’s budget, there are plenty of websites that act as influencer search engines. They can help you determine influencers in your area and the best possible choices for your brand and area of expertise. If your brand can not find room in your budget for this service, there are plenty of other ways to discover influencers. One way is by searching relevant hashtags and browsing through users that use these hashtags. Another way is to run a quick Google search on top social media influencers in your industry. Regardless of your approach, it takes time and research to find the perfect influencer.
increase in trust/credibility.
This type of marketing works well because the influencers themselves have worked hard to build a reputation of trust and rapport with their followers. If an influencer believes in the quality of your brand and is willing to post about it on their social media, you instantly become trustworthy by association. An important note to mention: when looking for influencers to talk about your brand, it’s crucial to find someone passionate about your product.
allows for fresh and relevant content.
While marketers are typically masters of content creation, it’s not always easy to develop thumb-stopping content on a topic they don’t know much about. Since influencers are experts in their given field, it’s easier for them to focus on the content rather than learning the basics.
Typically, influencers will offer to post about your product via stories, blog posts, social media posts, Instagram reels, etc. If they’ve taken part in influencer marketing before, they’ll typically have a predetermined price-per-post. If they have not participated before, you can negotiate with them to see what price point works for both parties or even offer to send them your product in exchange!
shows content organically.
Especially after the ios14 update, more and more users are opting out of app tracking and into adblocking. This can make it difficult to reach as much of your target audience as you have in the past. Because influencers typically post on their personal social media accounts, your brand’s name appears organically on followers’ home pages, ensuring that more people see your brand’s name.
can improve SEO.
By working with influencers, your brand can increase the number of backlinks to your website and social media profiles. Some influencers also have a website where they’ll list links to products they’re endorsing. Others may have a blog where they may write about the benefits of using your product.
Now that you know what influencer marketing is, its benefits, and how to find influencers, your next step is to start reaching out! When building any new relationship, you can’t just come right out and ask them to promote your product. Start simple:
1. Follow them on social media, engage with their pictures–show them that you are actually interested in their profile.
2. Once you’re ready to send them a message, introduce yourself and your company and tell them something specific you admire about their profile, a particular post, etc.
3. Tell them your brand is interested in pursuing an influencer marketing campaign that you think they’d be perfect for, and see where the conversation goes from there!
And just like that, you’re ready to start your social media influencer campaign! Still interested in learning more about influencer marketing? Drop us a line, and we will be happy to help consult or even manage your next influencer campaign.