Getting people to talk about your brand is a tough cookie to crack. Especially, in this internet-driven world, a business experiences massive competition to get an audience. Luckily, digital marketing has paved many ways for businesses to overcome those competitions. One such popular way is influencer marketing.
But, why should brands care about it? Well, according to a study, this industry will hit the $16.4B mark in 2022. All thanks to the rise in global short video platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
In this blog, we will describe what is influencer marketing and also list a few benefits of influencer marketing.
What is influencer marketing?
Assume that you have an eco-friendly product to sell. And, after research, you have found a popular person on social media who talks only about environment-friendly products. Then, you analyse their followers and find out that almost everyone fits your ideal customer persona.
You can get this person’s help to advertise your product to a whole new group of people. It can improve your reach. This is what influencer marketing is all about. You find influencers to promote your products online so that you can achieve your set revenue goals. For the influencer’s efforts, you pay them reasonable compensation.
Wait, does it not sound like Affiliate Marketing?
No! In fact, both are extremely different. In affiliate marketing, people use their marketing skills to get you leads. However, the influencers focus on building relationships between the brand and the customer. It is also more about content curation rather than creating generic product information videos.
What does it include?
Typically, it can include any of the following:
1. Reviewing a product on social media.
2. Creating user experience videos. For example, unboxing videos.
3. Subtle product placements in content that don’t surround the product.
4. Launching new products and campaigns.
5. Organizing contests and giveaways.
6. Letting influencers create original content for promotion.
Apart from these, there are several other ways in which you can go about utilizing the reach of influencers. Plus, the content creation opportunities are virtually limitless.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing
What is influencer marketing if not a beneficial tool to improve your business? It gives businesses a competitive edge over others. Let’s take a look at the reasons why business giants are investing in influencers to advertise their products.
1. Allows brands to connect easily with their audience.
2. Taps into a new set of audiences without much effort.
3. Improves link placements across social media platforms.
4. Mutually beneficial partnership.
5. Influences purchase decisions of the majority of customers.
6. Allows for easy sharing across multiple platforms.
As you can see in the fourth point, there are also benefits for the influencer working with you. For example, assume an influencer gets hired by Nike. They will definitely have a boost in their followers count. Which will increase their chances of getting hired by other brands. This is why influencer marketing is a fruitful venture. Influencers understand that it is a mutually beneficial relationship and hence do their best to create content that matters.
Finally…
Be extremely cautious when choosing an influencer for your brand. They are going to be the representatives of your brand’s message. We recommend you conduct various research and comparisons backed up by data to choose the right influencer for your business. Moreover, you can go for an influencer marketing agency where they have access to so many influencers, reducing your time to search for the right one.
