Influencer marketing is nothing new. We are increasingly used to seeing how this type of marketing establishes collaborations with brands to give them greater visibility and prominence, essentially on social networks.
An influencer is an influential person in a specific sector. Therefore, influence can be very important in terms of communication and marketing.
Usually, influencers are characterized by having a great power of influence over a content territory in which they position themselves as experts or references. Today we see that brands give them products and invite them to events for the company’s promotion. In some cases, they even co-create their own line of products with the brand.
Why are influencers so important for brands?
An influencer is an important figure in a specific area. Their readers trust them, often blindly, and but the products recommended.
To say that influencers form the cornerstone of the communication strategy of many brands is not an exaggeration.
Influencers have the ability to turn a brand into a trend and consequently significantly increase its popularity and sales. Being specialized in a sector, they have the ideal niche audience that the brand can often hardly reach. Especially those B2C businesses, that is, those focused on consumers.
Why has this evolution occurred?
The of influencer marketing has occurred because of the scope of the actions carried out on Instagram and YouTube, the main social and entertainment platforms. And also because of the importance of content marketing. Many influencers have a large community of followers. Those followers trust the word of the influencer. Therefore, brands invest in this form of marketing, observing the possible return on the investment made.
However, what is truly relevant is choosing the right influencer, and this is a task in which an influencer agency can help you. In the success of a campaign, nothing is the result of chance. Everything should be planned, measured, and evaluated.
What advantages can influencer marketing bring to my company?
Each business is different, and there are many types of collaboration with influencers depending on the objectives established with the brand. Some of the main benefits of working with influencers can be summarized as follows:
- Greater range. The messages manage to reach our audience in a more direct, personal, and effective way by not being perceived as purely advertising messages. It also improves brand perception and purchase predisposition.
- Increased traffic. Influencers can redirect traffic to the product page of the brand’s eCommerce or tag the product in the case of a campaign with the final goal of selling. Another common action is to redirect users to the desired landing based on the established objective. It is necessary to take into account that the main public of influencers is the millennial generation, a consumerist public almost by definition.
- Generate conversation. One of the objectives most commonly sought by brands is the ability to generate conversation with users. Influencers are interested in keeping their audience, and in getting money from the influencer campaign, so they’ll truly try their best to make their followers talk about you.
- Improve positioning in the market. An influencer has the ability to discover brands or improve their perception by placing them on our top of mind. Your brand name will pop up in people’s heads before one of your competitors.
- They are the key to connecting with the teenage audience. Teenagers interact with influencers as if they were one of their friends and connect with them in a way that celebrities or conventional advertisements are unable to.
Some information that may be useful if you are thinking of starting an influencer marketing strategy:
- 95% of brands want to work with influencers (as per )
- Influencer marketing is a growing trend. In 2022 influencer marketing will return between 5,000 and 10,000 million dollars worldwide, which was 8,400 million in 2020.
- 86% of women seek advice on social networks before making a purchase.
- 63% of companies intend to increase the budget for Influencer Marketing next year.
How to plan the strategy with influencers?
Keep in mind that there are different factors involved in planning a campaign. For example, the final goal of the whole campaign: is to sell goods and earn money? Is it to increase brand visibility? Is it to attract subscribers? Also, the budget allocated to this digital marketing investment should be established before the campaign.
In addition, the company’s philosophy and the values it wants to transmit are also important. The selected product or service itself is also important. And, of course, what the target audience of this initiative is in order to choose the appropriate influencers. From the evaluation of these and other factors, an influencer agency guides the client effectively.
What should you take into account when choosing an influencer?
After years in which companies have been adapting to this new type of marketing, we have been able to identify some key best practices that we should assess when choosing the person who will represent our brand.
Authenticity and perception by the audience: The number of followers is not everything. Our target audience’s perception of the influencer we choose is much more important. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the objectives of our brand are aligned with their audience.
On the other hand, the influencer must feel comfortable with what they are promoting since the authenticity of the content they create will be key to convincing and generating engagement with their audience.
We don’t necessarily have to go to influencers with 1M followers. It is possible that they are the most mainstream and the best known by the general public. But it is often preferable to work with micro-influencers. That is because they tend to go to a more niche segment of the population with a higher engagement rate than those who are more “massive.”
But beware of fraud! As with everything that can represent an opportunity, there are those who want to take advantage of inexperience or ignorance. So it is advisable to verify the influencer’s identity on . See if they’re being honest about themselves. Or verify their contact info if necessary.
Influencers only add value if they have a community of followers. The generation of a stable community does not arise instantly. It is rather a content task that requires time.