Influencer marketing is one of the most talked about techniques in marketing circles, and it’s not hard to see why. With influencer marketing, you can take on the algorithm of social platforms, increase your organic reach, and create engaging content while building lasting relationships with the audiences. From famous Instagrammers to popular YouTubers, these trendsetters can command the trust and admiration of huge audiences.
"People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic."
This stands true in the digital era more than ever. Today, it is not just about conversions. It is about building credibility and trust amongst the customers. All the brands are digging for new marketing techniques to stay ahead of their competition.
Opposite to popular belief, influencer marketing isn’t merely capitalizing on someone’s image to increase brand sales. So, if it is about using the status of a single individual to influence others, but isn’t solely used to fetch leads or increase conversions, what is it? How can you create marketing campaigns that speak to the audience?
Let's understand how influencer marketing can help your brand more than just garnering reach or driving sales.
1.
Goes beyond ad blockers: According to a recent study, 47% of people aged 25-34 use ad blockers on their desktops, and approximately 34% of people use them on their phones. Interestingly, these blockers only impact display ads, not social media ads. But while your social ads are safe, the sentiment around advertisements still stands. People don’t want to see them.
Instead, they are turning to their favorite creators for product recommendations. Influencer promotions that are authentic get more conversions than the most creative of advertisements.
2.
A time-saving approach to content marketing: It is not easy for brands to keep creating fresh and engaging content. However, it is vital to stay ahead in this digital era where there is cut-throat competition. Fret not! Creators are the answer if you’re looking for new ideas with good production quality. Working with influencers will let you save up on the cost of hiring designers, videographers, writers, etc., to build new pieces of content. All of this can be taken care of by influencers. Additionally, they know how to create content that excites and engages the audience.
3.
Increases your social following: The ultimate goal of any brand that wants to create engaging content on social media is for people to notice it, thereby improving its social media presence. Influencers can help brands with that as well. When people watch their favourite influencers talking about a brand and how it adds value to their lives, they also consider following, liking and commenting on the brand’s content, thus increasing followers and engagement.
While collaborating with influencers, brands can also choose to go a step further and create content in the form of contests and giveaways, with rules like following both accounts to win.
4.
An uptick in sales: One of the main reasons for influencer marketing is generating sales. According to research, for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, there is an $18 return. This number can also be higher for many brands. These statistics make it evident that influencers significantly impact a customer’s purchase decision-making process.The influencers’ following and credibility are why they can create a significant uptick in sales.
5.
Gives a boost to SEO rankings: Every brand wants to be discoverable organically. They want to get a significant chunk of traffic from organic searches. Well, the good news is that influencer marketing can also be a catalyst. Earning links from other credible websites to your sites tells the search engine that your content is relevant and authentic, making your website rank higher.
So, when you associate with influencers and ask them to add links to your website while they add content about your brand can get you one of the top spots on search engine results. Also, when more people know about your brand, they might search for it online, thus increasing organic traffic and leading to higher search engine ranking.
6.
Provides a host of research opportunities: Creators have a wealth of information and can provide you with insights from an external point of view. You can leverage the knowledge available with the influencers required to elevate your brand. Brands looking to update their advertising copies to be more relevant to their target audience can partner with various influencers and see how they interact with their audiences while talking about a brand.
7.
Appeals more to GenZ: According to data, GenZ has a lot of purchasing capacity, and they tend to turn to social media to learn about a product or service before making a buying decision. Suppose there is no information about your brand on these social platforms then there are chances that these buyers will be swayed away by competitor brands engaging more with the audiences via influencers.
8.
Can be leveraged by all types of businesses: One of the best qualities of influencer marketing is that it is suitable for any business regardless of its size or industry. As long as someone is influential in your domain, you can always leverage their influence for your marketing efforts. Moreover, if you’re a small business with a small marketing budget, nano and micro-influencers partnerships aren’t too high in price. However, it does take some amount of planning to identify the influencers who are most suited to your brand.
9.
Reaches the right audience: without the restriction of cookies: As third-party cookies go away, marketers lose access to powerful tracking data, making reaching target audiences through advertising difficult. However, this is not the case while working with creators. They have access to some demographic data from the social media platforms they post on, and may be willing to share it if you reach out.
10.
Provides higher value & engagement: Creator content can provide a ton of value to your audience if done correctly. There are different ways in which creators can add value to your potential consumers. For instance, if you’re a makeup company, you can work with various artists to film video tutorials.
Influencer marketing is beneficial and effective for organizations in various ways. However, it is vital for businesses to decide the kind of influencer marketing format that they want to leverage for their brand, from sponsored posts to giveaways there are various options available. There can be various deciding factors like the type of organization and the product or services they deal with. Some of the different types of influencer marketing include guest blogging, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and barter collaboration, among others.
Hiring a professional influencer marketing agency would help the organizations make the appropriate decision regarding the type of Influencing marketing and social media influencers who are apt for their goals.
Socio Influencer is one of the most trusted names in the influencer marketing domain. It helps connect brands with their audiences and customers online with the help of relevant influencers over different platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many more.
Socio Influencer has its name behind some of the most popular and successful influencer marketing campaigns. The campaigns are carefully chalked out after extensive research and brainstorming. They are not just directed at increasing sales but also keep in view the engagement aspect.
