Most businesses already know what influencer marketing is and how it works.
In 2021 alone, influencer marketing is projected to grow to be worth almost $14 billion dollars.
An impressive increase from the $8 billion-dollar evaluation it had in 2019.
Within the last few years, the steep rise in popularity of influencer marketing has altered the way brands advertise and promote themselves on social media. 75% of brands intend to dedicate a budget for influencer marketing this year.
What was once an alternative option has now turned into one of the most sought-after and lucrative social media marketing strategies available today. The benefits of influencer marketing are worthwhile and valuable. But the question remains: Is it right for your brand?
Challenges of influencer marketing to consider beforehand
Although influencer marketing for B2B has now become one of the most prominent marketing strategies, it’s not without its challenges. The internet is a vast landscape, which means brands have a higher chance of coming in contact and interacting with fake accounts and deceptive engagement.
Marketers must consider these complexities before beginning the process of starting an influencer campaign, along with the additional consideration of where influencers fit within their more broader marketing strategy.
In order to conquer these challenges and guarantee longstanding and stable success, marketers must determine their brand’s readiness for influencer marketing and partnerships. Here are three main considerations:
Weigh your brand performance in comparison to influencers’
Marketers may ask themselves why brands should work with influencers, but before doing this, it’s important to determine if their brand’s social media engagement will be improved with influencer implementation. For example, will an influencer’s branded post receive more likes and comments over your own?
Brands themselves are usually more successful than influencers in the automotive, consumer electronics and activewear divisions, while influencers traditionally do better than brands within the food and beverage and personal care industries.
Performing an internal review like this justifies whether or not influencers can add value to your brand.
Determine if your audience wants to see influencer posts
Brands must consider if their audience and followers have a desire to see and engage with more influencer-related content on their social media.
Establishing that your consumers have high interest in coming across more influencer posts within your specific product or service category can help you learn what exact type of content should be prioritized, along with how often and when to post it.
According to a Gartner survey conducted last year, 43% of social media users want to see influencer content in at least one category.
Investigate what your industry peers are doing
Lastly, brands should explore how their direct competitors are going about their own B2B influencer marketing strategies.
Check the activity on other business’s sponsored social media posts, as well as their influencers’ posts across all platforms.
Gaining an efficient perspective on the marketplace as a whole can help you assess if local influencer marketing is the right direction your brand needs to follow.
After determining your brand’s readiness
Once you’ve established that your business can benefit from influencer marketing, the process of choosing the right influencers comes next.
While macro-influencers (influencers with more than 100,000 followers) receive great numbers, beginning your outreach with micro-influencers (influencers with 10,000 or more followers) actually helps build better engagement since they cover a wide range of niches and have a tight-knit relationship with their followers.
Marketers should also take advantage of smaller influencers since they typically charge lower rates. This is a smart move for brands that want to test the waters without going over budget.
Want to create a lucrative influencer marketing campaign for your brand? Our digital marketing experts can help successfully design one for you from start to finish. Contact us today!
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