Why Influencers Matter

Last week we talked about knowing your audience and how identifying influencers are a crucial part of this strategy.

So today, we’re going to talk about influencers and their importance in today’s marketing strategies.

You’ve heard of influencers before, and you’ll probably hear more about them for the next couple of years. In the last 3 years, there’s been a 1500% surge in searches for influencer marketing. In a couple of years or so, this will be a $10 billion industry. Whether you care about them or not, influencers are here to stay.

If you’re a brand looking to improve online visibility and reach, engaging influencers and incorporating them into your marketing strategy is very important for the simple fact that it works pretty well. In a 2018 study, 92% of marketers who employed influencer marketing found this strategy to be effective. Thanks to social media, influencers can constantly engage their followers on several platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

What is influencer marketing?

A simple definition is that this is a new form of marketing that partners with influencers by creating content-driven marketing campaigns that apply new techniques that work on several platforms. Influencer marketing is now surpassing print marketing as the leading customer-acquisition channel that “71% of marketers believe influencer partnerships are good for business.”

What is an influencer?

An influencer can be many things, but with one common denominator – they engage with a large number of their fans and followers. Influencers could be journalists, athletes, Hollywood celebrities, and social media stars.

What is a social influencer?

They are social media personalities who post regularly and engage their large following. As a social influencer, they have built a solid reputation through their social channels for their specialty – it could be makeup artists, fashion designers, bloggers, photographers, or thought leaders.

What are different types of influencers?

• Nano-influencers – These are social media users with 1,000-10,000 followers
• Micro-influencers – They have between 10-000-50,000 followers
• Mid-tier influencers – These are personalities with 50,000-100,000 followers
• Macro-influencers – They have established 500,000-1,000,000 followers
• Mega-influencers – These social media personalities have 1,000,000-5,000,000 followers
• Celebrities – The cream of the crop of the influencers with over 5,000,000 followers

What is the best influencer for your brand?

Influencer marketing may not be suitable for every brand, but the only way to know if it works is to try it out yourself for a couple of campaigns and evaluate the results.

Finding the perfect social influencer who has the same values as your brand is important. Consumers look for authenticity, and if they don’t see and feel this from the influencer, then it only creates a negative impact on a brand.

Remember, for this strategy to work, you need to have a well-thought-out plan because your brand needs to feel and look authentic with the influencer’s audience.

• Reach out to influencers who know or use your brand.
• Get to know your targeted influencer’s audience.
• Avoid using a strict or rigid script on the influencer.
• Let your creative juices flow!

Have you incorporated influencer marketing into your strategy? Tell us how it worked out for you!