What is influencer marketing?
The marketing strategy of promoting a business on social media with the help of influencers can call influencer marketing. It is essentially taking good old celebrity endorsements and incorporating them into the modern social media platform.
Here instead of celebrities, influencers do the talking for your business. It is a very versatile strategy to promote one’s business. It is something which can be helpful for small businesses as well as established brands. It is helpful to leverage businesses. Influencer marketing can be optimized in many different ways. Different businesses can be benefited through influencer marketing. Businesses can sponsor influencer's content giving them an earning opportunity and benefitting from their popularity. This sponsored content can reach potential customers which will attract their attention towards the brand.
Who are influencers?
Social media influencers are people who hold a certain amount of reputation and influence within a community with their expertise and knowledge in a particular niche. Their contribution to social media platforms with posts, videos, stories, and reels generate a large engagement.
The word social media influencers is a word which we come across often. It’s not a new word for those who engage in online content.
However, when we say anyone can be an influencer, we don't mean that anyone can be selected for your business’s promotion. When picking the influencer you wish to collaborate with you need someone who has a similar image as your business and someone who believes in your offerings.
How will it help in boosting business?
Influencer marketing will increase the visibility of your business. It will improve your brand’s existence on social media platforms. With influencer marketing, your brand will have a better place in the minds of the audience.
When a popular influencer is talking about your brand it gets noticed by their entire follower's community. These followers are essentially your potential customers who find that influencer relatable. Often they consider the influencer's advice. They're talking about your business and this will lead to conversations about your offerings.
Influencers have credibility and high value. This adds to the value of your business and improves its goodwill. This credibility will help you in expanding your customer base. Those who look up to the influencers will look highly at your offerings as well. This is not just about the value in terms of pricing but general.
Since it increased credibility along with value regarding your business influencer marketing can assist in driving the purchase decision. Influencer marketing is perceived as advice rather than an advertising message. It encourages the audience to purchase from your business.
Advertising blindness is something that a lot of businesses suffer. Advertising blindness makes audiences immune to promotional messages. Audiences come across thousands of commercials daily. This makes them automatically omit the messages which they come across regularly.
Turning the TV on mute during the commercial break, skipping YouTube ads, avoiding banner ads on online sites, etc. can be some of the examples of audiences avoiding promotional messages. This happens out of a habit of coming across promotional messages regularly from the same source. Influencer marketing breaks this monotony of advertising placement. This is why influencer marketing breaks the advertising blindness without exhausting the audiences.
This happens mostly because social media is an audience-driven platform. Here, user domination can be experienced. On average, a user spends a few hours on social media every day. When a business decides to promote on social media through influencer marketing it is essentially connecting audiences by reaching out to them. Unlike traditional mediums where people would go to a business here, businesses reach their audiences.
When we consider the cost involved in influencing marketing, the cost to reach one individual audience is negligible. Also if we consider the rate of conversion and general potential of any social media campaign, its USP is being affordable and budget-friendly. This makes it desirable for businesses of all sizes.
Additionally, the content has a high potential for going viral. The content can be shared by not just your business or your influencers. It has no restriction when it comes to its reach. This creates a chain reaction.
Influencer marketing is a win-win situation for both influencers as well as the business, creating viral opportunities. When an influencer gets monetary benefits and recognition from the brands, brands are gaining value and audiences. Here both collaborators are winning. These benefits can be long term if the collaboration stays for a long time. Influencers are helping brands to achieve better visibility. It can help the influencers to improve their credibility and content value as well.
The choice of the influencer is a very crucial decision on the part of the business. Sometimes, a business appoints an agent to make these choices. Even without an agency businesses can have a clear strategy about their social media campaign and accordingly choose their influencer. These influencers need to be cohesive with your brand image.
Final Words
Influencer marketing is a new strategy but is quickly gaining popularity. There are a lot of ways for businesses to optimize this opportunity and a lot of potentials to explore the leveraging capability of influencer marketing.
When it comes to influencer marketing there is no one size fits all. You as a business can develop your strategy according to what works in favor of your brand. The key is to continuously improve your knowledge about the working of influencer marketing and the different tactics that come with it.
It is vital to evaluate the campaign and create your long term and short term goals. Know what trends are being followed and what your competitors are opting for. Try to stand out from them and be a trendsetter.
Make sure to challenge your comfort zone and to go beyond the limits to explore your creativity.
Author Bio: Shweta Singh
I am an aspiring Lawyer and a Content Writer. I believe that every business has a story and I thrive to tell that story to the world through my writing.
I have been writing about influencer marketing for a long time for www.confluencr.com and have grown exponentially with the industry.
With Confluencr, I have learned that quality content + targeted marketing can do wonders not only for businesses but for any individual.
