Influencer marketing is one of the most popular marketing strategies today. It has stepped into the limelight and for good reason. A great social media marketing strategy should include an influencer marketing campaign with compelling content that delivers in line with your overall business goals in an authentic way.

Influencer marketing can help improve your revenue, develop brand awareness and increase your own social influence and trust among your audience. According to Forbes, influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads, with emphasis placed on leveraging an industry leaders' followers to foster growth in your own business.

Customers today are more informed than ever and influencer marketing provides a more organic means to raise brand awareness and engage with your audience. Only a few marketing platforms can skyrocket your results as much as leveraging influencers properly.

So you know that tapping into the power of influencer marketing can be good for your business, but where do you start?

First off, who are influencers?

An influencer is someone with the collective ear of a large audience and has recognition and respect in their chosen niche. Typically, the influencer has cultivated a large following on social media and is considered an authority among their followers.

Influencers have a personal brand they’ve created for themselves and a following that is built on trust, creativity and telling a story effectively. When reaching out to influencers, it’s important to choose ones that have the same values as your brand because they will be able to create content authentically.

Why is influencer marketing so effective?

Why do you think people follow influencers on social media? Because they are inspired by them and trust their opinions and recommendations.

Influencers have a loyal following and have been successful in establishing themselves as a subject matter expert in their niches. So any recommendation or insight coming from them is deeply trusted by their followers. An Influencer’s recommendation is similar to a friend’s recommendation, in that they are a more credible and organic recommendation of a product or service.

The proof is in the pudding

According to Medium:

• For every dollar spent on influencer marketing, marketers see an average of $7.65 in earned media value returned.
• The term “influencer marketing” increased by 325 per cent in Google searches over 2017. Making this the fastest-growing online acquisition method of the year.
• The biggest platform for influencer marketing can be found on Instagram. In 2017, there were over 12.9 million brand sponsored influencer posts, in 2018, that number doubled, creating an estimated market size of nearly $1.7 billion.

How to find effective influencers for your brand?

The process of influencer marketing is finding an influencer who has accrued a following that closely aligns with your ideal target audience and brand’s values. Then, establishing a relationship with that influencer and finding a mutually beneficial way to promote your business to their audience.

It’s also important to give creative freedom to influencers and respect their content creation process. It is a delicate balance between allowing the freedom to the influencers and ensuring your messaging is incorporated in an organic and genuine way.

So how do you get started? First, you need to outline your goals.

Before reaching out to anyone, you need a plan of attack. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my goal?
• Who am I trying to reach/Who is my target audience?
• Who are the right influencers that align with my brand?
• How can I integrate and optimize my goals with their content? Is it organic?
• What is my budget?
• What is their budget?
• How do I measure success of the partnership?

Influencer marketing can be tough. One mistake a lot of brands make is trying to go after the biggest name they can think of. Your influencer doesn’t need to be a household name to be an effective influencer for your brand. As long as that individual can reach and persuade your target audience, that person is an influencer.

Influencer marketing might seem like just another buzzword born of a generation obsessed with smartphones. However, it’s an effective tool to create positive brand awareness and goodwill for your brand.

Need help reaching out to the right influencers or developing a targeted influencer marketing strategy for your business? Let us help. We’re experts at crafting customized strategies for your business.