Influencer Marketing has grown significantly in recent years, and is now one of the most effective means of reaching your audience.

Social media, in particular Instagram, has created a new market for brands looking to increase exposure and engagement with target audiences and marketing through influencers is a common strategy for gaining more exposure for a brand.

Influencer marketing is an advertising strategy in which products are advertised through influential people with a high reach among internet users. This is a technique that involves reaching out to influential people and their followers. Here, the brand pays an influencer to help market, promote, or advertise its products on social media with the aim of building word-of-mouth exposure. 

In influencer marketing, social media and digital influencers impact consumers’ purchase decisions through their social media activities. It is a strategy used by marketers to increase brand awareness and drive sales by partnering with individuals who are well-known online.

There are influencers everywhere, from musicians to athletes to politicians to bloggers to artists. As social media personalities and celebrities with wide influence, these individuals have the ability to serve as effective ambassadors. 

What are influencers and how do they work?

As digital marketing evolves, influencer marketing is becoming increasingly important. In a competitive market, it is believed that this technique can help you reach your marketing objectives quicker. A large part of influencer marketing’s effectiveness is due to influencer’s access to their own audiences.

By just advertising on social media and online platforms, you might not be able to reach all of your target audience. For instance, if you are trying to market a new product, an influencer could introduce it to their large following on social media and make their users aware of it.

Influencers are social media users who have a high level of engagement with their audiences. They are not just your average consumer who posts on Facebook or Twitter about a product. Due to their expertise or their passion for certain topics and industries, they have built strong relationships with their followers by being relatable. Through their social media accounts, influencers establish trust and credibility with their followers in order to influence their purchasing decisions.

Why should you consider influencer marketing?

Influencers are a great way of reaching your target audience, building relationships, building rapport, and establishing credibility.  

These social media celebrities know their target audience on a personal level, build a community, and can build a strong relationship with them. You can increase your brand’s influence by working with influential people, who can reach thousands, if not millions, of consumers that you cannot. In today’s world, influencers can help you attract new potential customers no matter what platform they use.

Compared with traditional marketing, it is relatively cheaper. The majority of influencers used in influencer marketing are micro-influencers. Although there is disagreement about who belongs in this category, most experts agree that “micro-influencers” have between 10,000 and 200,000 followers. YouTube users in this category can be very profitable to work with, and new influencers may accept payments through free products or services.

Examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns

• Sun Peaks Resort – Sun Peaks, a ski resort in British Columbia, worked with Canada’s top adventure photographer and Instagram influencer Callum Snape to promote some of its best winter attractions. The campaign has generated more than 200,000 article views of three minutes or longer, as well as greatly increased interest in Sun Peaks’ target market. 
• Marriott – Marriott was one of the first travel brands to engage in influencer marketing. The hotel chain and YouTube influencer Jeana Smith celebrated the successful registration of the Marriott app to one million users at a successful event.
• Audible – To increase conversions or sign-ups, Audible worked with the top YouTube influencers. In addition, they wanted to increase brand awareness and promote memberships. By using influencer marketing, Audible was able to reach over 132 million people, and gathered nearly 83 million views. 

Creating a strategy for working with influencers

It is vital that your influencer marketing strategy follows a plan that is clear and well-defined. It will help you understand what content types are most effective for achieving your goals, and how often you should add specific content.

Next, you should develop relationships with influential people who can provide a lot of value for your brand. This includes identifying areas in which influencers can add value for your customers, and reaching out to the right influencers.

Follow these steps to build an effective influencer marketing strategy:

• Set your goals – Setting goals and defining what your goals are the first steps in starting a successful influencer marketing plan. To measure success based on these goals, you must determine which metrics will be used. You will then be able to clearly understand what needs to be done to achieve your goals. Your target audience should also be determined in advance. The target audience will depend on the type of product or service you are promoting.
• Utilize micro-influencers – Micro-influencers are influencers who have fewer active followers. Because they have fewer fans, they have a closer connection with their audience. In turn, you will have more active subscribers and they will trust your recommendations more readily. Working with micro-influencers may therefore be a good strategy for your business. Another reason to consider micro-influencers is that they are also affordable.
• Engage influencers who like your brand – If influential people already mention your brand without support; this means they like your brand, have a large audience, are already aware of your message, and can ensure success of your campaign. The more they promote your brand, the greater your chances of maximizing your return on investment.
• Long-term collaboration with influencers – To achieve the best results, effective and efficient collaboration is essential. The best influencer marketing strategy is to find influencers who can become brand ambassadors for your business in the long run. A lot of popular brands use the same influencers across all activities. These associations are not seen as short term deals.  

You can’t afford to ignore influencer marketing

Influencer marketing will continue to grow and become more creative as brands start incorporating it into their marketing efforts. If you want to improve your social media game, this is a reliable way to increase engagement, increase visibility and connect with followers.

SBL develops tailored digital marketing strategies for customers. As a leading marketing agency, we create data-driven strategies that help your business grow. The relationships we have built with the most sought after influencers from a wide range of backgrounds help us achieve outstanding results. Our team uses the latest digital marketing techniques and takes your brand to the target markets. We help you connect with people on a personal level, which increases brand affinity.

Contact our Digital Marketing division to know more.