What is influencer marketing?

Have you heard of influencer marketing? Have you ever considered using it to generate sales for your business? If not, then you’re missing out. Influencer marketing is rising as more people turn to social media to build their brands.

If a company partners with an influential blogger or YouTuber, they can generate substantial amounts of new leads and customers for their business.

In the last decade, influencer marketing has grown exponentially. The mid-2000s marked the era of the influencer; it was the first time brands started spending more money on influencer marketing than on traditional advertising.

And according to Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer marketing industry raised over $800M in funding in 2021 alone and is set to grow to approximately $16.4 Billion in 2022

As an entrepreneur, business owner, marketer, etc., everyone wants to know how they should make money online. So what does influencer marketing mean?

Well, influencer marketing is when celebrities, athletes, bloggers, and even everyday people share information about your product/service on their social network accounts. In exchange, you give them free stuff or monetary compensation.

The goal is to drive sales and boost brand recognition while gaining a competitive advantage over your competitors.

The idea here is simple; these influencers have a reach and exposure that might not be possible otherwise because of their millions of followers and subscribers.

By getting in front of these influencers, you can get your message across to people much faster than if you were only using traditional marketing.

Brands benefit from influencer marketing because these individuals already have a built-in audience they can market to and trust. When influencers promote something they may have been paid to do; their audience trusts them more since they know they aren’t being forced to say positive things and won’t try to hurt their reputation should anything go wrong with the product.

The easiest way to tap into this market is to reach out to these individuals and ask if they might be interested in working with you. If they agree, they’ll likely create some content around your company, link back to your website, mention you by name, and even promote your business on their own social media channels.

Benefits of using Influencer Marketing

There are many benefits of using influencer marketing instead of other forms of advertising. Here are just a few;

 –It’s cost-effective. A recent study showed that companies that use influencer marketing spend 25% – 90% less than those that don’t.

 -It scales well. Since influencer marketing involves real people, the more people you target, the more likely it will work.

 -It generates high-quality traffic. People often research specific terms and keywords when purchasing a product or service online. Targeting top influencers increases the chance of that visitor landing on your website.

 -It’s measurable. As opposed to some ad campaigns, you’ll always know how many people your campaign generated.

-It increased brand awareness. When influencers promote your brand or product, followers will also become more aware of it.

-It increased sales. Influencer marketing can increase sales, as influencers can encourage their followers to make a purchase.

-Improved brand image. Working with influencers can help improve your brand image and make it more favorable in the eyes of consumers.

Why does Influencer Marketing Work?

Brands use influencer marketing to reach audiences that wouldn’t otherwise hear about their company because influencers appeal to different demographics than traditional advertising methods.

Since influencers are considered celebrities in their communities, they get more engagement (likes and comments) from their followers than companies would from regular posts. Influencer marketing works because they’re familiar faces for many viewers and personal connections with brands interest viewers in what the individual has to say.

Influencer Marketing also works well because the audience trusts what their favorite influencer says. Since influencers are considered experts in their fields, they’re viewed as trustworthy, making them influential brands.

How does Influencer Marketing fit into my Business Plan?

If you’re considering starting a business, influencer marketing might not be part of your everyday routine; however, it can help businesses in various ways. Having an influencer endorse, your product can increase traffic to your website by reaching a wider audience.

Influencer marketing can bring awareness to a new product category and give your company credibility. Your target market may find your industry niche appealing enough to share with others, which brings in potential clients.

How does Influencer Marketing Work?

An influencer marketer reaches out to influencers to get them to promote their brand. Once an influencer agrees to promote the business, they create content (videos, blog posts) about the business’s product or services. Then they post these videos or articles on their social media channels. Their followers then see these posts and are influenced to visit the business’s website or buy the product.

How to start using Influencer Marketing

#1. Define Your Audience
Before you start using influencers, you need to know who they are and what their interests are. You want to ensure you’re speaking to the right people, not just anyone. If you’ve never done any influencer marketing before, consider what types of content work best for your audience and what kind of influencer works best for your business.

#2. Find Influencers

You want to find influencers that have similar audiences to yours. For instance, if you sell luxury products, you don’t want to target someone who sells budget-friendly products. Instead, look for those who share your brand values and target them based on demographics.

For example, if your company is focused on women’s fashion, look for female influencers who post about fashion and beauty.

Influencers are categorized into several groups based on how many followers they have on social media.

Micro-influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers, whereas nano-influencers have between 1,000 and 10,000.

Influencers in the middle, with 50,000 to 500,000 followers

500,000 to 1,000,000-follower macro-influencers

Mega-influencers with more than one million followers

Before reaching out to an influencer to discuss collaborating, keep the following in mind:

 • What do you want to achieve?

 • How much time can you commit to this project?

 • Do you need a specific type of influencer (e.g., blogger, YouTube star, etc.)?

 • Does this person already work with you?

 • Is this person willing to invest their time in exchange for compensation?

 • Are you comfortable sharing your product/service with someone else?

#3. Build Relationships
Once you’ve identified your ideal influencer, you’ll want to build relationships with them. Use social media to contact them and get guidance. Share something you think they would enjoy, and let them know how much you appreciate them sharing it with their followers.

To guarantee you get the most out of your partnership, follow these suggestions:

 • Send a personalized email introducing yourself and your company.

 • Include a link to your website where they can learn more about your business.

 • Provide links to any relevant blog posts, videos, or articles.

#4. Create Content
Having established a connection with your influencer, you’ll need to create content that’s specific to them. Look at their previous posts and identify what they talk about most frequently. Then, create content around these themes and pitch it directly to them.

To catch the attention of an influencer’s audience, create content that appeals to them. You should know what topic area is trending and what types of content they have already posted. Make sure to add value to the influencer’s community. Provide helpful information, tips, tricks, tutorials, product reviews, or anything else that will increase the influencer’s following.

#5. Measure ROI
It’s always good to track the success of each campaign. Use Google Analytics to measure traffic, conversions, and engagement. Once you’ve measured your results, adjust your strategy accordingly.

What is the price of influencer marketing?

There isn’t a set price for influencer marketing campaigns, although some influencers charge higher rates depending on how big their followings are. Companies often don’t want to spend much on influencer marketing because it can be a massive loss if the campaign doesn’t produce results.

A good influencer marketing strategy includes running multiple campaigns with different influencers to spread the budget out over time. Influencer marketing can also increase sales, as the promoted item gets shared and discussed across various channels.

Tips to help you

If you’re planning an influencer marketing campaign, you should start with a specific goal in mind. What is the purpose of this campaign? What kind of income are you aiming for? Do you want leads and customers, or do you want to build your brand’s reputation and awareness? Before approaching influencers about launching a campaign for your brand, these and other questions need to be answered.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, if you’re looking to attract new customers, using influencer marketing can be one of the most effective ways to go about it. It means partnering with social media influencers with large followings, then using that partnership to promote your products or services to those followers. In turn, they might buy what you’re selling or become interested in your brand in other ways.

READ ALSO: Brand Positioning Strategy: Types, and How it works

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