Influencer marketing - A Complete Guide

According to The shelf, 92% of customers go with the recommendation from other people. Consumers trust recommendation over promotional content that comes directly from companies.

In the recent years, we all have seen how the use of social media has increased. Popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram now have a large user base and are reaching big parts of the world.

Nowadays, these platforms are used by brands also to interact and promote their products and services. Brands willing to increase awareness actively use these social media platforms

Influencers have a huge following on these platforms and their audience trust them. Most influencers try to build a personal connection with their audience. And when these influencers promote a certain product, their audience automatically starts trusting that particular product.

Let’s understand what influencer marketing is

If you are active on social media, you must have come across a influencer talking about a product. That’s exactly what influencer marketing is.

Influencer marketing is one type of marketing, where brands and influencers collaborate in a campaign in order to expand the reach of that particular campaign. These influencers don’t necessarily have to be celebrities.

Beauty blogger, travel vlogger, food blogger, etc. they can be anyone.

Influencer marketing, at its finest, won’t even feel like marketing. It is much more impactful than traditional advertising. With the right influencer marketing strategy, you can popularise any product or service that you want. To make your influencer marketing campaigns successful, here are a few key points to look for.

Know your target audience.

For any influencer marketing campaign to be successful, it has to reach the right audience. A target audience analysis will not only help you in product development, but will also help you market your products in front of the right people.

You will need to understand what you are, what you are offering, and what you want to achieve. Once you have identified these things, it will be easier for you to understand your target audience.

Finding the right influencer

Finding the right influencer for your influencer marketing campaign is important. Every influencer has their own audience, you need to figure out whose audience can be your potential customer. If you are a cosmetics company, you need to identify a promotes or talk about beauty tips, products etc.

With the right influencer rolled in for your influencer marketing campaign, you can surely achieve your desired goals.

Some influencers manage all of their business and social accounts by themselves and many of them have dedicated marketing teams. You can get in touch with them and take things forward.

How influencer marketing helps businesses

Influencer marketing helps businesses to approach a wider target audience. It enables them to scale up by increasing visibility which provides higher return on investment than other marketing channels. According to Mediakix, 50% of companies stated that their return on investment is higher in influencer marketing campaigns when compared to other marketing channels.

Influencer marketing helps in driving the customer’s buying decision. People respect and trust their influencers. This increases sales. Influencer marketing is also a cost effective way to market your products and services.

It is also a very quick way to showcase your products in front of an established fan base. You don’t need to setup a page and the build following to market your products in front of your target audience. You just hire an influencer whose followers match your target audience and that’s it.

Types of influencer marketing

Influencer marketing, at its core, is getting an influencer to talk about your products or services.

Here are some types of influencer marketing:

#1. Sponsored content

Sponsored content is the most popular form of influencer marketing. Sponsored content is just a post that talks about a particular service or product for advertisement.

The content is generally shared on the influencer’s social media accounts and most of the time it includes a call to action.

#2. Brand ambassador

If you find that the influencer is a good fit for your products and services, you can make them your brand ambassador.

Brand ambassador works for an extended period of time. If you think the influencer has good reach and can benefit your business, making them the brand ambassador will help you in getting the most out of your influencer marketing campaign.

Long term association with an influencer helps in executing different strategies like sponsored content, giveaways, better utilisation of user generated content etc.

#4. Influencer content on your channel

Posting influencer content on your channel works like a testimonial. When potential customers visit your social accounts and see influencers talking about your content, it generates trust in their minds.

Potential customers start trusting your products and services more once they see influencer content on your channel.

#5. Discount and affiliate links

People love discounts. Offering discounts can often make potential customers choose your products over the competition. And when this discount strategy is coupled with influencer marketing, it becomes more powerful.

Influencers build trust and when a discount is offered, the customers tend to buy the product or service with an immediate effect.

You can use affiliate links and track the conversion rates of your influencer marketing campaign.

#6. Contests and giveaways

Holding contests and giveaways for the influencer’s audience makes them interact with your brand. You can make them your followers. This is also a very good way to generate UGC.

Offer your own products as a prize to the winners. You can also provide discounts to the participants.

Takeaway

It’s obvious that influencer marketing is more than just an ongoing trend. It is transforming the way how people interact with brands. It is becoming more vital in the marketing space. Running influencer marketing campaigns is present on the lists of most brands. If you take the right approach and know your audience, this guide will help you in executing the type of influencer marketing strategy and make your influencer marketing campaign successful.

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