Outsource2Us breaks down influencer marketing and its importance for your business.
Ask yourself this… have you ever purchased a product or service because a person you follow or admire has recommended it? This is the power of influencer marketing. How can you use this as a tool for your business? Scroll down and find out.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool that businesses can use to increase their brand engagement. Social media influencers (SMIs) are individuals with a dedicated online following.
This approach works through the high levels of trust that SMIs have formed with their audience, influencing their purchasing decisions. Harnessing this influence can help you to:
- Increase brand awareness and reach
- Gain audience from the influencers’ own audience
- Connect and build organic relationships with your customers
An insightful study from HubSpot revealed 89% of marketers stated that influencer marketing works as well (if not better) than other marketing channels.
Influencer marketing is also well-equipped to promote services with just as much success as they do products. As influencers, they promote a certain kind of experience to their audience. And the experience that your services offer is what influencers will promote.
Influencer marketing is also well-equipped to promote services with just as much success as they do products. As influencers, they promote a certain kind of experience to their audience. And the experience that your services offer is what influencers will promote.
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Audible, the renowned audiobook and podcast service is a prime example of where an influencer strategy increased the brand recognition of their services. The company recently partnered with photography influencer, Jesse Driftwood. Despite Driftwood having less than 100,000 followers, his explanation about how he uses Audible to learn more about business management and productivity made his followers feel as if they were receiving an authentic suggestion from a friend, which in turn helped the company reach new audiences.
What about Micro-Influencers?
It is important to note that more popular social media influencers can be relatively expensive to advertise your product. However, don’t let this stop you from considering micro-influencer marketing in your marketing plan.
Micro-influencers, as the name suggests are influencers with smaller followings (roughly 10,000 to 50,000 followers). Despite having a smaller following, they tend to have higher engagement rates and are effective for businesses looking to expand brand awareness in a specific market.
Why Influencer Marketing Is Important
Influencer marketing can be a blessing in disguise for many industries and is a strategy that shouldn’t be forgotten about. Here are examples of some of the many industries that can benefit from it:
IT and Professional Service Companies. Harnessing LinkedIn influencers can be advantageous as it’s where thought leaders in specific areas of expertise spend a lot of their time on. Even a like or comment can hold a significant amount of influence!
Health and Wellbeing. Health and wellbeing businesses looking to build an online following can benefit from the plethora of fitness influencers that exists on Facebook and Instagram.
Childcare Centres. Endorsements from parent influencers is an excellent way to spread a positive reputation for childcare centres by word-of-mouth online. Viewed as experts in their speciality, which may be nutrition or parenting, they can place your centre’s brand in front of thousands and make an impression on parents seeking childcare.
Trouble Choosing which Influencer to Approach? Here are some questions to ask yourself.
1. Are they safe to work with?
It is extremely important to always review an influencer’s content before partnering with them, as well as be sure they have a full understanding of your agreements. This can range from:
- Including a legal discloser policy – a signed contract that legally requires them to follow your disclosure guidelines.
- Ensuring they have not purchased ‘fake followers’ – inactive accounts that will lower engagement rates and deter your brand from maximising its reach.
- Reviewing their content before they post it for compliance.
- Keeping a close check on unethical influencer marketing practices.
2. Do they align with my brand?
Much like any marketing strategy, research is the first step. It is important to carefully choose an influencer that best matches your brand and its offerings to gain the best results.
3. What platforms are they on?
The platform an influencer uses also matters when implementing your influencer marketing strategy. Understanding what platforms your key target market uses and if this coincides with your chosen influencer is an important step you need to consider.
It is important to remember that influencers are not limited to a Facebook or Instagram strategy, other platforms can be considered too! Each platform has its unique audience and personality. For example, LinkedIn is arguably the most professionally driven platform and influencers on this platform usually position themselves as experts in specific niches. This allows them to gather people who are invested in the subject and are greatly relevant to what your business has to offer.
Failing to do these steps can potentially create problems down the line, such as losing your clients’ trust and damaging the equity of your brand. We can help make sure that does not happen.
Seeking help with your marketing efforts? Reach out to us at Outsouce2Us without delay. Contact us at info@outsourcetous.com.au | 07 3257 2027
