What is Influencer Marketing?
First things first, what’s an influencer? An influencer is someone who has an online presence big enough to inspire and effectively engage with their audience. This means that influencer marketing is partnering with an individual with a significant following to promote products, services, or brand messages. Influencers have established a level of trust with their audience which is why people want to partner with them. To use an influencer effectively, their personality and following must relate to your brand and match your desired target audience. You wouldn’t buy a hammer from a beauty specialist after all!
So, what benefits can partnering with an influencer offer you?
1. Expanded Reach and Awareness
One of the main benefits of influencer marketing is being able to reach a broader audience. Successful influencers will have thousands or even millions of followers which will include a variety of people with various demographics and interests. By collaborating with influencers, businesses can take on board these ready-made audiences and introduce their products or services to potential future customers who might not have discovered you otherwise.
2. Enhanced Credibility and Trust
Today, consumers are becoming increasingly sceptical of advertisements, especially online. This is why you should take influencers into account. They have dedicated lots of time to building trust and credibility with their followers. When an influencer recommends a product or service, they are presenting a form of social proof that the product or service is worth buying. This has the potential to sway purchasing decisions. This can significantly enhance your businesses brand in the eyes of consumers.
3. Increased Engagement and Content Value
Influencers are content creators at heart. They understand what types of content resonate with their audience. When businesses collaborate with influencers, they gain access to creative, authentic content that engages audiences. This content often performs better than standard advertising copy, as it feels more personal and less corporate.
Influencers provide a service of content creation within their work. They understand their audience and therefore can create appropriate content they know will resonate well with their audience. By collaborating with an appropriate influencer, you are gaining access to creative, authentic content that engages audiences. This content normally performs better than generic advertising, as it’s more personal and has the trustworthy element working in its favour.
4. Boost in SEO
If an influencer provides content that links to your website, it can drive traffic which is a factor in search engines algorithms. This can boost your search engines optimisation (SEO). Furthermore, being heard about from a good resource enables your brand and website to have a good reputation and can enhance your businesses visibility and authority.
5. Cost-Effective Targeting
Influencer marketing can be more cost-effective than other advertising methods. Instead of spending large amounts on general ad-campaigns, brands can use influencer marketing to reach an audience that is more tailored to them and are able to reach specific segments of the market. Many influencers have niche audiences which makes it easier to target potential customers with precision.
6. Long-Term Partnerships and Brand Loyalty
Having a long-term relationship with an influencer can lead to persistent brand loyalty. This is because having an influencer continually promoting your brand means that they reinforce the product and showcase how good it is meaning that they want to be repeatedly using it all the time. Overtime this deepens the connection they have with your brand and the audience.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing offers a lot of positives for a brand, including reach, trust, and engagement that other forms of advertising might struggle to match. It’s very important though, to remember to carefully select an influencer whose audience and demographics go well with your brand and business. Whether you are a small, medium or large business, collaborating with an influencer and integrating them with your marketing strategies can result in new and therefore they become repeat customers and enable you to reach an audience you might have struggled to get to.
