Social media influencers are an integral part of marketing in the modern era. In fact, plenty of new businesses have made a mark in their industries thanks to bloggers, fashionistas, and health gurus. Taking advantage of this new marketing tactic can help you gain consumer trust, share your industry voice, and give yourself the brand recognition necessary to start selling.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that uses product mentions or endorsements from influencers. An influencer is someone who has a large number of followers on social media and has a dedicated audience that supports them through likes, shares, and comments. Influencer marketing works because they already have the trust of their audience.
While influencers have already done the hard work to gain their viewers’ trust and are likely trustworthy themselves, you should still use an influencer contract to protect your business. A contract can ensure that everyone receives their share of the profits and no one is confused about the terms of your agreement.
The Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Shows Authority and Builds Trust
Industry experts, influencers, and celebrities already have an audience that sees them as an authority. If your brand asks an influencer to shout out your product, it creates the perception that the product and brand are trustworthy and an industry leader. Credibility is the number one thing you can use to accelerate the time frame in which your brand builds a relationship with its customers, mainly if the influencer stays as an ambassador long term.
Reaches Your Target Audience
It can be difficult to reach your targeted audience just with ads alone, especially if you don’t haven’t built trust in your industry. Relevant influencers place your product front and center in your desired niche without having to test the market. Roughly 40 percent of respondents in a 2016 survey stated they made a purchase from a social media influencer, and with 85% of the market being Millennials and Gen Z’ers, you’ll start to target customers with the most money.
Influencers are the New Trendsetters
Influencers are the go-to source for information when it pertains to new products in their niche, whether it’s tech, beauty, fitness, or gaming. People who follow influencers idolize their opinions which makes influencer culture so powerful. When influencers are given access to exclusive products before they’re available to the public, they take notice and drive the product’s growth. This marketing tactic can put your business in the spotlight of an emerging trend.
Access to Visibility and Reach
The 50 most followed influencer accounts have a total of 2.5 billion followers, and you gain access to that audience as long as you can afford to sponsor them. Even if your scope is on smaller influencers, you can still gain a lot of traction with accounts that total 50k followers or less. Instead of hoping to catch the eyes of your niche, giving your products to an influencer guarantees your business is seen and gives you a better chance of gaining customers.
Tracks Brands Reputation
Knowing what others think of your brand should be at the top of your marketing strategy because you need people to like you to buy your products. Social media influencers are paid to say great things about your brands, but their follower base isn’t. An influencer’s followers will be brutally honest about your brand, and they can help you answer questions or improve problem areas. By addressing issues publicly, you can further gain the trust of your customers.
Aids in Lead Generation
The entire follower base of the influencer you’ve chosen to promote your product is filled with data you’ll need for lead generation. Most social media networks offer advertising formats explicitly made for collecting leads and help brands generate traffic. Since influencers have a bigger market, you can use that large customer base to understand what your customers like about your products. Lead generation will help you identify the needs of your audience.
