It is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to get attention on the Internet. This is largely because every business, big or small, has invaded the online world creating an insurmountable amount of noise.
This has made consumers extremely skeptical about brands that indulge in self-promotion. That is why the demand for new, innovative digital marketing strategies has been on the rise.
The quest for an alternate approach has compelled brands to appreciate the power of influencers. Influencer marketing is becoming a favorite among digital marketers and business owners.
Many brands are investing a significant amount of time and resources into executing successful influencer marketing campaigns. If you are still wondering why influencer marketing is so popular, maybe it is time to hone your marketing skills.
However, before we discuss why influencer marketing deserves the attention it is getting, let’s take a look at the concept in greater detail.
Influencer marketing decoded
Influencer marketing involves collaborating with popular and relevant influencers in your niche to promote your brand and increase your revenue.
Influencers are characterized by a large number of loyal and dedicated social media followers. They are perceived as experts in their niches and their recommendations are often highly regarded by their followers.
What distinguishes influencers from traditional celebrities is that the former share a strong rapport with their fan communities. They harness the accessibility of social media to establish personal connections with and gain the trust of their followers.
Influencers are often real-life consumers who have in-depth knowledge about certain subjects. This gives them certain leverage and empowers them to motivate their followers to take desired actions.
Depending on your marketing objective, you can work with influencers to create engaging content, announce giveaways, host Q & A sessions, etc. In addition, you can invite them to take charge of your social media profiles and upload content on your behalf for a specific time period.
A successful influencer marketing campaign requires solid planning and a deep understanding of your target audience and marketing objectives.
According to a study in 2018, Google received 61,000 search queries for the term “influencer marketing”. The same study also revealed that influencer marketing was considered effective by 92% of the respondents. 86% of the respondents were also willing to dedicate a specific budget for their influencer marketing campaigns.
This clearly indicates that influencer marketing is gaining acceptance and popularity among business owners and marketers.
Still not sure about working with influencers? Take a look at the following real-life example.
The rise of Daniel Wellington
Filip Tysander, the founder of Daniel Wellington, decided to ditch traditional celebrity endorsements. Instead, he devised a new strategy for the launch of his Swedish luxury watch brand in 2011.
He selected relevant influencers on Instagram and gifted them DW watches. He encouraged them to post pictures showcasing the products on their Instagram profiles, along with the branded hashtag #DanielWellington
It is noteworthy how Tysander chose a social media platform that was relevant to his target audience (young and creative individuals). In addition, he worked with several micro influencers, prioritizing engagement over reach.
He also got access to a treasure trove of high-quality user-generated content that could be used as testimonials from real-life users. He harnessed the power of word-of-mouth marketing and scaled it with the help of influencers.
Each influencer was also provided with a unique trackable promo code. They could share the promo codes along with their posts to offer a discount to their followers.
This further attracted their followers towards the brand and even helped drive conversions. The use of promo codes also made it easier to determine the effectiveness of each influencer.
The success of the campaign was evident when the brand attracted 1 million Instagram followers within the first year. Today, Daniel Wellington is among Europe’s fastest growing companies, with more than 4.6 million Instagram followers
Do you want to know why influencer marketing is worth your time and effort? The success of Daniel Wellington makes a solid case in its favor.
In order to understand why influencer marketing should be an integral part of your business, let’s take a look at some of the lucrative advantages.
Amplified brand awareness
Influencers, owing to their massive reach, have the power to increase brand exposure and boost brand awareness. When an influencer recommends or endorses your brand, their followers are likely to take notice.
In addition, coming from a trusted influencer, such recommendations are often considered authentic. The massive success of Daniel Wellington is a glorious example of how influencer marketing can help spread the word about your brand.
Collaborating with influencers helps you cut through the noise and attract their followers to your brand. It gives increased visibility to your brand and helps start meaningful online conversations about it.
In fact, according to the previously cited study, 37% of the respondents used influencer marketing to increase brand awareness.
Learn More: 13 Quirky Ways to Increase Brand Awareness
Precise targeting
Identifying and targeting the right audience is a crucial part of every marketing strategy. However, it is often a painstaking process and requires a deep understanding of your potential customers.
Influencer marketing allows you to surpass this step as the hard work has already been done by influencers. You just have to ensure that the influencer is relevant to your niche and their public persona aligns with your brand’s image.
Let’s say you own a clothing-retail company that sells affordable and chic apparel for millennials. Collaborating with fashion bloggers and models will give you access to their audience who are likely to take an interest in your products.
This strategy is often used by the Swedish apparel brand, H & M. For instance, they collaborated with fashion blogger, Julie Sarinana, for the launch of their 2017 catalog.
Enhanced credibility and trust
The biggest power of influencers lies in the trust of their followers. It is this trust that enables them to develop loyal fan communities.
When an influencer shares their honest feedback about your product or service, it is perceived as a genuine testimonial. It strengthens your brand’s reputation and reinforces your credibility.
Thus, collaborating with influencers helps you win the trust of their audience. In the long run, this is instrumental in developing an army of loyal brand advocates. It increases brand awareness even further and ultimately helps you earn more revenue.
Renewed content strategy
Influencers make a living out of creating engaging content for their followers. Collaborating with them helps to redefine your content strategy and gives it a new perspective. It acts as a breath of fresh air amidst the self-promotional content that you regularly post.
In addition, content that features influencers is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy. If it hits the right chord with your audience, they are likely to share it with their networks. This increases the visibility of your content and connects you with an audience that would have remained inaccessible otherwise.
Working with influencers also gives you access to a plethora of user-generated content. You can share such content to change the way your followers perceive your social media profiles.
In addition, such content can also be used as testimonials from real-life customers. It helps you win the trust of your audience and encourages them to give your products/services a try.
Increased audience engagement
Increasing the number of likes and comments on your social media posts is a struggle in itself. In the absence of good engagement levels, having millions of followers won’t yield any results. This is where influencer marketing can be of tremendous use.
Firstly, working with influencers improves the quality of your content and makes it more user-centric. Such content is more likely to find traction amidst your target audience.
Secondly, when an influencer shares your content on their social media profiles, their audience will also engage with it. If they like the content, they might tag their friends and share it on their own profiles, further increasing its reach.
For instance, many brands partner with influencers to announce Instagram giveaways. Such posts usually receive a large number of likes and comments. Take a look at the screenshot below:
Improved search engine rankings
Are you still wondering why influencer marketing needs to be integrated into your overall advertising strategy? Because collaborating with influencers can boost the other forms of digital marketing you are using.
In fact, it has the potential to improve your website’s search engine rankings and expand your reach even further.
Influencer marketing increases brand awareness, thereby driving more traffic to your website. In addition, when your content gets shared, it helps you earn a number of high-quality and authentic backlinks.
The quality of your content can also improve when you work with influencers. All of these factors can help increase your search engine rankings and help you grow your business.
Increased conversions
The ultimate objective of any business is to drive sales and earn more profit. However, it is extremely difficult to woo potential customers by blowing your own trumpet.
Consumers are becoming increasingly wary of such brands and often spend hours doing online research before making a purchase.
Influencers have the power to drive more people towards your products or services. This is because consumers trust the recommendations made by their favorite influencers.
Brands can use this to influence purchase decisions and drive more conversions. According to a gen.video study, 33% of the respondents agreed that influencers are their most trusted sources for shopping suggestions.
It is evident that influencer marketing is an effective tool for customer acquisition. It helps you generate more leads for your business and ultimately, earn increased revenue. In fact, the ROI of influencer marketing is as high as 650%.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing is increasingly becoming a necessity for marketers. Collaborating with influencers can help create online buzz about your brand. In addition, it can strengthen your brand’s reputation, improve audience engagement, and increase conversions.
It is high time marketers and business owners recognize the importance of influencer marketing and use it to their advantage.
Instead of asking why influencer marketing is important, marketers should focus on how to do it better.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
