Do Influencers Really Make a Marketing Difference - Part 2
Last time we discussed the idea of influencer marketing and how it fits into the marketing world.It is a development on the concept of word-of-mouth marketing, but on a much larger scale and with a proactive audience who want to engage with what influencers are saying.
A study by Influencer Marketing Hub found that 92% of marketers who use this channel find it effective, with 86% intending to allocate budget and resource to it this year. It's tried and tested and with satisfaction figures like that it's hard not to see how influencer marketing can help grow your business.Companies who use influencer marketing report an average ROI of over 600% via that channel, so it can be a worthy investment.
Consumers polled by Sharablee and Fullscreen said they were more likely to trust what an influencer says about a brand than what the brand says about itself (40%) – this is an example of lending credibility to a product or brand by way of endorsement.The same consumers were just as likely to trust a brand if it has been promoted by an influencer.
Sounds fantastic, right?Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows; there are some traps to avoid with influencer marketing.Consumers are getting quite savvy about bots, fake follower numbers and brands who try to fly under the radar by not requiring that influencers clearly state which are paid for posts. Influencer marketing can turn sour when inflated follower numbers, underhand tactics and reviews which don't match up, but it's easy to avoid these mistakes by being totally transparent about paid posts by influencers.
You need to make sure you have the right people as influencers. They're effectively brand ambassadors and how they interact with their followers and respond to comments reflects back on your brand. They might also find themselves answering questions about the product or service, so do provide some FAQs and support for influencers who find themselves in that position.Someone who shares your values and is well respected in the industry will be a good influencer, but someone who just wants to make a quick buck and who is dismissive of their followers won't be, and could damage your reputation.You may also need to write posts or provide additional content for your influencers to share, but this is worthwhile as it allows you to retain control over your message.
Finding the right people can start within your business as you may already employ influential people.Finding those external people requires a bit of work and relationship building. Top influencers will get hundreds of requests a month and they can afford to be picky with whom they work with.If you can build a relationship based on mutual values this is a great way to get, and keep influencers who will positively advocate for your brand.There's also organic influencer activity that you can capitalise on. Search for people who are already fans of your brand and who match your values well.They may already be saying great things about you online so make the most of this organic praise and promote or share this content.If you approach someone who is already a vocal fan about being an influencer you're on to a good start.
Some products and services need more than just a photo and a caption, so publishing content-rich guest blogs as well as using the Stories features on social media allows you to get information out with multiple types of content. You can tell a story about how your product solved a problem with multiple picture and caption posts and get influencers to write guest pieces for your company blog. The guest blogger will want to share this content with their audience which will help drive traffic to your website.
If you're unsure about influencer marketing, we hope this has answered some of your concerns and that you'll get in touch with us to create and manage an influencer marketing campaign to remember.
