Influencers have come to change the way businesses market their products online. The question is: why?
Influencer marketing is like word-of-mouth marketing, but with a massive reach. It is when influential social media personalities (or influencers) with decent followings, expertise, and passion in a particular niche endorse a product, idea, or lifestyle.
So, how can you reap the benefits of this mind-blowing marketing strategy?
Getting Started…
First things first, you need to be clear about what you want to accomplish through your influencer marketing campaign. While your goals could overlap, it is necessary to list them down in order of priority. This will not only give shape to your campaign, but it will also help you establish relevant KPIs (key performance indicators). Then comes the most important step — the influencer vetting process. This step can either make or break the success of your campaign.
So, don’t rush it.
In addition to follower counts, look at influencers’ engagement rates, passion, niches, and audience demographics before partnering with them.
The Benefits of Using Influencer Marketing
Influencers can help you increase your brand’s reach. They can enable you to tap into new markets. You can reach out to audiences who will not just consume your content but will also be interested in buying your products. Another reason why marketers use influencer marketing is that it can help you build credibility and trust quickly. Since influencers are really liked for who they are, what they do, their opinions matter. Most importantly, when done right, influencer marketing will enable you to generate a high ROI and get quick results.
The Challenges of Using Influencer Marketing
All that being said, influencer marketing has its dark side too. The biggest challenge is finding the right influencer. If you end up partnering with the wrong one, they can hurt your brand’s reputation and cause monetary loss as well. If an influencer ignores the FTC endorsement guidelines, uses fake followers, or creates content that doesn’t resonate with your audience, you’ll have to face losses.
Moreover, measuring the performance of your campaign can be pretty difficult. Fortunately, you can overcome all of these challenges and make the most out of your campaign budget. You can consider hiring a leading influencer marketing agency such as the ones I’ve reviewed on my blog, ShaneBarker.com. To learn more about the pros and cons of influencer marketing, you can take a look at the infographic below.
