In 2021, influencer marketing’s efficiency cannot be doubted in the slightest. Over the years, the said marketing strategy has evolved into one of the finest methods for businesses and marketers to reach their target audience. But what is influencer marketing, and what are the ‘factors’ that make influencers highly approachable.
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing in which advertisers team up with individuals boasting an established fanbase across one or more social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, etc., for the promotion of a product or service.
However, working with social media influencers isn’t as simple a task as one may want it to be. In fact, there are several variables that determine the success rate of collaboration.
In this article, I will shed light on some important tips for you to learn on how to work with social media stars.
Influencer Marketing: Numbers to Note
A look at the following numbers might convince you why influencer marketing is one of the best social media strategies for 2021.
- As per a 2019 report prepared by SocialPubli, 93% of marketers rely on influencer marketing.
- On average, a $1 investment in influencer marketing yields $6.50 in revenue.
- As per SocialMediaToday, 87% of people decided to purchase after an influencer encouraged them to do so.
- Nearly four out of every 10 (39%) marketers are considering increasing their influencer marketing budget.
- By 2022, the influencer marketing industry is expected to be valued at $15 billion, almost double its worth in 2019 ($8 billion).
Therefore, it’s high time for businesses to benefit from the potential of influencer marketing and:
- Boost their Sales
- Increase Brand Awareness
- Get More Eyes on their Products/Services
- Learn the Type of Content that Appeals to Social Media Users
Working with Social Media Influencers: Seven Steps to Follow
Marketers striving to increase ROI and reach their target audience by using influencer marketing should follow the following tips and tricks.
1. Look for Influencers Whose Interests Align with Your Brand’s
While searching for influencers to endorse your product/service, do not get tempted by their content right away. You need to collaborate with someone whose niche links with the stuff you are trying to promote.
Their followers will only be drawn to your product/service if they see that the influencer is genuinely committed to what he/she is promoting.
Moreover, the same interests also prevent collaboration from looking fabricated. For example, an influencer promoting a vegetarian diet plan one day and then a KFC deal the next day would come across as dishonest.
So, reach out to those social media stars whose interests and content align with the nature of the product/service you want them to promote.
2. Don’t Micromanage Influencers
The TV advertisements that most of us have grown up watching follow an exciting approach. Such marketing campaigns and ad strategies are planned by personnel within the same organization, promoting that particular product/service.
However, when you rope in a social media influencer to enhance your business’s reach and sales, don’t dictate what they should upload. The reason is that these influencers have a better idea of the type of content their followers interact with, as well as the ongoing trends that can be taken advantage of.
While you are more than welcome to offer your suggestions, the influencer in question should have complete creative freedom.
3. Aim for Better Engagement
On the surface, an influencer with 55,000 followers on Instagram might seem a better fit for increasing brand awareness than an influencer with 15,000 followers, right? However, that’s not the case at all.
While better reach is impressive in its own right, it doesn’t amount to much if people aren’t interacting with the content.
This is where micro-influencers and nano-influencers come into play. While only a few thousand people might follow such influencers, the engagement on their content is unrivaled. This is because their fanbase comprises loyal users who wouldn’t hesitate to check out the promoted product/service.
4. Avoid Collaborating with Influencers Working with Too Many Brands
It’s not fair to restrict an influencer to only work with your business. However, it’s also not wise to work with someone who has way too much on their plate.
Influencers who spam their followers with way too many sponsored posts (of items belonging to different brands) on a regular basis aren’t the ones you should be looking for.
It’s not recommended since the abundance of sponsored content can cause their audience to experience burnout and ignore the stuff being promoted.
5. Strive to Establish a Mutually-Beneficial Partnership
In addition to reimbursing social media influencers financially, there’s so much more you can do for them. Invite them to your events, make them host giveaways and other creative campaigns, boost their credibility, and whatnot!
Make them realize that the collaboration opportunity will be as beneficial for them as it is for you. Only then will they take pride in representing your brand.
6. Study the Influencer and Plan your Budget Accordingly
Before hitting up an influencer, do your research on them. Study the niche they specialize in, their audience demographics, social media analytics, etc.
Also, it goes without saying that these metrics, along with the number of followers the influencer in question has, will help you plan the budget for the campaign.
You should also note that many influencers opt for a commission structure rather than collecting a definite fee.
7. Keep Tabs on the Campaign’s Performance
Your role as a marketer doesn’t end when a social media influencer uploads a sponsored product to give your brand a shoutout. While hundreds, if not thousands, of likes, comments, and shares should impress you, these metrics don’t fully determine whether the campaign succeeded or not.
In order to gauge how the campaign is performing, you need to find out how many people visited the link that the influencer asked them to check out. Moreover, how many of those visits turned into sales or subscriptions is also a critical factor in determining the campaign’s success.
In short, measuring ROI should be your top priority.
Conclusion
Social media marketing’s growth in recent years has been nothing short of impressive. Nowadays, many leading brands and businesses rely on influencer marketing to boost their sales and increase their following.
An ideal social media influencer helps a business by posting content relevant to both their interest and the brand’s ideology. This content should reach an impressive number of people and attain reasonable engagement in order to increase the ROI of the investing party.
I hope your introduction to influencer marketing through this article turned out to be a valuable experience.
