In this day and age, where personality and popularity seem to rule, it makes sense to think about how you can harness these powerful concepts to market your business. Commonly known as ‘influencer marketing’, getting those who already have a large following to promote your product or service for you can be a smart move—if it’s done right.
Why Influencer Marketing Works
When you think of influencer marketing, the concept of celebrity endorsements will probably be one of the first things that come to mind. The two forms of advertising are very similar, but your ‘influencer’ doesn’t need to be a Hollywood A-lister—he or she simply needs to be popular among the members of your target market.
People trust recommendations from those they ‘know’ and who they think know them in return. Millennials, for example, put a lot of stock in their favorite creators on YouTube and Instagram and will listen to their recommendations more often than they will listen to their own friends. When you think of it this way, it just makes sense to have influencers promote your products or services to their followers.
Is Influencer Marketing Right for My Business?
Influencer marketing, of course, is not a one-size-fits-all concept and it may not be right for your business. If your target market is not active on social media, influencer marketing is probably not the right avenue for you. Over 93% of effective influencers are on Instagram and Instagram’s audience is primarily those between the ages of 18 and 39. If your clients are in their 40s or older, you may need to look into another type of marketing.
If you do decide that influencers are reaching your target market, you’ll find that leveraging them for marketing purposes is a smart bet. Not only will you be able to get past ad blockers in your digital advertising campaign, but you’ll also harness a low-cost, high-engagement form of marketing that is difficult to replicate.
How Do I Get Started?
Think influencer marketing is a good solution for your business? The first thing you need to do is find the right influencer(s). Hone in on your buyer personas and figure out who they are watching or following. Then make sure the influencer is aligning with your brand’s style and values. Once you’ve found the right one, reach out with a direct message and offer. You can either offer cross-promotion, free products or services, monetary incentives, or a combination to entice the influencer to promote your brand.
Keys to Influencer Marketing Success
The last thing you want is for an influencer to simply get on social media and try to sell your product. Instead, you want them to tell a story. This is why offering them products or services to try is normally a good bet. If they like what you have to offer, they’ll promote you in an authentic and believable way. When it comes down to it, the best key to influencer marketing success is to let your influencer do what he or she does best. If you’ve chosen wisely, you can be relatively hands-off with your influencer and allow them to create the buzz you’re after.
Influencer marketing is a powerful and effective technique for those businesses with the right target market and product. If you follow the above advice, you can land the perfect influencer and watch the new customers roll in!
