Influencer marketing has been the talk of the town lately. Almost everyone who owns a business is looking for an influencer to market their product. This popularity has made the meaning of influencer marketing quite self-explanatory but many people still lack in-depth knowledge about what it exactly is. This article aims to clear all your doubts regarding influencer marketing and helping you understand how to go about it.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a kind of social media marketing where businesses hire influencers from different social media platforms and ask them to endorse their brand on their accounts. This is done by brands sending the influencers PR packages, which they then showcase to their audience in the form of posts and stories. If the brand pays the influencers, they post positive reviews about the brand and convey their message subtly to the audience. On the other hand, if the brand is sending free PR packages to influencers just to create a hype the influencer can give an honest review.
How is it different from celebrity marketing?
It is common for people to confuse celebrity endorsements with influencer marketing, even though the basis of both these techniques is quite similar but they are not the same. Influencer marketing is something more relatable for the audience since influencers are not celebrities. They are normal people who managed to get followers through their engaging and relatable content. The audience therefore trusts and them more.
Do all businesses need it?
No, not business require influencer marketing, it depends on the kind of product you are selling and who your target audience is. For example, if you are a business that deals with property, an Instagram influencer endorsing your business would not be the ideal way to market it.
How to go about it?
This is the part where most businesses go wrong. Solely investing in influencer marketing is not enough you need to know how to use both your money and time adequately. This the part where you need a strategy. Your strategy should include a few essential points for it to succeed. These points include:
- What do you want to promote?
Is it your entire business, or a specific product? What points do you want the influencer to highlight when talking about your business? And more.
- The timing
Either you want to create a hype before the launch of a specific product or the beginning of a new discount offer. The timing of influencer marketing is really important. You will also have to consider the times at which most of your target audience is active on social media.
- Pick the appropriate influencer:
Instead of just basing your decision on which influencer has the most amount of followers you need to go through their account and check whether they have the kind of audience you are targeting. Secondly, sometimes influencers have paid followers so make sure that is not the case with the influencer you pick.
- Stay Calm:
Do not expect the results to surface immediately. It takes time for influencers to market your brand and for the audience notice it. Influencer marketing is a process that needs its own time to develop and give you an outcome.
Things which you should not do:
- Underestimate your influencer:
In influencer marketing, the influencer is your priority as he is the one dealing with your potential customers. So the first step is to the impress your selected influencer and make sure they believe in your product. Remember this, unlike celebrities, influencers do not have assistant or PR managers, so deal with them like you would with a friend and not a company.
- Don’t go overboard:
Don’t ask different influencers to post your product on a variety of social media platforms as your customers will understand it is paid marketing campaign very easily.
- Don’t limit yourself to one platform
Contrary to popular belief influencer marketing can be used on multiple platforms and not just social media. Another common platform where influencer marketing can be quite successful is television. Due to the availability of offers like Spectrum Select Packages, cable TV has become affordable for a vast majority of people nationwide. Thus, casting influencers in your Ads is not only going to be cost effective but a great way to reach a huge audience. .When you look at the benefits of influencer marketing its popularity becomes understandable. If done the right way influencer marketing can alter the entire outlook of your business. So invest in it right away and give your business the kind of hype it deserves.
