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( votes)Sometime before, influencer marketing was considered a questionable approach with limited potential. Furthermore, only celebrities and a very tiny percent of dedicated bloggers were considered worthy of working in this field.
Fast forward to the present day, the power of social media influencer marketing is rising beyond measures, holding immense importance in the digital age and the social media arenas.
According to statistics, nearly two-thirds of marketers increased their influencer marketing budgets in 2019, with 80% finding influencer marketing effective or very effective for their brands.
Therefore, if you are not taking advantage of influencer marketing, you are missing on a huge opportunity to endorse your brand in the right manner, promote brand awareness, grow your following, and increase your engagement.
What is Social Media Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that involves influencers or people who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts in their niche. These people or influencers use their authority on social media for endorsements and product mentions.
Influencer marketing achieves star recognition because of the high amount of trust that influencers have built up with their following, and recommendations from such social media celebrities serve as proof for your brand’s potential customers.
The Top Social Media Influencer Platforms for Marketing
The top social media influencer platform for marketing is Instagram. YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat are other considerable channels, apt for influencer marketing.
But, the power of Instagram lies in its influencer hub. The social media account has gained tremendous popularity for its amazing influencer list, offering a floodgate of opportunities and a high engagement rate for brands, a worthy platform for building a customer-brand relationship.
The Value Of Social Media Influencer Marketing
While Instagram is particularly popular for its growing pool of influencers, the marketing industry is set to reach $10 billion in worth, by the end of 2020. Other platforms also have praiseworthy demographics, but the power of Instagram influencer marketing is pure because of its influencers, crowing it as the top platform for social media influencer marketing.
But, how powerful is this form of marketing?
The following statistics will give you an insight into the same:
- 89% of marketers believe that ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other channels.
- Influencer marketing when compared with digital media delivers 11X better ROI.
- Influencer marketing when compared with paid media allows brands to earn $2 for every $1 spends on Ad words.
- 65% of marketers increased their influencer marketing budget, in 2019.
Now, that you know the real authority of social media influencer marketing, let’s learn about how to create an exceptional strategy.
How to Create a Social Media Influencer Marketing Strategy
Just like any other marketing tactic, social media influencer marketing on Instagram relies on targeting and planning. The following are the key points involved in strategizing a profitable and realistic influencer marketing methodology.
Study your brand, product, and platform for influencers
Research is the first key step along with the right platform.
You can always expand to other channels too, but your first pick counts.
Considering the promising numbers and demographics held by Instagram and YouTube for beauty and fashion, start planning a strategy to implement an influencer marketing strategy. For the video game industry, Twitch is perfect for you.
Image: Big Brands like H&M are also employing influencer marketing for promoting their latest fashion lines.
Decipher everything important and related to the influencer marketing campaign. You can choose from celebrities, micro-influencers, Nano-influencers, etc. whatever you decide will determine your budget. The type of influencer you pick will decipher your reputation in the online market as well.
You’ll have to think about the expected ROI of your influencer marketing campaign and how will the contributions of influencer posts affect your overall marketing goals.
Set a budget and management strategy
Now that you have the right influencers with you, the next step is to set a budget. Devising an influencer marketing strategy is about close monitoring and follows up.
Image: Daniel Wellington was the early starters of influencer marketing on Instagram. It practically established its name in the market through Instagram and influencer marking.
Most of the time, a product promotion video or image is required, supplemented with the right content. You can either use your photographers and videographers, or the influencers can do that from their end. The best way is to hire an influencer marketing agency that can do everything for you. They will perform all sorts of research. You’ll just have to provide approvals from your end.
Your goals and messages matter
Brands use influencer marketing for two major reasons; brand awareness and increase in sales.
Instead of, deciphering your social media influencer marketing to adjust to these goals, you can revise your brand’s goals and needs with this form of promotion. Perhaps you want to increase your customer base in the younger demographics, or you want to expand your customer pool for a specific product, or you want to increase followers on your page. The way you utilize influencers for your brand will decide its values as well.
Image: As a brand, your message for your followers should be crystal clear. Just like in this post, Kellogg’s Special K hits at how it makes your diet healthy and enriching.
Your message is as important as your goal. So, you’ll want influencers to post a comment, related to your brand idea, its creativity, and uniqueness. Therefore, take special consideration for your goals and messages for your social media influencer marketing campaigns.
Find your influencers and contact them
It is similar to step one: research. Once you know the goals you want to achieve with the influencer marketing campaign, you can start looking for the right influencers. When researching, keep the following things in mind.
- Does the influencer have any experience in posting about things similar to your services and products? For example, you are a fashion brand and you want to promote a new line. So, you’ll look out for influencers in the same domain rather than contacting people posting about food and travel.
- Are they legit and reliable? Scroll down a few promotional posts and observe the engagement ratio to follower count for each influencer. Look for trustworthy customer comments too.
- Have they worked with similar brands before? Screen out the different industries that they have promoted on their page and how well is the follower reception on those posts.
Image: Influencing marketing is all about promoting and branding the product aptly. A good post is accompanied with a great image and relatable content.
Some influencers openly collaborate. You can send them direct messages or emails for inquiries. For others, they are managed through a talent agency. In either case, the contact details are mentioned on every influencer’s bio.
Review and tweak your strategy
Once the social media influencer marketing campaign kick starts, measure its progress. Track how well is it doing on the platform.
Conclusion
Influencers are here to stay, and influencer marketing is going to occupy a domineering power in the coming years. It has drastically improved its perception and reception in a short time. Unlike any other social strategy, influencer marketing is all about real people publicizing your brand to real customers. So, take advantage of such influencers into your marketing strategies.
