WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING MATTERS IN TODAY’S DIGITAL WORLD

Imagine that you have to buy a product which is new to the market. You can Google about the product, view the company’s website, look at the reviews, but if you have a friend who has already bought the product, it’s no secret that you will trust his/her words more than anything. Influencer marketing works on the same concept. It’s said that ten years ago, it took a customer a minimum of four exposures to an ad before they took action regarding it. Today it takes a minimum of 16 exposures before a customer takes action. Companies are marketing their products through whatever media they can which might result in its overexposure eventually leading to the decreased level of interest in customers.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing emerged and is becoming successful because of this reason. Even though Influencer Marketing is still fresh in the industry, it’s quickly proving to be one of the most effective social strategies, both cost wise and conversion wise for all kinds of businesses. The trust factor in Influencer Marketing is said to be mainly because of basic human nature. As we all tend to observe what others buy and try to make decisions regarding buying the same as per the experience of the original buyer.

Influence can from a wide range of mediums. It can be a person, place, group or a brand. What the marketers should do is to identify by researching and engaging with the people who create high-impact conversations with customers about their brand, products or services. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, the marketers can instead inspire, hire or pay influencers to get out the word for you.

Influencer marketing often goes hand-in-hand with, social-media marketing and content marketing. Most influencer campaigns have some sort of social-media component, whereby influencers are expected to spread the word through their personal social channels. Many influencer campaigns also carry a content element in which either you create content for the influencers, or they create the content themselves. Though social-media and content marketing often fit inside influencer campaigns, it’s not like it’s the same as influence marketing.

Influencer campaigns are naturally more organic than traditional advertisements, primarily because the influencers are seen as leaders and even as role models by the customers. By investing time and energy into generating their audience and connecting with their following, these influencers have become trusted sources. In short, people listen to them. So when an influencer highlights a product or service, it comes across as a genuine recommendation. Customers want originality, and that’s what they get with influencer marketing.

The first step of an influencer marketing plan is to set goals for the campaign. Normally, goals for influencer marketing are mostly less about increasing sales and more about branding and increasing public awareness. The companies must define their goals in measurable terms before any influencer is contacted for any campaign purposes.

After establishing the goals, the company should then identify the influencers they want to contact by researching demographics and target markets. There are market research firms which offer services that help marketers determine who their customers are most influenced by. The company will need to decide how many influencers they want to target and then select those that best meet the goals of the campaign.

After that, companies should then start analyzing the influencers like, who their audience is, and what kind of message they are spreading. When the company is ready to contact the influencer, they will communicate through social media or some other informal means. The aim is to form a relationship with the Influencers so that they genuinely advocate for the companies they write about.

Marketers of the companies should revisit goals every few months to track the success or failure of the influencer program. If a plan is not having the desired effect, companies must reach out to new influencers in different ways. The influencers who remain effective should be treated with respect so that they continue to support the company on their blogs and websites.

The only main drawback of influencer marketing is that it isn't as controllable as traditional marketing. While some influencers add a positive image of a product for the companies, there are influencers who encounter legal trouble or fall out of the public light that might negatively impact a product's chance of success. Marketers must prepare to deal with the negative fallout if the influencers they use misrepresent their products or land in any kind of trouble which can result in the outrage of the public.

The digital world is different. Used properly Influencer Marketing as any other marketing strategy can be a very useful technique that can generate profit for your business along with brand awareness.

Team Chee-Ron’s

Vyasan H.