Influencer Marketing Will Bring Sales

Many people purchase products because they are influenced by the person advertising the brand rather than the brand itself. That’s the power of influencer marketing; it can increase a brand’s customer base and sales with ease. The influencer marketing industry is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates, based on Mediakix data. But what exactly is influencer marketing? How can brands leverage it, and the most important of all, does the influencer have to be a celebrity? These are the questions we will uncover in this article. Without further ado, let’s get started.

What is influencer marketing, and how can the brand leverage it to its full potential?

Brands often have celebrity endorsements as a way to increase the perception of the brand and its awareness. In addition to movie stars, brands use bloggers, pro athletes, musicians, and celebrities from the social media world. For example, a brand that has just launched a new range of handbags. In addition to displaying online ads, emails, and in-person events, they can also reach out to female bloggers/Vloggers to engage with their brand and promote it to their audience. This approach will bring sales, but it is also an effective way to increase your customer reach by reaching out to influencers in your products’ niche. But brands often get confused about how they should reach an influencer. The below tips will smoothen the process of influencer marketing.

Find bloggers/Vloggers/youtube video makers who meet the brand’s target demographic.
Brands should reach out to bloggers effectively and professionally so that both parties are happy with their upcoming partnership.
Send the influencer a sample of your products.
Tell the influencer to reach out to their audience. The audience will be excited to know their favorite blogger/vloggers’ experience with the product. The audience will also comment on the product and share their knowledge, which will help the brand get more feedback.
Enjoy the results of a beautiful social media campaign.

After reading the above steps, the first question that comes to mind is how and where a brand can find an influencer and whether it has to be a celebrity?

There are several influencers out there, but the key is in finding an influencer aligned with the brand’s products. For example, choosing an 18-year-old to talk about the retirement benefits will not benefit the brand. A brand should select an influencer that can be easily related to the brand’s customer base. For example, choosing a female travel Vlogger to showcase trendy backpacks will increase sales and the audience.

Often brands struggle when it comes to finding influencers. Apart from movie and tv celebrities, several social media sites are used to discover influencers. The below list can help a brand in selecting the ideal influencer.

Blogs

Over the last few years, blogs have evolved from only text-based content to opinions and personal experience sharing. Audiences relate their life experience to that of bloggers, making them a viable option for influencer marketing. The advantages of choosing a blogger for influencer marketing are:

Bloggers are more affordable than influencers from social marketing platforms
They have a loyal fan base, as audiences specifically go to their site/page to see what they have posted.
Brands can find bloggers for every niche, which might not be the case for other approaches.
Storytelling is the key, and bloggers can influence their audience by showcasing beautiful content in an elegant style.

Instagram

Instagram is no longer used just for social networking; it is now considered an influential platform for social media strategy. It is showing more organic and niche-based results, which helps build a loyal fan base. People love Instagram as it is easy and fun to use; there is not much text but engaging images. More than 95% of retailers are now on Instagram, so why not use it for influencer marketing? benefits of using Instagram for influencer marketing are:

A picture is worth a thousand words. Simple photos can considerably bring a product to life for others to see it in action.
Brands can get massive reach, as it is one of the most popular social media platforms.
It ensures a win-win partnership, as influencers can also increase their followers based on the brand’s niche

Twitter

Twitter is different from other social media platforms; on Twitter, any event can be discussed and shared as it unfolds in real-time. Twitter influencers are experts at engaging the audience, they can improve brand awareness and provide a fantastic value to the audience. Apart from using Twitter for influencer marketing, brands are using Twitter to increase their customer base. As customers spend 3-20% more price than average when a brand responds to their tweet, 44% of users are more likely to share their positive experience when a brand responds to them on Twitter. So why not use it for influencer marketing to build a strong presence

Facebook

Before moving forward, it is important to know that Facebook changes its algorithms, policies, and ad serving regularly. According to the respondents to a 2018 survey by CPC Strategy, nearly 70% of them claimed they’re more likely to hear about new products, services, and events on Facebook than anywhere else. Before selecting an influencer for Facebook, it’s worth noting the below suggestions:

Facebook is an old platform; the influencers have experience with the platform. Working with influencers on Facebook means working with an expert.
If a brand already has a Facebook account, they can use it for more audience reach.

Over the past few years, Pinterest has established itself as an absolute must for any product-based brand. Brands are utilizing Pinterest to post beautiful content on the platform and reach the maximum possible customer base.

Video

Videos are the most engaging form of content out there; it is noticed that people enjoy engaging videos from their favourite influencers. Brands should consider a video maker who is in alignment with the product base of the brand. For example, they should consider a sports enthusiast video maker if the brand’s main product base is shoes.

Advantages of Influencer marketing:

Influencers will build trust as they have a loyal audience base, and their audience respects their judgment and choice. By sharing an influencer’s content, brands can gain audience attention with speed and efficiency.
Influencers are now considered the core of inbound marketing for educating, and inspiring brands’ targeted audience.
The main reason for opting influencer marketing is brand awareness. Influencers provide valuable content that can increase a brand’s social media presence while ensuring both parties’ reputation.
Influencers can create great content that is related to the brand. The audience will be engaged by how influencers produce the content, which will increase brand reach and customer base.

Conclusion:

Brands should consider influencer marketing as an addition to their current marketing practices. Through relevant influencers, the brand’s content is presented in front of social users interested in their niche. Brands should understand that influencers should amplify a brand’s efforts, not compete with them!