Influencer marketing has reached brands from every corner of the internet. From smaller, independent brands to large corporations, everyone is getting in on the action and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. This new form of marketing has been used across many industries– from entertainment to shopping and dining–and is projected to hit $10 billion...
Influencer marketing has reached brands from every corner of the internet. From smaller, independent brands to large corporations, everyone is getting in on the action and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. This new form of marketing has been used across many industries– from entertainment to shopping and dining–and is projected to hit $10 billion in 2020.
But don’t take our word for it. Successful influencer campaigns have been picked up by leading brands such as Nissan, Naked Juice, and even Buffalo Wild Wings. Influencer marketing has shown to be a good tool for companies to increase sales, web traffic and overall brand awareness.
But what makes it so effective? Using individuals as a way to promote a product isn’t new — we’ve seen it with celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal endorsing products and brands making characters for their brands like, Flo from Progressive. In this day and age, it’s the individual creators with their unique digital platforms and social media accounts that are creating a new form of digital advocacy for brands.
If your brand is entering the sphere of digital marketing, it should be looking to influencer marketing. Here are the ways that influencer marketing can be an effective tool for your brand or company.
Creates Better Brand Awareness
When a brand utilizes influencer marketing, they’re putting in place individual ambassadors and advocates for their product or message. It’s like having your own personal cheerleader for your brand. Digital creators have been on the rise for a while now with some creators reaching up to millions of followers on Instagram alone. In addition, each creator usually has their own type of content that can fall into a specific category, including beauty, fashion, parenting, cooking, technology, and other niche categories.
Having influencers promote your product gives your brand authenticity and credibility. Instead of having a random talking head tell potential consumers why a product is great, you can have a real person show how your product is something they can use in their everyday life or for a specific purpose.
Generates Content for your Brand
The word “aesthetic” is much more than a fluff word, it’s a description that you want to have when someone describes your brand’s social media presence. Your brand’s social media image is a part of your brand identity nowadays. Content generation is something that a company needs to accumulate for their respective pages in order to establish a clear and consistent brand.
What makes influencer marketing good for your social media feed is that influencers are creating content for you and spreading visual marketing through their individual blogs and pages. By creating a meaningful and authentic partnership with an influencer, you in turn are creating more opportunities for growth in creative and effective content through the influencer’s individual page.
Opportunity to Increase Sales
Social media marketing is best used when it can send your customer base to another external source, such as sending them to buy a product or service, engage with your campaign or product, or even sign up for a newsletter. Influencer marketing is a tool that can be used to increase these numbers.
Along with brand visibility and an abundance of content, influencer marketing can directly lead to higher sales for your specific product or general ecommerce site. Data collected in 2016 showed that eight in ten Americans now shop online and that 55% of consumers make shopping choices based on what they discover through social media.
The more influencers you have advocating for your brand, the better. And because it’s through an authentic medium, customers will connect to the influencer, thus connecting to your product better. Influencer advocacy and engagement sends more traffic to your preferred platforms–via a “link in the bio” or direct swipe-up link via Instagram Stories– sending traffic from influencers’ pages straight to your website or online store.
Provides Both Quality and Quantity Customer Growth
At the end of the day, people want to trust their brand, so they enjoy being sold products from other individuals they relate to. In turn, your brand needs customers that are loyal to your brand and are trusting of your products. When growing a consumer base for your brand, quality is as important as quantity, and influencer marketing gives you both.
An authentic brand brought through an influencer helps bring in more committed and engaged customers because they are pulled towards the brand through their pull towards the influencer. Through influencer marketing, brands and companies are creating more loyal, excited and engaged customers.