Not a very long time ago, when someone said influencer, the image was of glitzy celebrities endorsing products for millions. Today, influencers on social media platforms are one of the most democratic ways of finding authentic product and service recommendations. If you haven’t considered taking a dive into the lucrative world of influencer marketing — and partnering with an excellent influencer marketing company, keep reading to learn about the many reasons why you might want to!
Today, we live in a world where even a casual scroll down any social media platform will show you at least a handful of influencers offering up something new to try — and from personal experience! According to a recent study by Oracle, over 80% of people make purchases thanks to the direct influence of relevant social media content. If you haven’t considered jumping into this fray, it may be time for a rethink!
What Exactly is Influencer Marketing, Anyway?
Influencer marketing is a unique form of the social media marketing that makes use of collaborations between individual influencers and brands to get the word out about specific products or services. The idea is simple: you strike up a partnership with an influencer in your niche, send them your product or offer them a trial of your service, and they tell their followers about their experience with your brand.
The benefits, as you can imagine, are incredible. Ask any influencer marketing company worth its salt, and they’ll attest to the benefits. Not only do you have an organic form of marketing at hand, but you also get to reach a whole host of users who will very likely be interested in your product. If you, for instance, are a stationery brand and send your new planner for an influencer to try out — they’ll post about their experience and likely prompt at least some of their followers to also make a purchase.
The trick, of course, is to find influencers who are well-known in their niche and have a dedicated fan base. This is where an influencer marketing company comes in — they can help you identify, contact, and set up contracts with influencers so you can get the most out of your investment.
Creating a Winning Influencer Marketing Campaign
An influencer marketing company can help you chart out the most effective influencer marketing strategy tailored to your needs. If you’re thinking of going the do-it-yourself route, however, here are a few steps you should follow to get the most out of your social media marketing campaign.
- Begin by Clearly Charting Out Your Goals and How Much you Will Invest
As with any digital marketing strategy, there is no real limit to the goals you can set or the money you can spend. However, to maximize the benefits you derive from the time and money you are investing, you must start out with a clear sense of what you want out of the campaign and what your investment will be.
These goals can take many forms. You might want to increase your engagement metrics or get more followers; you might want more sales or get more newsletter subscribers through your campaign. You might want to publicize a seasonal sale. The limits are endless. An influencer marketing agency will begin by understanding exactly what your needs are and tailoring its strategy to you.
Similarly, your budget will depend on the influencers you wish to work with and what exactly you want from them. While this, too, is flexible, working with an influencer marketing company can help you get a sense of what you can expect based on your budget.
- Chart out What Sort of Posts and Messaging you Want
Once you have your budget and goals in place, it’s time to think about what your campaign will look like. No matter the form you choose, your aim here is to get the attention of your prospective customers, so they want to learn more about your brand and, ideally, take the leap and make a purchase with you.
Your campaign can take many forms, from sponsored content and contests to handling takeovers and discount codes. It’s important to keep your messaging ultimately authentic — this is where the expertise of influencers and of influencer marketing company comes in. They can help you hit that sweet spot between authenticity and compelling publicity.
- Reach Out to the Right Influencers
Once you have these aspects in place, it’s time to identify the right influencers for your campaign. If you’re a stationery brand, you won’t be collaborating with an influencer whose niche is fashion. You simply won’t reach the right people this way. Thus, it’s vital to look beyond numbers such as follower counts and engagement to find good fits for your brand. An influencer marketing company can help you make these vital decisions related to your campaign.
The best fit is likely an influencer with a follower on multiple channels with experience with content tailored to the platforms they are active on. It can be tricky to find the right collaborators for your needs, so an influencer marketing agency can help you separate the wheat from the chaff much more efficiently.
Factors to consider while choosing influencers for your campaign include their relevance to your brand image, their credibility, their experience, and their fit in terms of aesthetics and personality with your brand.
The Upshot
The truth is, a lot goes into creating successful influencer marketing campaigns. While these steps can help you set up campaigns and chart out your terms, a lot of tracking and analysis is also involved in the process of getting the most out of your influencer marketing campaign. An experienced and reputable influencer marketing company like AdLift can help you hit all the right notes with your influencer marketing campaign, allowing you to focus on running your business instead of running after influencers.
So, choosing an influencer marketing company that understands your brand’s needs and provides you with influencers accordingly is always preferable.
