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How To Get More Eyeballs On Your Business Through Influencer Marketing
Since the 1900s, we’ve seen influencer marketing being used in many different ways by brands to help them connect with a wider audience and to make more consumers choose them over the competitors. Many years ago, influencer marketing was mostly seen in the form of celebrity endorsements, where brands would pay a celebrity to be a “cover face” for them or to represent them in a commercial. Today, however, influencer marketing has changed somewhat. While we still see celebrities being used by some of the larger brands out there, we often see influencer marketing utilized by smaller brands on the internet. This particular form of marketing has opened up new doors for internet marketers, online businesses and even offline companies to reach more customers and gain a more personal approach when it comes to promoting their products and services to potential customers.
While not all brands have yet adapted to this new promotional strategy, Inc.com reports that 84% of marketers are planning to budget for influencer marketing in 2017. Smaller brands often consider this particular strategy to be expensive and out of their reach, but quite the opposite is true, thanks to the advancements in the digital world and, of course, the rising trend of social media celebrities. The Influencer Orchestration Network reports that 70% of teenagers that hang out on YouTube trusts the opinion of “YouTube celebrities” more than the opinions of more recognized celebrities. A survey conducted by A List Frontline Marketing reports that as much as 86% of all women that have access to the internet now turns toward social media networks before they make an important purchasing decision. As you can see, influencer marketing is getting more popular and it is a strategy that works better than the traditional form of this technique, which is celebrity endorsements – and, the good news is, there is a way for even smaller businesses and internet startups to utilize influencers in their niche to boost brand awareness without spending millions of dollars.
How You Can Utilize Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is now considered very effective strategy for getting more eyeballs on your brand’s products and services, but quite a lot of companies are still too afraid to utilize such a marketing technique into their existing marketing campaign. There are many reasons why a brand may still be somewhat skeptical about influencer marketing, such as:
They may think that influencer marketing is only a strategy that can be utilized by the larger brands.
They might consider influencer marketing a difficult strategy to adopt in their existing business and marketing models.
They may not be sure where or how to get started when they want to implement influencer marketing into their brand’s promotional strategies.
These are the most common reasons why a business may not be conducting influencer marketing yet or continuously postponing such a campaign. Unfortunately, not a single one of these reasons are valid. While a celebrity endorsement can set a company back by a few million dollars, using a micro-influencer in their niche can cost them less than $200. It is also not a difficult marketing strategy to utilize, and certainly does not take as much skill and effort as many business owners think.
When it comes to influencer marketing, also sometimes called a social media outreach strategy, there are a few things that should be considered, a simple plan should be compiled and the right content should be shared. This type of marketing strategy has numerous advantages for existing and even startup companies. Social Media Today explains that influencer marketing helps to build more trust for a brand, it increases their awareness and it delivers great content for their audience. It also enables a business to reach their target audience with a personalized approach, and it helps the brand build long-lasting partnerships with experts in their niche.
If your brand isn’t utilizing this particular marketing technique yet, then it might be time to consider setting aside a budget for influencer marketing when your next promotional campaign starts. This can hold many benefits for your company and even help you reach more clients, which, in turn, means more sales and more profit. Getting started with influencer marketing doesn’t have to be as complicated at some make it sound!
Brands often do not know where to start when it comes to promoting their products or services through an influencer, so let’s take a look at some simple steps that can be utilized to get started quickly and easily.
Kickoff Labs recommends starting out by choosing an influencer to use. To choose an effective influencer, they advise that the brand needs to first understand who their target audience is, where they hang out most and what they are interested in. You also need to determine what goals you have for your influencer marketing campaign – you cannot go into such a campaign blindly.
After you have learned more about your target audience, it will be easier to find the perfect individual that is able to “speak” to them in terms that they truly understand. You could utilize Google or another search engine to find influencers in your niche, as well as a Marketplace, such as TapInfluence. Another option would be to search through the social media channel you wish to target to find potential influencers you can use.
Make a list of some influencers that seems like potential candidates, and then monitor their activity. This will help you learn more about them and how they communicate with their followers.
After monitoring these influencers, decide which ones seem to have the most potential – connect with them and make an effort to build a relationship with them. Tell them about your business, as well as what you offer customers. Tell them what you like about the way they communicate with their audience, and advise them that you would like them to communicate information about your products or services to their audience in a similar way.
Finally, negotiate quotes and strategies with the influencers that get in touch with you, and then decide on the one that is most suited for your particular strategy – be sure the particular influencer will be able to deliver your message in an effective way and that the influencer will be able to help you reach your goals.
Conclusion
Just as a website and social media accounts are now considered essential for a business to be successful on the internet, marketers are starting to accept influencer marketing as another essential part of an effective promotional strategy for any type of brand – be they big or small. While many smaller brands tend to think that such a strategy would be too expensive for them, affordable methods for utilizing these marketing campaigns are now possible through the utilization of micro-influencers on social networks.
Author Bio:
Stevan Mcgrath is a digital marketing professional who possess expertise in brand design and development. Stevan is passionate about utilizing his diverse skill sets for new and innovative online marketing strategies. He has worked as a freelancer and a contributor to Provenseo. Despite having a wide influential reach, he seeks client satisfaction as his topmost priority. He also writes blog posts on recent digital marketing trends. To know his work and more details you can follow him on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ .
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