Almost half of all buyers turn to online influencers for advice before they make a purchase. The traditional methods of advertising still work, but if you want to make an immediate impact, you have to turn to influencer marketing.
How would you like to shorten the consumer buying cycle and lower your overall marketing costs? You can accomplish both with influencer marketing.
Read on to find out what influencer marketing is and how you can find the right influencer for your brand.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is the use of influencers – people who have a lot of followers online – to promote products. They are seen to have credibility and authority in the marketplace, which makes it easier for brands to leverage the trust that the audience has with the influencer for their own gain.
When it’s done right, it’s a win-win situation. The influencer gets paid, their audience is exposed to a new product, and you get to reach an entirely new audience.
There is a downside, though. You’re hanging your company’s reputation on that influencer. If they have any setbacks or public relations issues, it could reflect poorly on your company.
Getting the Right Influencer
You have to know your audience really well in order to make influencer marketing work. You need to know where they spend the most time online. For some people, they watch YouTube. Others will scroll Facebook and Instagram constantly.
You’ll need to set up a budget for your influencer campaign. Influencers usually charge by the number of followers they have. Usually, rates will be between $10-$20 per 1000 followers.
You may not be able to afford to work with a superstar athlete or big-time celeb, but you will be able to work with someone with integrity that can be an effective ambassador for your brand.
Make sure that you work with an influencer that compliments your brand. For example, an organic food company could work with a fitness influencer to promote healthy products.
Once you find a few potential candidates, scroll through their posts to get a sense of their voice and values. The best influencer will match your company’s voice and values.
You can then reach out via direct message to find out about their rates and what they would want in exchange for promotion.
Set Your Website Up for Conversions
Before you launch your influencer marketing campaign, you’ll want to set your website up for conversions. One way to do that is through social proof notifications. These are small popups that appear on a visitors’ screen that say who purchased the product and when.
One notification might be “Jay S. in New Jersey purchased an hour ago.” These social proof notifications build even more trust because it shows visitors that if someone is buying your product, they should as well.
Make Influencer Marketing Work for Your Brand
Consumers don’t pay much attention to traditional marketing. They can fast forward the commercials and use an ad blocker, so they don’t see ads. Influencer marketing is an effective way to build trust with your target market.
It’s critical to find the right social media influencer. You have to make sure that the influencer you work with is on the right social media channel and is within your budget.
Be sure to click on the Marketing tab above for more marketing tips. We offer a variety of helpful articles on influencer marketing and other digital advertising tactics.
