Struggling in Marketing? Influencer Marketing is a Great Path to Success!

This post was originally published on November 3, 2021, and updated on April, 23, 2023.

Information in this blog post was obtained from Sproutsocial, Carro and Mediakix.

Image courtesy of Wix

Your boss sends you an email reminder that the deadline is tomorrow. You stare at the Penske file, waiting for the clock to strike 5 so you can go home – content ideas are just not hitting today.

But at 4:57 your boss sends you another reminder that the content is DUE TOMORROW!

At home, you scroll through TikTok to get a few hits of dopamine. You see a few people complain about their dating life. Nah, not what interests you. Then you see an Influencer in an awesome business skirt and you think “That would look great to wear to work tomorrow!” It looks like a good price for great quality.

You envision your boss seeing you wear that business skirt, and because you look SO GREAT in it she will not fire you for being late with the Penske file!

But then your brain reminds you that YOU MUST FINISH the Penske file…

And your eyes go back to TikTok to slurp another last look at that skirt to get one last dram of dopamine for inspiration…and suddenly something CLICKS: why not get a TikTok Influencer to use a Penske product!

Why not use Influencer Marketing?!

What Is Influencer Marketing?

According to Sara Donnawerth, influencer marketing utilizes popular, engaging social media creators to include branded product use or showcasing that can lead to your brand awareness, site traffic boosts traffic, and overall drives a brand’s message to a target audience. The key is to identify the right content creators that fit your products, as they already have a platform to market to your target audience.

Donnawerth says that most Influencers are open to guidance and suggestions when you connect with them. She continuous to say if there is a direction or process or “feel” that you want to share with your audience, Creative Influencer marketing can create content that includes:

• Product reviews on social media

• Unboxing videos

• Product placement in creative content

• Sharing the brand’s campaigns and new product launches

• Sharing a unique coupon code so the influencer’s audience can get a great deal

• Giveaways on the influencer’s platforms

• Promoting events that the influencer or your brand will attend

• Hiring Influencers to create content like videos, blog posts, and social media ads for your brand.

It is clear: influencer marketing may be the perfect solution. Including an Influencer allows for endless possibilities for your brand and them. Fresh content from Influences is just a click away! And that allows clear, constant contact with your audiences.

Image courtesy of Wix

The Value of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is an investment – you need to approach this carefully and with attention to detail. You should devote time to find the right Influencer to whichever product and then be sure that their content appeals to your target audiences.

MediaKix advises that spending money and resources must be a commitment in order to reward the influencer. There should be an effort to run various campaigns with the influencer, and likely many more initiatives will be required, depending on specific marketing.

Influencer Marketing was projected to grow to over $10 billion dollars by 2020. On Instagram alone, influencer marketing accounted for $1.6 billion dollars in advertising spend in 2018. That number is set to increase. In fact, 65% of marketers say that they will increase their influencer marketing budget in the next year.

Image courtesy of Wix

Which Influencer to Choose? Match Digital Brand with Content

If you’re struggling with where to start, engaging in “social listening” could get you up to speed with who is propelling content in the context of your industry, and that will help you match up your brand with the right Influencers. Sprout Social offers three guiding questions to help you start sorting through them all:

1. Does the influencer already post about similar things to your service? For example, if you’re a restaurant and you want to promote a new menu, you should be looking for Influencers who regularly post about dining out and the food they eat.

2. Are they legit? This means scrolling through their feed and clicking through on posts. A poor engagement ratio to follower count and spam-like comments are signs of a fraudulent account.

3. Have they worked with similar brands before? Depending on what type of influencer you’re looking for, a seasoned one will be able to show you a press kit that contains a portfolio of their work. The more you invest in an influencer, the more you’ll want to vet them.

Image courtesy of Wix

Locking in on Influencer Marketing

So what are you waiting for? Let’s release more dopamine into your brain as you connect the points below with your Penske file:

• Influencers allow the brands to present their products and messaging in a fresh, approachable, and interesting way.

• Influencer Marketing is the fastest-growing channel in the digital marketing space.

• Today's consumers are looking for authentic recommendations from everyday people.

• Influencer marketing can expose brands to new audiences and leads, as well as increasing brand awareness for existing customers.

Now you are good to go! Open TikTok and start scrolling through to find someone who can rep your client now!

Image courtesy of Wix

References

Donawerth, S. (2019, June 1). What is influencer marketing? Here’s how influencer

marketing works. Carro: Sell More, Together. Retrieved from https://getcarro.com/blog/what-is-influencer-marketing/

The 2020 influencer marketing industry ad spend. (2018, March 6). Mediakix. Retrieved from https://mediakix.com/blog/influencer-marketing-industry-ad-spend-chart/

What is influencer marketing: How to develop your strategy. (2020, September 17).

Sprout Social. Retrieved From https://sproutsocial.com/insights/influencer-marketing/