Information from this blog was obtained from HubSpot Blog, Semrush Blog, and Content Marketing World.
The Kardashians, NFL players, and YouTubers are just a few examples of very well-known groups of famous people that most of us have heard of or follow. We all have our favorite people we watch on the internet and keep close tabs on. You may have not realized it, but it is very likely you have been influenced by an influencer to make a purchase at some point in time.
What Is An Influencer?
We’ve all heard the term influencer, but not everyone knows exactly what it means. Basically, an influencer is a person who has accumulated a significant following usually on social media, whether that be solely from social media activity or something they may have accomplished. It is likely their main income source is brands paying them to promote their products.
The hard part about being an influencer is the initial strive for gaining followers, but once you have them and the credibility that comes along with it, it is often a lot of people’s dream job. You are basically an independent contractor who chooses your own schedule and can work from wherever you’d like. Who wouldn’t love that?!
How Does Influencer Marketing Work?
According to HubSpot, 80% of marketers say influencer marketing is effective, while 58% stated that it is the MOST effective. Additionally, HubSpot found that 71% of marketers stated that the quality of customers and traffic is better than from other sources. This is likely due to their niche group of followers being interested in similar lifestyle choices and products. Therefore, their followers build a type of trust and bond with them, which is what makes it so convenient and easy for brands and companies to pay influencers to promote their products.
Influencers usually have a decent amount of money which means nice clothes, a nice house, a nice car, etc. So, their followers have the mindset that this person wouldn’t settle for anything less than premium quality, which is what forms the target market’s perspective of the promoted products as high quality and something they need.
For example, Kylie Jenner and her 330 million Instagram followers make her the optimal influencer to market products. Although she would not be cheap, if a brand worked with her, there is no doubt they would be benefitted in some way. Her insane number of followers and reputation of living a luxurious lifestyle is what sets her above most others.
On the other hand, Hootsuite provided that influencers with a smaller more dedicated niche following often show a higher engagement rate than those with large numbers of followers. Check out my colleague Taylor's blog where she discusses this among other interesting facts about influencer marketing.
How To Find The Perfect Match?
At first, it may be confusing and difficult for brands to find the ideal influencer to promote their products. Hubspot provides a few tips on how to find the perfect match.
First things first, do what we all do best when looking for information… Google Search! It may sound cliché and too simple, but your ideal influencer is already out there creating content in your field, so all you need to do is search for a few keywords that apply to your brand. You should easily be able to find influencers who match your company’s aesthetic.
Google searching may already lead you to your second place to look which is social media. Thoroughly evaluate every inch of their pages. Doing so should give a huge indicator if they will be a good fit or not because you can see their followers, likes, number of posts, type of content, and who they associate with.
Lastly, the third way to search is through referrals. Use your networking skills and connect with other marketers who also work with influencers. Using this method will also provide a first-hand review of how that brand either liked or disliked working with that specific influencer.
What’s In It For The Brands?
While normal marketing can be beneficial to sales, influencer marketing is such a great alternative to switch up styles and improve ROI some more. According to SemRush, brands on average earn $5.20 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. This statistic shows that it is well worth the investment of time and money.
The 8-Step Process of Influencer Marketing
HubSpot conveniently laid out 8 crucial steps to make the process of influencer marketing come full circle:
1. Determine Your Campaign Goals
2. Define Your Campaign Audience
3. Set Your Budget and Choose Your Influencer Type
4. Choose Your Influencer and Review Their Work
5. Develop Your Campaign Messaging For Your Influencer
6. Finalize Campaign Expectations With Your Influencer
7. Pay Your Influencer
8. Measure Your Campaign Results
Once you go through the process a few times, it will become easier and you will acquire relationships with influencers who you can have as your "go-to's". Most of these are self-explanatory, but if you need all of the details, go check out the article with a description for every step on HubSpot.
Can Influencer Marketing Benefit You?
We are confident that most of the time the answer to this question will be YES. If you own a brand and haven't tried influencer marketing, we urge you to try it out. Of course, continue your other forms of marketing if they are benefitting you, but don't doubt the power of influencers!
Resources
Baker, K. (2021, November 30). What will influencer marketing look like in 2020? What Will Influencer Marketing Look Like in 2020? Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-work-with-influencers
Tomov, T. (2019, July 12). Influencer checkup: How to successfully avoid fake influencers. Semrush Blog. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-successfully-avoid-fake-influencers/
(2016, January 22). Lee Odden: Content + influencer marketing = a powerful way to grow your business [#cmworld recap]. Content Marketing World. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.contentmarketingworld.com/lee-odden-content-influencer-marketing-a-powerful-way-to-grow-your-business-cmworld-recap/
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