How Can Influencer Marketing Boost Your Brand? | Social Joey

Have you heard of influencer marketing? While it’s a fairly new addition to the world of digital marketing, it’s quickly become one of the fastest-growing sectors. And with 94% of marketers reporting positive results from it, it’s easy to see why people are curious!

So what is influencer marketing? Basically, it’s when a brand partners with someone (an “influencer”) who has a strong, engaged social media following. They pay the influencer in exchange for their posting of promoted content and product advertisements on their own social media channels, in order to gain exposure to that influencer’s sect of followers.

So what’s the benefit? By doing this, the brand is increasing their exposure to a wide audience that may have never heard of them before, increasing their online presence, and starting a conversation about their brand on social media.

But isn’t that what ads are for? Yes, but influencer marketing is a little bit different. Think of influencer marketing like an online conversation. An ad is something people will see and (hopefully) respond to—an influencer partnership is something that actively engages followers and starts a discussion surrounding a product or service. Influencer marketing is an effective way to advertise while still maintaining the “word of mouth” feeling that getting a recommendation from a friend brings. Influencer endorsements are more personal, more targeted and tend to receive higher engagement than other mediums of paid ads—and they’re also a lot of fun!

If we’ve caught your attention, then it sounds like influencer marketing may be something your brand should consider! Keep reading to learn all the ways influencer marketing might be the boost your brand needs:

It’s Influential. Obtaining a word of mouth conversion is every marketer’s dream, but it’s also the most difficult kind of conversion to procure. If you can get people talking about and recommending your product or service to their friends or colleagues, it becomes a never-ending cycle of leads becoming customers all on their own!

Working with an influencer is kind of like this, too. Followers will trust an influencer’s recommendation quite a bit—so much so that 71% of consumers said they were more likely to purchase something that was referred to them on social. Similar to how someone might ask a friend who’s an expert on pet care where to get their dog groomed, followers are looking to these influencers for guidance and recommendations within their specific niche. That’s why influencer marketing can be more effective than simply running ads; instead of someone being targeted based on their demographics and online behavior, they’re choosing to consume the information from an online personality they trust.

It Has High Engagement Rates. Another benefit of influencers is that they have highly-engaged, highly-targeted followers. We’ve all seen celebrities and other famous personalities that have millions of followers, but high numbers don’t necessarily lead to high engagement.

The difference between a traditional celebrity and an influencer is that influencers depend on their followers’ engagement for their livelihood—meaning they work hard to build an internet community they’re proud of. Because of this sense of trust and community, followers are more likely to stop scrolling and see what their favorite influencer has to say than they would be to do the same for a celebrity. They’re more engaged with the influencer’s personal brand, which means they’ll be more engaged with the brands the influencer is promoting, as well.

It Works for Any Business. Any business? Surely that’s hyperbole, right? Not really! That’s the cool thing about influencer marketing—it’s accessible to any industry and to businesses of any size. Influencers work in sectors spanning everything from makeup to construction materials, and just about anything you could think of in between. And because every influencer sets their own rates, that means even the smallest local business could find a small, local influencer to work with. Influencer marketing can scale up or down as the business does, and has enough flexibility with budget and industry to give it an advantage over other digital marketing methods.

Not sure if this applies to your industry? Try searching some industry-specific hashtags and see what pops up! Common terms like #outfitoftheday for retail, #YOURCITYeats for a local restaurant, or #dogstyle for a pet products company are great places to start. Chances are, you’ll find an influencer with an online community that’s extremely interested in learning more about that specific topic.

It’s Customizable. While most traditional methods of online advertising follow a strict pay-per-click or pay-per-impression model, influencer marketing provides far more customization. Because influencers are in business for themselves, they’re able to work with brands to find the exact method of payment and promotion that will be mutually beneficial.

Common structures are a lump-sum fee or paying per post, with some brands even opting to pay the influencer via commission on sales directly from the campaign. By having flexible options, brands are able to experiment and find what works best before they have to invest a lot of money.

It’s A Sound Investment. Speaking of investing: though influencer marketing is still young in the world of digital advertising, if the data up until now is any indication, it will be a trend that continues to grow. Businesses report making around $6 for every $1 they’ve spent on influencer partnerships, which is a higher return on investment than many other digital marketing medium’s average.

While this kind of performance will be dependent on pairing with the right influencers and running the right kinds of promotions, the numbers are promising for brands looking to try their hand at this trend. Especially for brands who have low ad-spend budgets, influencer partnerships can be a great way to maximize quality traffic while minimizing cost.

It’s Fun. What other reason could you need? But really, one undebatable fact about influencer marketing is that it’s fun! Instead of having to worry about advertisement constraints or SEO strategies, influencer marketing gives brands the chance to get creative and add some fun to your social strategy. You’ve likely seen contests, sponsored blog posts, or flash sales, but that’s just the beginning—the sky is the limit with how creative you can be!

Influencer marketing is a unique way for brands and small businesses to reach a new audience, increase their public perception, and ultimately increase their conversion rates. Are you interested in learning about other ways your business can increase its social presence? Contact Social Joey today!