Word of mouth advertising is one of the most powerful ways to reach potential clients. We have all been witnesses to how influencer marketing gained success in the advertising world. If you collaborate with an influencer who is well-trusted by your audience and has a great following on social media platforms, you have found the secret to success.
Influencer marketing is effective because it creates a genuine display of your brand and it encourages brand loyalty. Your clients find from a trusted source how effective your products are and they are tempted to try them.
People tend to buy things because someone they admire has used that product or service before. All of us are guilty of doing it at least once, and where do you count that often we buy things we don’t even need, only because one of the influencers we follow on social media did it.
So what influencer marketing is? It’s a technique that uses content creators to enhance a company’s brand awareness, boost traffic and transmit a certain message to a targeted public. They already share content with the audience you want to reach so you only have to take find the right person to support your strategy.
Why should you hire an influencer?
It builds trust
When an influencer associates their name with your brand, it instantly adds credibility. It’s recommended to hire an authoritative brand ambassador to help your brand get the recognition it needs and to establish it as a leader in the industry.
Your brand becomes a hot topic for your audience
Digital influencers started most of the latest trends because they exposed their followers to a new idea and they created buzz around it. When collaborating with influencers. Your public will consider your brand a new concept and they will be interested to find out more about it. Your company can be seen as an innovative leader in your niche if you align it with a trendsetting blogger or vlogger.
They influence purchasing decisions
When bloggers mention your brand in their posts, they can drive sales. Their social media pages and blogs are sources of inspiration for consumers and they have the power to influence people to buy a certain product or service. Around 40% of consumers are making purchases based on the content they see on social media. And more than 80% of Gen Zers check social media to find out more about products they get in touch with for the first time.
It connects your brand with your clients where they spend most of their time
Nowadays people spend a lot of time on social media and your audiences do the same. When a blogger mentions your name on social media, they allow your brand to connect with your clients and it drives sales. This strategy facilitates the connection on the sites people use the most.
Finding the perfect influencer for your business
Reach is not the only factor that should influence your search. Their following is important, but you should also check their content creation skills and the ways they engage their public. To find the perfect blogger for this job you have to identify your campaign goals and to highlight the tasks they will have to complete.
Identify their niche
Most of the influencers are specialised in a certain niche so you have to decide what type of content is relevant for your business. The standard types of content are travel, fashion, beauty, fitness and food. But alongside these ones, you can discover many other ones. And you can collaborate with people who are specialised in topics different but close to yours. For example, if you want to sell clothes you can work with a beauty influencer. Or if you want to promote your restaurant you can hire a blogger specialised in travel.
What story do you want to share?
You don’t simply offer the influencer your products and hope they will create promotional content. It’s crucial to establish the story you want to share and to find a blogger who can tell it in a way suitable for your business. You have to trust them to create content to advertise your brand. Do not try to give them a script to follow when creating content about your brand, you should tell them the message you want to send, and ask them to use their creativity to deliver it.
Research is essential
When you know what message you want to send, and what the purpose of the campaign is you can start looking for influencers. It’s a time consuming job because you cannot hire the first person you accidentally discover on social media. You have to dig into their platforms and to find out what their main content themes are, the tone they use to get in touch with their followers, their past collaborations, and many other details that can influence your campaign.
It’s advisable to conduct a free background check to find out more about the person you want to collaborate with. You need to know who you are hiring and if their values are the same you are trying to transmit to your clients. At the end of the day, they are humans with a creative sense and while some are perfect for promoting certain brands, they may not be the best choice for your business.
How to work with an influencer
Because they are so well known in the online world, it’s simple to work with them. According to the way, you prefer to promote your brand you can find the right one to do it. From posting pictures with your products to writing articles on their blogs, and creating tutorials on how to use a certain product, these all are effective ways to achieve your goal.
For example, Amazon decided to sponsor Khloe Kardashian’s baby shower. Because she is a reality TV star and has a great following on Instagram, around 90 million people could identify Amazon’s baby registry and maternity products in her pictures. She posted on Instagram a short text to thank the company for helping her to organise the event, and they publicised a press release to share that they sponsored the event.
