Interested in influencer marketing? 5 things that you need to know

• (Photo : Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay )

Small companies and large organizations alike are constantly looking for innovative methods to promote their products, reach a broader audience, expand their client base, and raise income. In the realm of business, these methods are known as marketing tactics. Essentially, marketing is the process of generating enticing material, which can be written, imaged, or a video, to attract potential buyers to a company's product.

However, due to humans' propensity for boredom, these strategies must be modified regularly. People are first intrigued by fresh marketing content but are soon weary of it and understand that it is simply a sales pitch. As a result, companies invest quite generously in marketing strategies to develop new and exciting methods to appeal to their target demographic.

This may explain why marketing has evolved so dramatically over time.

The evolution of marketing

In the olden days, marketing was conducted via word of mouth. Vendors would use their communication skills to directly promote their products to consumers (which is still done in many parts of the world). According to Jellymetrics, however, the industrial revolution gave the concept the importance it holds today. Various mediums such as magazines, newspapers, and billboards served the purpose until the 1900s, when radio and television took over.

Later, the emergence of mobile phones and computers resulted in another shift in marketing, as firms began cold calling and sending emails to customers. However, it wasn't until the late 2000s that digitization totally swallowed the globe, and online marketing practices surfaced. As per Statista, one of the most prevalent kinds of online marketing nowadays is influencer marketing. And the InfluencerMarketingHub reveals that the global influencer marketing value stands at $13.8 billion.

Consequently, companies are rushing to adopt this strategy at a breakneck pace. Do you, however, understand what influencer marketing is and what you should consider before using it? In this post, we've collected the five most crucial facts you should know about it.

Influencer marketing: five things you should know

1.  What is influencer marketing?

The most important thing to understand regarding influencer marketing is what it really is.

Let us break down the term to make it more understandable. Influence is the ability to have an impact on someone or something's character, growth, or conduct. Therefore, in our case, an influencer is someone who has an effect on and is trusted by a broad audience. On the other hand, marketing is the act of promoting a service or product to generate revenue through sales.

As a result, influencer marketing entails a company's engagement with individuals with a significant online following (influencers) to promote and sell their products/services. What is the business's gain from this? Well, influencers have the power to persuade their followers to buy a specific product, resulting in increased business sales.

And, if done appropriately, it may be the most critical driver of a company's explosive growth, as per HuffPost.

Initially, influencers were limited to famous personalities such as celebrities. However, social media users with expertise in a specific niche or a widely praised opinion have become quite trendy nowadays and are considered to be influencers too.

2.   What is your budget, and which channels would you prefer?

You should understand that your business and the influencer have to benefit from each other's collaboration. It's only fair that the influencer gets something in return if you see a boost in sales. As a result, it's critical to set aside money for influencer marketing since the sort of influencer you may approach will be determined by your budget.

While some influencers accept only monetary payments, larger corporations also pay their influencers with free or discounted products. Resultantly, you should devise a method for compensating your influencer in a way that will suit both of you.

With that, you should also consider the platform on which most of your target audience is, as your influencer may also be on the same platform and may use it to promote your brand. However, avoid exerting too much control on the influencer by telling them which platform to use and instead allow them to work independently. They know what they are doing.

Here are a few facts about particular social media networks:

●       Nearly 49% of Twitter users purchase an item after viewing a tweet on it.

●       84% of people say Instagram helps them discover new items.

●       Owing to TikTok, Instagram's predominance over other channels fell to 68% in 2021.

3.   Which influencer should you contact?

Now that you have allocated a budget to this task, it is time to see which type of influencers fall within the budget. The types include:

●       Micro-influencers - These are the individuals that have a following of between a thousand and a hundred thousand people. Even if they do not have a huge fan base, their promotions are more likely to convert since they are regarded experts in the niche or community in which they are followed.

●       Macro-influencers - These persons have a million or more followers on social media, and they often include reality stars. They endorse numerous things, so your message could be lost in the clutter.

●       Mega influencers - These are well-known people who are likely to get a lot of hits and shares. However, because new posts are being filled, the benefit is only temporary.

4.   How to find the influencer

Contacting the influencer is the next step. While some people can be readily reached through social media, there's a possibility that your message will get lost in the shuffle. It is preferable to contact them directly on their cell phone numbers or via email. You may acquire their contact details using Nuwber. Then reach out to them and work out a business agreement with them.

5.   How to measure the influence

Finally, it is time to calculate the return on the investment you made. Decide what your goal is - increase in customer engagement, brand visibility, increase in sales, etc. Depending on your aims, the ways of progress calculations are different. Focus on your initial goal and add others along the way. Stay flexible and implement changes when needed. Getting proper results may take time, so stay patient and open to new ideas.

Conclusion

Ultimately, influencer marketing is an excellent strategy to expand your brand awareness, and it pays off handsomely. It only requires a systematic approach. And remembering the points above will undoubtedly assist you greatly.