Let’s be real, the words ‘influencer marketing’ discerns the image of a 20-something Instagram or Tik Tok star at first glance.
But the definition of influencer is much more multifaceted.
According to Statista, The global influencer market has been valued at more than $16 billion in 2022.
In fact, the market has undergone exponential growth over the last half decade and is projected to multiply in the coming years.
But since many brands have dismissed the power of full-force influencer marketing as a lever to exponentially bolster their brand,
there’s immense potential to leverage this massively growing strategy to stand out.
And in this post, I’ll show you how.
Why Is Influencer Marketing So Powerful?
The secret to influencer marketing is heavily rooted in basic human behavior: you’re more likely to place value on something that someone you know and like recommends.
A study by Chatter Matters found that 83% of Americans say that they are more likely to purchase something that is recommended by a trusted source.
Even a single vote of confidence from someone we trust drives stronger buying decisions than some of the highest budget advertising campaigns.
Influencer marketing works in the exact same way.
Except instead of one person asking another for a recommendation, the influencer recommends X brand to a highly warm and engaged niche audience.
In fact, Influencer Marketing Hub found that 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations,
compared to 38% who trust brand-produced content.
And according to Smart Insights, 80% of marketers find influencer marketing highly effective
(Source: Smart Insights)
71% of those people find the quality of influencer marketing better than any other sources, like paid campaigns or PR.
(Source: Smart Insights)
Whether it’s a micro-influencer with tens of thousands of followers, or a larger-scale influencer in the millions, building partnerships with online personalities acquires seamless conversions across the board.
3 Tips To Succeed With Influencer Marketing As a Brand
1. Find Active Power Users
Go for the lowest hanging fruit first by finding advocates that already know and love your product.
These would be defined as active customers that have already become ravings fans of your brand and are thus more than willing to share their positive experience with others.
For example, our partners over at Fitbudd were able to garner a strong case study from Yadiyah, a micro-influencer who used their app.
And Yadiyah would happily promote their product to his micro-audience of 1,900 dedicated followers, given his phenomenal experience with their product.
Happy customers are always willing to promote a product that they truly believe in.
2. Build Long-Term Relationships
While some brands might contract influencers to promote their products through a few social media posts, influencer marketing is the most powerful when you foster strong, long-term relationships.
But many companies take a transactional approach, which rarely ever works.
(Source:HBR)
Instead, they need to take a personalized relationship approach, shown on the right column below:
(Source: HBR)
And once you can implement a relationship-first approach, the results become staggering, like L’Oréal and Asos:
(Source: HBR)
So focus on building human-to-human relationships because it always pays off.
3. Remember That Authenticity Always Wins
Buyers can always see through phony or staged endorsements, so prioritizing relationship building with influencers that truly align with your product/brand is imperative.
When influencers were asked if they would work with brands that compensates well but aren’t a great fit, 58% said no but a staggering 42% said yes (IMH).
(Source: IMH)
Therein lies the problem: influencers that take on partnerships for pure play transaction are unlikely to come across as ‘authentic’ in endorsing your product or service.
Because even though 42% will accept the endorsement for financial reasons,
72% still consider brand alignment as an important factor when taking on partnerships.
(Source: IMH)
So find influencer’s that truly align with your brand image, and garner strong holding long term relationships with them.
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Why Influencer Nexus?At Influencer Nexus, we are niche focused in helping brands build a content strategy plan that illuminates their brand from the rest. If you’re a brand and want to explore more about how we can help you, schedule a time to talk with us below