What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing has become very popular and almost essential to online marketing, but there are still many people who don’t know what it is.

So what exactly are influencers? The idea of celebrity endorsement gets incorporated into modern-day content-driven marketing strategies. Influencer marketing is collaborations made between influencers and brands and influencers are not only celebrities. They can be ordinary people who have a very large social media following.

Influencers have the power to influence and affect purchasing decisions of other people because of their position, knowledge and the authority they have over their audience. Influencers usually have a distinct niche and the size of their following depends on the niche they choose to post content about.

Influencer marketing is a brand working with an online influencer to market their services or products and sometimes brands merely only want to improve their brand recognition.

Influencers don’t have to be celebrities and can be anyone, anywhere doing anything. Their social media following, their expertise and relationship they have with their audience is what makes them influential and attractive to brands who would like to engage in influencer marketing.  Influencers have the best content whether it is photo or video content, and are recognised as the best go-to person for information and advice.

In order for influencer marketing to be effective, there are a few things you need to consider.

1. Put together a strategy and be organised with a budget, plan and do your research.
2. Decide how you are going to find your influencers. You can find one through referral, a platform or use an agency to source one for you.
3. Approach your potential influencers on a personal “real” level. You are not approaching a business but an individual.
4. Develop a schedule and work with your influencer on when to release which content or products and services.

Now that we know what Influencer Marketing is, let us look at what it is not.

Influencer marketing is not just contacting and paying any person who has a large audience on social media and paying them to say good things about your brand. Find someone who has built their following up and who is trusted and respected by their followers. The influencer must be involved with their audience and have a connection and relationship with them.

Influencer marketing does not usually produce quick results, so understanding this and working with a plan to create brand awareness and being a thought leader in your industry is very important.

You need to build a relationship with your influencer and earn their trust and respect. In order to do this, you must understand that you cannot work with all influencers in the same way. You need to understand your influencer and their followers and make sure they are the right person for the job. Numbers don’t necessarily mean that they are popular or  are the experts in their niche.

By using influencers, understanding their audiences, and engaging with the people who you are looking to secure as customers, you will achieve two things with your brand.

By interacting with influencers’ audiences in a positive and informative way, you gain early access to those followers. You aren’t necessarily trying to sell them anything, but you are marketing your brand and the feel of your company and most importantly adding to your credibility in the future instances they might engage with your brand.

The second achievement is that when you do eventually collaborate with your influencer to market your product or service; the audience will already know and trust you.

With the rise of online marketing strategies, influencer marketing is one of the best ways to reach many potential customers and make your brand stand out and become more established in your industry.