LATEST

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that places focus on influential people rather than the entire market as a whole. It attempts to identify specific people or organizations that have influence over potential buyers, and orients marketing strategies around these influencers.

And now, brands are centering their marketing strategy on influencer marketing more than ever.

Before the rise of influencer marketing, small startups and even large businesses would spend hundreds of thousands on a creative team, communications staff, and messaging strategies. They would then go on to buy ads, billboards, and television and radio spots. When companies found their audience wasn’t growing at the rate they were spending, only the few lucky businesses found that stuff really started selling when Michael Jackson drank a Pepsi or when Michael Jordan endorsed a sneaker.

But now even that has evolved.

Why it’s Happening

According to Fortune, “Influencer marketing capitalizes on social media’s reach by paying internet celebrities of varied levels of fame—including pets—to tout products in their social media accounts to their followers.” It’s gaining popularity because many brands simply no longer want to pay for inefficient and hard-to-measure, traditional marketing campaigns.

But even more than this, it’s happening because of this marketing style’s low cost and ease of production. The ads can’t be blocked online and the specific influencing can be targeted to extremes. Because consumers tend to trust and relate to the celebrities (and other types of influencers in their lives), they will often like the brands endorsed by those people and their lifestyle.

When Should You Do It?

There can be many signs that are telling your company and brand to start embracing influencer marketing strategies. Whether your audience isn’t growing at the rate you’d prefer or your sales are dipping while your traditional marketing costs are rising, here are a few signs that might help:

• Little investment in digital or social media. With the increasing consumer utilization of mobile buying, e-commerce, and the shopper’s identification with emerging technologies, it is critical for brands to have a mobile and social strategy in place. Influencer marketing also happens in this space—especially if the influencer also shares the content on the brand’s channels for syndication.
• Your audience is not growing. When you audience growth stagnates, so might your sales. Influencers can increase your audience, and thus the eyes on your products and services.
• You’re not selling. According to Forbes, “If your product isn’t selling, it is in danger of being de-listed and removed from shelves. Influencers can ignite a fire under audiences and create conversation and engagement for the product that gets the attention of management and shows that the brand is still garnering love from its consumers.” Embracing the power of influencers can help create new use cases for your products or services that can increase sales.
• You’re having a hard time building brand awareness. Influencers speak the wonderful language of “buy this” to the consumer without really having to say it. And they can say it better than your company’s communication officer can. As Forbes notes, “Influencers know how to tell a story that connects with their particular audience and can educate shoppers on your product in a relevant and authentic way through long form blog posts, Instagram Stories, or YouTube video content.” Embrace this power.