What makes social media so attractive that you cannot keep your hands off your phone? What do you consume more than water in a day? The answer is Content. It’s the curated content by your favorite “Content Creators” that makes the most of your social media feed. Once any content creator starts getting recognition for their content online and their following count grows, they become an Influencer.
Influencer marketing has become the ultimate solution for brands in the present digital marketing era. But what is influencer marketing and how is it beneficial? Let’s find out.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a process of identifying the individuals who have a huge impact on social media in a particular niche. These individuals are then chosen to be a part of a campaign and amplify the key message that a brand wants to flesh out. Different influencers can be found on different social media platforms ranging from Facebook to Instagram and so on.
These influencers are chosen based on – their content quality, the brand’s targeted segment, the brand’s ethos, engagement rate and reach among other things. The main aim is to use influencers to drive sales, attain loyal customers and increase brand awareness.
Types of Influencers
These are the four major types of influencers across all the social media platforms-
Nano-influencers:
These are influencers that have a following ranging from 1k to 10k.
Micro-influencers:
These are the influencers with followers in the range of 10K to 100k
Macro-influencers:
These are the influencers with followers from the range of 100K to 500k
Mega/Celeb-influencers:
These are the influencers with more than 500k followers
Why is Influencer Marketing important for Brands?
Influencer marketing has taken a huge leap in the present marketing era with influencers emerging like mushrooms. People follow them religiously and believe their feedback and reviews since they feel that influencers are one of them, giving them a relatability factor. That’s why every other brand has started investing in influencer marketing.
This is why we are always encouraging more and more brands to enter the space and include influencer marketing in their marketing mix. For you to get convinced to get on board the influencer marketing ship, we are listing five reasons why you should start with influencer marketing immediately –
Trust factor and credibility
Trust is an important factor for any brand as it helps to attain a certain reputation among the masses. Your targeted segment will not believe you until they find you credible. Influencer marketing aids as a connecting bridge between the brand and its audience.
As per the reports by DMI, 40% of consumers purchase a product due to recommendations by content creators. People consider their reviews for any brand before trying or buying it.
Growth in brand awareness
Influencers help in creating a social media presence for your brand. This is helpful especially if your brand is in its initial stages. Not only do they endorse your products or services, but they also help in boosting the social media pages of your brand.
For example:
Popular fashion brand FashionNova became known among the Genz and Millennials due to its influencer marketing approach on Instagram. Before that, the brand had hardly any awareness created around it and now the brand has even collaborated with celebrities like Cardi B, Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, etc. The brand continues working with a huge number of macro and mega influencers which led it to generate $400 million in just 18 months.
Influencers Vs. Celebrities
People have understood now that when celebrities promote a brand, it doesn’t mean they usually use it. On the other hand, influencers use the product and also tell about the pros and cons associated with it.
This is one of the major reasons why there is a huge shift in promotion marketing. Brands prefer influencers over celebrities as influencer marketing has value for money and it also helps in positioning your brand among the right audience.
Identifying ads and blocking them
Influencer marketing is one of the subtle ways to slip in an advertisement of your brand or product. The content that influencers create may be around a brand, but adding their personal touch and experience makes it less of an advertisement. Hence, the content doesn’t get blocked or ignored by the users.
Easy to approach target group
Every influencer can be recognized based on the topic they indulge in like beauty, lifestyle, fitness, etc. This helps in identifying the influencers that will be suitable for your campaign. Similarly, a brand can easily differentiate if an influencer is a fit for them based on the followers, niche, and other KPIs.
We believe that these reasons should be enough to convince you that influencer marketing is beneficial for every social media strategy. Not only will it amplify your campaign, but it will also help you attain comprehensive results. We don’t say that influencer marketing is for every brand. But if you have a product that can be endorsed, then influencer marketing is the right option for you. Keeping this in mind, we recommend you to try influencer marketing from today for your digital marketing initiatives and see your brand reach new heights!
Don’t know where to begin with Influencer Outreach? Let us help you!
Come join the conversation and let content creators breathe new life into your marketing strategies. We at Kofluence, will provide custom campaign solutions as per your own budget and requirements.
If you found this blog to be helpful browse through our website for other blogs on similar topics or get in touch with us for your next influencer marketing campaign! Download the Kofluence app and find relevant campaigns catering to your target audience! To opt-in, download the Kofluence app here: iOS users, and Android users.