The internet has enabled many new phenomena and the social media influencer is one such.
Influencer marketing is when brands partner with people with large followings on one or more social media platforms, to promote their products and services. It’s a spin off from celebrity endorsements and taps into the same aspirational elements.
However, because social media influencers by and large come from the ranks of ordinary people, they have the advantage of feeling “real”. They are not so far removed from the us everyday folk, but are still popular or talented or edgy enough that people look up to them, want to be them and are interested in what kind of products they use.
Some advantages of using social media influencers:
The authority an influencer commands with their followers can even be measured in dollars and cents. For example, earlier this year Kylie Jenner caused Snapchat’s parent company to lose $1.3 billion in market value with a single tweet. With 25 million followers on Twitter, its hard to deny that her opinions may be worth their weight in actual gold.
Influencer marketing is a waste of money if you’re not working with the right ones for your brand. Here are some ways to make the most of influencer marketing:
Do your research to see how aligned an influencers content is with your messaging. Just because someone posts about beauty a lot does not mean they are a match for your organic brand. A provocative influencer is probably also not a good fit for a family brand.
Don’t just look at unique visitors as a measure of reach. It’s more important that the influencer is reaching your brand’s target audience. For example, if you’re a restaurant, a food blogger with a small reach is more influential than a travel blogger with 100,000 unique monthly visits.
It may be tempting to request a long product review but if content feels sponsored, it gets fewer shares. Rather, allowing an influencer to have the freedom to create stories that feel authentic to them is more engaging for the viewer, generating more shares and comments.
How would your brand benefit from influencer marketing?
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How would your brand participate in the golden age of the geek?
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