Influencer Marketing Agency: The Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Did you know that Selena Gomez has one of the most-followed accounts on Instagram?
With over 365 million followers and more each day, there’s no denying that people care about what she’s up to. If someone sees a picture of her enjoying a specific brand of drink, then you better believe others will take notice. This is why it’s worth expanding your marketing horizons and considering the possibility of working with one or more social media influencers.
Are you unsure whether it’s worth working with an influencer marketing agency? Keep reading to learn all about the benefits of influencer marketing.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
If you’ve never heard of influencer marketing before, then it’s enough to know that it involves people on social media who have a sizeable following. Having at least 1,000 followers is the bare minimum to be considered an influencer.
If someone has up to 10,000 followers, then they’re considered a nano-influencer. If the count ranges from 10,000 to 50,000, then the social media user is categorized as a micro-influencer. A mid-tier one should have over 50,000 to half a million.
It’s only until someone surpasses half a million or more that they’re considered a macro-influencer. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that you’ll have to pay more for your influencer marketing if you want to work with people who have a significant amount of followers.
This type of strategy can become quite competitive since other brands would love for a popular user to show off their products as much as you would.
You Can Reach New Pools of Customers
If you have one or more social media accounts, then you should have a good idea of how difficult it can be to build up your following. Even having a post go viral is no guarantee that someone will go out of their way to follow your account in addition to liking the post, for instance.
It can sometimes take months if not years before your branded accounts will have enough followers to make a significant impact on your sales. Instead of being limited at that point, you can use influencer marketing to skip the line and tap into pools of potential customers.
Do you want some valuable influencer marketing tips? For starters, it’s essential to find a social media guru who fits your brand’s ethos. The last thing you’d want is to be associated with someone who doesn’t mesh well with what your company is all about.
Most influencers have some kind of theme that appeals to their audiences, such as vintage memorabilia, nightclub lifestyle, sports, or a little bit of everything. This can help you avoid working with someone who is too remote from your target audience.
One way you can determine if someone is a good fit or not is by taking stock of their posts. If they’ve said anything that’s problematic or goes against your brand’s mission statement, then you should probably avoid working with them.
It’s also a good idea to see what brands they’ve worked with in the past. This is another way of letting you know what values they have and whether you share them. You better believe that your audience will pay attention to this stuff.
There’s a Higher Return on Your Investment
Any influencer marketing guide will confirm that you can often get a wonderful return on your investment. For starters, think about how many people have ad-blockers on their internet browsers. These extensions have made it difficult if not impossible to reach your audience in a traditional way.
Instead of being blocked, you can get into people’s social media feeds by being a part of a trusted user’s post. An affiliate post is not viewed in a negative light like a pop-up ad, for instance. Instead, the influencer will often take an aesthetic and eye-catching photo that their audience will love.
Since there will be a unique affiliate link associated with the promo, you can have valuable data at your fingertips. From the number of people who clicked the link to those who went all the way and made a purchase, each data point can help you fine-tune your strategy.
Aside from getting more customers, you can also get more loyal followers. This is due to the fact that an influencer will link to both your product and your social media page. This gives people an incentive to follow you and keep up with your posts well into the future.
You also don’t have to spend more money than what your budget allows. If you can’t afford a macro-influencer yet, then you could pay for several smaller ones and still see solid results.
You Can Create Long-Lasting Professional Relationships
While it’s possible to pay for a single affiliate post and move on, one of the best influencer marketing benefits involves the professional connections you can make. Instead of creating a one-off post, you can team up with an influencer who can draw attention to your new products and services as they’re launched.
They can also help when it comes time to generate buzz for a sale, among other occasions. You can even negotiate with an influencer so that they will continue to promote your brand and not your competitors.
If you forge this connection as early as possible, then both you and your influencer can grow together. Over time, they’ll more chances of becoming a macro-influencer. This is the moment when everyone will swoop in trying to get their products in their hands.
Since your company supported them from the beginning or close enough to it, you’ll be in a much better position to have your products in the limelight like always. The cost of each post can also be lower than what they would charge another sponsor.
You Can Reinforce Your Own Marketing Campaign
The beauty of influence marketing is that you can use it alongside your own campaign. This can go a long way toward building much more buzz than you would be able to on your own. For instance, you could create a hashtag to accompany your marketing efforts and ensure that the influencers you hire use it, too.
This can double, triple, or quadruple the chance of your hashtag going viral. The more people who see it, the better brand awareness you’ll have. You could even give regular users an incentive to use the hashtag. For instance, you could do a drawing for anyone who makes a post with it and have one or more winners.
The type of prize you choose will depend on your marketing goals. You could offer free products and services, a massive discount, or something entirely different.
Be sure to use a hashtag that’s simple and memorable. Something like #BrandNameYear or #NewProductName can reduce the chance of someone not typing it out correctly. If you have a slogan, then make sure it isn’t too long, such as #LovinIt instead of the full phrase people know.
Don’t forget to make it a stipulation in the contract that your influencers should use this hashtag in a prominent place in each of their posts. Aside from the description, they can add it to a photo using an editor. Videos can also include your hashtag.
Influencers Inspire a High Degree of Trust
The new generation of social media users grew up with these platforms. While older people can remember a time when there wasn’t a site like Facebook or even the internet, there are some people who can’t imagine life without those digital connections.
Being raised in this environment, it should come as no surprise that Gen Zers often trust recommendations from the influencers they follow. In many cases, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Gen Zers put more stock in the word of these influencers than their own friends or family members.
While word of mouth is still powerful, you can take advantage of it when you invest in social media marketing. Instead of your customers being directed by their circle, they can tell their friends and family members all about your awesome products after learning the details from their favorite celebrity.
Are You Ready to Work With an Influencer Marketing Agency?
Now that you’ve learned all about the benefits of influencer marketing, you can reach even more potential customers than ever before. Once you’ve started working with an influencer marketing agency, you’ll never want to go back to your old and tired marketing strategies again.
We’re proud to provide businesses with the most comprehensive marketing solutions available. From influencers and web design to search engine optimization and social media ads, you can rest easy knowing you’re in knowledgeable hands.
If you’re as excited to collaborate as we are, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
