The term Influencer Marketing has undergone many changes in the last 8 years and today, we can safely say that it can be the game changer for your business. However, for it to be that game changer for you, understanding what is influencer marketing is essential.
From a PR perspective, Influencer Marketing is the shift in recognizing there are new ways to reach your audience. Traditionally that used to be high net worth individuals or journalists. Now, it can be anyone with their own network or media. – Stephen Waddington, Author of Brand Anarchy.
In simpler words, Influencer Marketing includes reaching out to a specific group of people who have an impressive fan following on a digital platform, to make their audience aware of your brand. Connecting with these digital influencers will help you reach a new audience with relatively lesser effort when compared to the traditional sources of marketing.
Over the years, the changes in influencer marketing have left us with a better tracking power. You can now reach your potential customers with just a click, opting for online advertising with smart targeting. Today, the options are endless for brands wanting to reach their online audience, with the introduction of tools that identify sites with your potential audience, Google AdWords, placement targeting, content marketing and social media advertising being the popular few.
There has also been a sudden rise of non-celebrity influencers, who are using their on-field expertise & experience, and their digital mediums in the best possible manner to gain more followers. From blogging and vlogging about their experiences to using Instagram as a medium to share more about their lives, non-celebrity influencers are giving their audience a regular peek into their daily routine and have become a much sought-after community by brands. Sharing an example of a blogger and Instagram influencer, Santoshi Shetty is a popular name amongst brands opting for influencer marketing. Enjoying a following of more than 5 lakh fans on Instagram, Santoshi is one of the favourites of brands such as Magnum, Clinique and Puma, to name a few. An architecture graduate, she began her digital journey while still in college and has become one of the most influential voices in the Indian influencer community.
Let us take a look at some of the key points, gathered through a survey, which will set the stage to explain why influencer marketing is the game changer for your business.
92% of people trust recommendations from individuals (even if they don’t know them) over brands.
74% of consumers use social media to make purchase decisions.
67 percent of marketers surveyed thought influencer marketing campaigns helped them reach a more targeted audience
It is quite evident from the above facts that whether you are a brand or an individual, selling products or a service, influencer marketing can help boost your sales, in an effective way. An accurately chosen influencer will easily lead you to high sales and popularity. You can either opt for macro or micro influencers, depending on your brand and the reason why you are opting for influencer marketing.
Clear your concept: Micro & Macro Influencers
Celebrities such as Alia Bhatt, Shilpa Shetty, Shahid Kapoor and Virat Kohli become a part of the macro influencers’ community. Micro influencers, on the other hand, have a smaller fan base, include both celebrity & non-celebrity influencers and are way more economical than macro influencers. Off late, there has been a steady rise of Micro influencers on various digital platforms, with Instagram being the most popular to spot a micro influencer. These influencers include home chefs, foodies, avid book lovers, fashion & lifestyle models and everyone who is sharing their favourite hobby with their online followers.
Increase in the demand of Micro Influencers
Over the years, the hype for micro influencers has increased two times. They are the real game changer with higher engagement rates, allowing you to target more specific topics. A survey conducted by Collective Bias reveals that there is a 30% higher chance of consumers purchasing a product when it is not promoted by a celebrity. This is as consumers have trouble believing a celebrity who tells them to choose a particular product over others. Micro influencers, on the other hand, showcase a lifestyle that looks more relatable to the general public and therefore are more preferred by brands over macro influencers. Getting micro influencers to talk about your brand, products or services adds a lot of authentic ‘non-marketing’ value to your content, putting you ahead of your competitors.
You must be thinking what makes influencer marketing such a potent marketing process? B2B can gain a lot from influencer marketing as influencers, nowadays, have a lot of control over a particular subject and also offer you a targeted base of audience. The engagement rate is higher in influential marketing and it is easy to measure the ROI. Your post likes, shares, views and comments can all be easily tracked and measured. As you can see, it is a win-win situation for brands.
Let’s quickly go through some tips that will be helpful while searching for an influencer:-
Relevant to your customers and brand Choose an influencer that talks about the same field as your brand, else it can be confusing for the audience to relate to your brand. For example, Magnum ice creams teamed up with Pooja Dhingra, a celebrity pastry chef and owner of Le 15 patisserie and cafe, to design a limited edition ice cream line, as Pooja’s followers are foodies who love looking at visually appealing food images on a daily basis. A sports brand such as Nike would find this audience unsuitable for its brand.
Loyal engaged audience If you are looking for real reviews and a high engagement rate, choose an influencer who interacts with their audience enough to create a loyal fan base. After all, in this high tech world, getting a huge follower base is easy if one chooses to go for bots. Take a look at influencers such as Masoom Minawala and Sejal Kumar, who make it a point to read and interact with their audience regularly on social media platforms, through Instagram Stories and post comments. Choosing such influencers is always a boon for brands that are planning to hold a contest or are looking for genuine feedback on their product online.
Active on social media platforms As most of the consumers today have a presence on various social media platforms and actively participate in online conversations, it is necessary for you to target an influencer that, while being popular offline, is also active on these platforms. Celebrity influencers such as Alia Bhatt and Virat Kohli are examples of such influencers, who enjoy a large fan following, offline and online. Alia and Virat, both enjoy a fan following of over 21 million on Instagram.
Ability to convey the right message When choosing an influencer for a campaign that will communicate a strong message to the society, it is necessary to go for an influencer who is mature and has a similar outtake to life. For example, choosing an influencer, who regularly shares their love for meat on a social media platform, for a PETA campaign would not be ideal and can lead to a negative response from the audience.
Suits your budget Basis your overall budget, you can opt for a micro or macro influencer for your campaign. Micro influencers are becoming more popular among brands and can lead your brand to higher sales, with a lesser amount.
To sum it up, we can say that influential marketing can be the real game changer for your business this year. Have you heard of an amazing influencer marketing campaign? Do share with us in the comments section below.
Greenroom is the one-stop solution for all your influencer marketing requirements. Catering to your all customized needs, we make influencer campaigns work easily like never before.
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