MARKETING
Influencer Marketing
By Joe Nyutu
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that uses influencers to promote a brand to a larger market . Influencers are opinion leaders with a social following base . Influencer marketing employs leading , niche content creators to improve brand awareness , increase traffic , and drive messages to brands ’ target audiences . It is this collaboration between brands and creators that allows businesses to expand their reach across their buyer personas .
Influencer marketing works because it uses tactics like word-of-mouth marketing and social proof , which are now critical aspects of any successful marketing strategy . Customers sometimes trust their peers , friends , and people they admire more than the companies selling the products and services they buy and use .
Influencer marketing programs present unique challenges and opportunities for brands . By cultivating a network of engaged influencers and ambassadors who can support your existing marketing campaigns , you position your brand for success in today ’ s influencerdriven marketplace .
But not all influencers are created equal . Coordinating influencer campaigns can be complicated , time-consuming , and the campaigns themselves can be costly , depending on the fees you pay to partners .
At a fundamental level , influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers - individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche . Marketers rated influencer marketing as their fastest-growing channel for acquiring customers online . Organic search and email are too mature to provide the same yearly growth that influencer marketing now delivers .
Our 2019 survey results irrefutably proves that influencer marketing is a highly effective and viable marketing strategy . Instead of looking at influencer marketing in a singular way , it can be evaluated across various factors and among many more marketers . The results speak for themselves - influencer marketing is on an ever-steepening path to becoming an integral part of advertisers ’ marketing arsenal . Whether a brand is new to influencer marketing or the company has already greased the influencer marketing wheel , these results serve as a solid industry benchmark for influencer marketing effectiveness .
“ Before you sign paid contracts for influencers , make sure they are skillfully creating content on multiple channels , and that your brand ’ s values are in sync with theirs .“
Notice influencer marketing represents a new type of independent thirdparty endorsers who shape audience attitudes through blogs , tweets , and the use of other social media . As mentioned before , influencer marketing is gaining momentum and popularity in developing countries and is fast becoming an alternative to traditional forms of marketing communication ( Booth & Matic , 2019 ).
Influencer marketing is very effective in ensuring a positive eWOM ( electronic word of mouth ). The effectiveness of influencer marketing is further supported by studies which found out that influencer marketing promotes a level of credibility that traditional marketing communication usually finds difficult to achieve .
Importance of influencer Marketing
Brand awareness growth : Majority of the marketers use influencer marketing to boost brand awareness , and this strategy works great . Industry opinion leaders share your brand ’ s story , mission , and values with their follower base . It automatically expands your outreach and positioning online .
Content strategy enrichment : Influencer marketing is a golden opportunity to liven up your company or personal social media posts . As a company you can repost the influencer ’ s content or encourage their followers to create user-generated content of brands . As a person or company , you can also use blogger ’ s images for other marketing channels , such as targeted advertising . To avoid problems with copyright , include it in the contract . Equally it works well if you identify influencers who connect with your brand ’ s core values and who will engage on multiple platforms multiple times .
Similarly , as studies have shown that potential consumers often only convert to traffic or customers after seeing a product multiple times , you want to identify whether influencers are meaningfully engaged with
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