Influencer marketing has now become a key tool in the overall marketing mix used by brands. This is because it delivers more return for your ad dollars.
With influencer marketing now a proven strategy, marketers are using cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to process and act on all of the data being generated by consumers, influencers and brands to reach their target audiences.
And as influencers continue to increase the amount of “influence” they command over consumers, marketers have to use technologies which allow them to monitor all of the metrics in social media, websites, and blogs as well as the devices they use on different platforms.
The Impact of Influencer Marketing
A report from Rhythmone revealed 69% of consumers are likely to make a purchase if a product is recommended by someone they follow, and 92% of them have made a purchase after reading about a product on their favorite blog.
This has delivered high ROIs for brands. According to a study by TapInfluence and Nielsen Catalina Solutions, influencer marketing generates ROI eleven times higher than traditional marketing.
Another study by Influencer Marketing Hub has revealed companies are earning $7.65 for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing, with some cases going as high as $20.
So how is a cloud-based AI solution going to give influencer marketers the edge they need to deliver similar and better results?
Here are 10 ways marketers can exploit AI and cloud computing to make it happen.
Intelligent Marketing
The days of mass blanket marketing are still here with us, but as people choose when and where they consume content, marketers have to be much smarter in the delivery of ads for their brand.
The available technology essentially makes it possible to deliver one to one marketing about as granular as it can get. With AI and cloud, marketers can deploy intelligent marketing campaigns which can be customized for different demographics and locations. This can go all the way to the individual level if need be.
Hyper-personalization
Cloud-based AI can be leveraged to deliver hyper-personalized recommendations to consumers. Marketers can now access huge volumes of data about consumers, and this data can be used to make highly targeted recommendations along with the help of influencers.
Compliance Monitoring
Influencers now have to comply with advertising regulations set by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC sent letters to celebrities, athletes, and other influencers on Instagram reminding them to “Clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media.”
For professional marketers who use influencers, this means making sure they are complying with the FTC regulations. Marketers can monitor multiple clients using cloud-based solutions to ensure they are always compliant.
Real-time Analytics and Reporting
When marketers create content, it can go viral in an instant or flop. Cloud platforms give marketers access to real-time analytics and reporting so they can see what is taking place day or night.
Based on the data, campaigns can be adjusted and relaunched while gauging how users are reacting to what is taking place. Marketers can now make data-driven decisions on the fly.
Multiple Campaigns
By leveraging cloud-based analytics from consumer behavior including search habits, social media use, content consumption and more along with the devices they use, marketers can launch multiple campaigns.
All of the campaigns can then be monitored in the cloud. In this way, ad spend can be optimized to deliver high ROI.
Predictive Scheduling
There are many social media sites and they all have their own characteristics. This includes when users post and consume content, time of day with the most users, best day of the week and more.
With predictive scheduling systems in place, using cloud-based AI, content marketers can post content when it will have the most impact. This includes automated send-time optimization tools to ensure the post is placed on each social media channel at the optimal time.
Optimized Ad Spend
Among the biggest challenges for marketers is how much to spend, when and where. With AI they can customize their marketing mix with greater accuracy so each segment and campaign receives the right amount of attention across every channel.
Scalability
Each influencer is different, and whether they have 5,000 or 5 million followers, cloud platforms allow marketers to scale their marketing campaign as needed. With cloud computing, marketers can scale up or down based on demand.
This eliminates the need to pay blindly for resources which might never be used.
Competitive Edge
Small marketers can now access computing resources at affordable price points. This allows them to compete with large firms when it comes to managing influencers as well as the marketing for their brands.
Everything from computing and software to infrastructure and security can be accessed with the aforementioned scalability. This means a small firm can operate like a large enterprise when it comes to digital marketing.
Testing and Targeting
Market research, which includes testing and targeting, used to be a very costly and time intensive process reserved only for large enterprises. However, with cloud-based AI solutions, companies of almost any size can now test and target their campaigns at scale.
Ads can be altered on the fly and be optimized to meet the changing conditions and the conversations consumers are having.
Marketing Tools
The digital ecosystem has changed the way marketers create, launch and manage their campaigns and the brands they serve. Influencer marketing is only one of many such changes which have taken place. However, the available technology also makes it much easier to deliver for their clients with more accuracy and ROI.
For more on how cloud computing can help your small business, contact Meylah.
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