Did you know that there are more than three billion people using social media every day?
If you want a unique and effective way to tap into the power of social media and raise your digital profile, influencer marketing is one way to go.
What is Influencer Marketing?
It’s a means of generating word of mouth and social proof by connecting with high-profile presences in various online communities. Big corporations tap into this form of marketing by getting celebrities like Beyonce to wear their clothing and jewelry, use their products, and talk about their company online or in interviews.
This is not the same as a paid endorsement. It’s something
more organic and authentic to audiences. Although some social influencers make
a nice living collaborating with businesses, many influencer campaigns happen
by accident. A content creator on YouTube or an InstaGram star mentions a
product or wears an item that their followers deem a must-have”, and
suddenly, the company who supplied it runs out of inventory.
Raise Your Digital Profile
Don’t have the budget or reach to snag a Beyonce or a
Kardashian?
You could wait for them to notice how great your brand is
and start raving about it. Or you can follow our tips to learn how to make
influencer marketing work for you without needing a huge budget.
1. Create Your Strategy Before Creating Your Profile
There’s too much competition and things move way too fast on
the internet for you to wing it. Before you decide to incorporate social
influence into your marketing plan, come up with a plan for how to implement it
before you launch.
Consider your business goals and how social media marketing will be used to help you realize them. Look at how other brands are using influencer marketing to further their reach, and try to emulate their successes.
2. Start With Micro-Influencers
Social influence is becoming a big business, with some of
the top trend setters making six figure incomes and making you go through their
agent to strike up an online partnership. You can get in on this trend by
starting with an up-and-comer who is rising in their niche but isn’t yet out of
your reach.
How do you find such diamonds in the rough?
Become active online, especially within your industry, and pay attention to who seems to have the most sway over their followers. You don’t necessarily need the person with the largest following, You want the one who’s most relevant and engaging.
3. Watch Out for Phonies
Speaking of being wary of huge audiences, several brands have gotten burned lately by connecting with “influencers” who aren’t quite what they appear to be. Because content creators are becoming the new celebrities and there’s a lot of money to be made. some unscrupulous people are buying fake followers and likes that won’t translate to leads for you.
How can you tell a fake?
You can evaluate their actual engagement versus the number of followers or try to determine the authenticity of comments and page engagement. There are also online tools available, like this one from Twitter, that you can use during your initial investigation. HypeAuditor is another good one.
4. Create a “Shoppable” Social Media Platform
Have you noticed the trend lately of CTA buttons on social
media? These aren’t overt “Buy Now” buttons or anything like paid
ads. Platforms know that they are good for business, but they also know that
Google sometimes punishes overt pushes toward social shares. For example, you
may be penalized for using the words “Share” in copy or content.
To help their customers out and keep them advertising on
social platforms. companies like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram are
allowing badges or buttons on business posts that will take the viewer straight
to the company’s checkout page to buy a particular item. It could simply say
“Shop” or use a mechanism like the PInterest “Product
Pins”.
5. Aim for Authentic Engagement
Een online, savvy shoppers know when someone is being
inauthentic. In order for influencer marketing to be effective, it must be as
above-board and organic as possible. Trust is one of the reasons that consumers
will believe an influencers over a paid celebrity endorsement.
Rather than using generic CTAs, tell your brand story in a
way that’s in line with your mission and connects with your audience on a
deeper level. It’s also important to tie social outreach and influencer
marketing in with your overall ad campaign instead of using it as a single,
standalone effort.
6. Leverage the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
This is one of the strongest and most subtle ways of drawing
an audience into your realm. No one wants to be the person who’s missing out on
the hot trend or good time.
You can leverage this in several ways. One is to post an
icon with the number of social media shares or likes on your website or blog
post. Another very good and effective way to achieve this is by posting
behind-the-scenes videos of pics of your company, posting video of customers
enjoying the lifestyle that your brand promotes, or by including user-generated
content on your website.
7. Choose Your Platforms Wisely
Not all social media platforms work in the same ways. Some
are better for launching news briefs or initiating actions, like Twitter.
Others are best for showcasing visual content, like video or images.
Choose a platform that matches your desired outcome, and
find out who are the trending influencers that are relevant to your type of
business and have a lot of engagement within your niche.
Social media is a great way to raise brand awareness. Have you tried influencer marketing with your social media campaign? Let us know about your challenges and success stories.