In the world of social media and blogging, influencer marketing has quickly become an important facet of the digital marketing mix. Think about how you utilize social media and the types of people that make up of the list of accounts you’re following. There’s the obvious; family, friends and maybe coworkers. Then you’ll likely find brands you love or celebrities that you enjoy keeping up with. And finally, you might find some accounts for people who aren’t quite celebrities, but who you share similar interests with and whose content is relevant to you and you enjoy. These are likely influencers that you like to engage with.
In influencer marketing, the influencer is a content creator or blogger who shares their experience interacting with products and brands, typically in exchange for goods or money. They have established credibility in a particular industry or field and this gives them a level of social influence over their followers. Incorporating an influencer marketing strategy allows a business to reach a very targeted audience, and typically yields a higher return on investment than traditional marketing channels.
But it needs to be strategic in order to be successful. The influencer marketing arena is more saturated than ever, and can be difficult to navigate for businesses without an established influencer marketing strategy in place. It’s important to determine your goals, target the right influencers, and be clear on the expectations and outputs when putting together your strategy. As with any business relationship, finding the right influencer partners and aligning on the strategy will yield the best results.
If your business hasn’t explored the influencer marketing space yet but it’s relevant for your business to do so, the time is now.