Several people are of the opinion that influencer marketing is the domain of big businesses. However, the reality is that even mid-sized and small businesses – startups included – can benefit significantly by devising suitable influencer marketing strategies.
Several sectors have experienced the benefits of influencer marketing already. These include, but do not limit to:
- Health and fitness
- Fashion
- Cosmetics
- Travel
- Startups and entrepreneurs
- B2B
Number Speak
A recent post put together by BigCommerce suggests that influencer marketing is now a $5 to $10 billion dollar industry. It also goes to show how businesses of different sizes are vying for their share of the pie. Consider these numbers.
- Influencer marketing budgets can be even lower than $1,000 per year.
- Close to 90% marketers opine that influencer marketing generates similar or better ROI than other channels.
- Over 15% businesses dedicate more than half their marketing budgets to influencers.
- Instagram accounts for the most money spent on influencer marketing.
- The goal of around 85% businesses that use influencer marketing is to increase brand awareness. Reaching new audiences comes at over 70%, and generating sales at just below 65%.
In addition, data also suggests that more than 90% marketers use influencer marketing.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing refers to collaborations between businesses and popular social media users, where the former hire the latter to promote their products or services. Influencers tend to have large and engaged audiences that businesses try target with the aim of building brand awareness, increasing credibility, and driving sales.
This realm does not limit to celebrities because it primarily focuses on passionate and authentic content creators. Starting small, a micro-influencer can have as few as 3,000 to 5,000 followers on social media. The reason why businesses turn to influencers is because they have a fair indication of what their audiences want.
How Can Your Business Benefit?
When an influencer makes a recommendation, it is typically viewed upon as genuine. In addition, these recommendations tend to focus on specific target audiences. From a business point of you, this gives you the ability to reach out to your desired target audience with ease. Given that sales continue to rely heavily on building trust, influencer marketing can give your business the ability increase brand awareness.
Here are the main benefits of using influencers to promote your business.
- Increasing your brand’s reach
- Building trust
- Organically growing social media following
- Increasing traffic to your website
- Getting more leads
- Boosting sales
Is Your Business Ready?
Determining if your business needs an influencer or more to promote its offerings is fairly straightforward once you answer these questions.
- Do you have a great product/service on offer?While this might sound like common sense, remember that you won’t reach very far if your offering is not up to the mark. With a great product or service in hand, the next step is to identify if it serves a niche audience. For instance, is the beverage you plan to sell sugar-free?
- Do you have a noticeable social media presence?The better your business’ social media presence, the more it will aid in your influencer marketing strategies. Establishing social media presence helps your customers identify with your brand and it also gives them platforms to connect with you and other customers. When it comes to building presence on social media, the strategy you follow and the quality of your content are more important than the number of followers.
- Are you in it for quick gains?Understand that influencer marketing rarely provides overnight results. If you’re hoping that your sales will sky-rocket in a day or a week, think again. One of the biggest follies in this realm is getting an influencer to post about a product or a service just once or twice. It is only when you build long-term relationships (of six month or more) with influencers that the real gains start to flow.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing can give your business the means to explore new avenues, reach out to targeted audiences, increase brand awareness, and improve marketing ROI. While you need to have a well-defined strategy in place, selecting the right influencers can also be crucial.
