Why Influencer Marketing May Just Be Your Next Strategy
When I spoke on influencer marketing at Social Media Marketing World, I was blown away by both the demand and the ongoing discussion I had with many companies throughout the conference. I had a packed room and literally had a bunch of people follow me out of the presentation for some additional questions after the session. (You can still purchase a virtual ticket to the event.
I shared the rap video that Rappitt made for me – which now reached a far wider audience without needing to compensate me as an influencer because he targeted me and made the video for me. I spoke about developing stories and strategies to ensure success with the influencer and have an out when they’re not working out. And I provided some feedback on storytelling that would help the influencer better communicate about the product or service you wish them to share.
Brands like Influencer Marketing because it can serve a variety of purposes (in addition to the most obvious purpose, increasing sales): page rank, exposure, customer loyalty, UGC generation, growth on social channels, content virality, and more. Consumers like it because it comes across as more genuine. AND it is presented to them at the right time. When a consumer is browsing a blog about home-decor…that’s the perfect time to present them with a link to that Eames chair (that your brand is currently featuring), with it shown within the context of a trusted influencer’s home. This contextual approach is much more effective than sending them a spammy email first thing in the morning…right when they’re getting to work.
A key factor of finding an influencer is not confusing influence with reach or popularity. A large following doesn’t mean that the audience or community is going to flock to purchase your product or service. In fact, while many so-called influencers have incredible popularity – that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can impact the buying behavior of those that follow them.
It’s imperative that you find someone with a matching audience who has the ability to not just promote your product or service – but to entice followers and lead them to your business where you can then convert them. Influence isn’t selling, the term influence literally comes from the word flow. The job of the influencer is to direct the flow to you so you can utilize the trust and authority that the influencer has already built up and leverage it as your own.
The Shelf developed this infographic and it’s an influence marketing platform to identify and connect with influencers and measure the success of the campaigns that are executed.
