What is influencer marketing & how it can help your brand
Influencer marketing is a marketing strategy that has quite literally taken off in the past several years. Influencers are individuals with a significant online presence on social media, whether it be a fitness guru, lifestyle blogger, makeup artist, or product reviewer.
They have found a particular niche or area of interest and leverage their popularity to promote products, services or even specific brands to their followers. The basis of influencer marketing lies in the influencer’s ability to “influence” the purchasing decision of their followers through real, relatable content.
Brands collaborate with influencers by providing them with their product, service, or some form of compensation in return for an endorsement, sponsored post, or some other type of promotional content. This type of content is usually quite easy to label as it is a very clear promotion of the product or service – but some influencers have found unique ways to add the “influencing” into their usual content.
Definition of Influencer Marketing
As described, influencer marketing is a specific strategy in which an “influencer” uses their popularity online to sway their followers to purchase a product or service from a brand they have partnered with. This strategy works due to customers’ needs for validation or persuasion when it comes to purchasing a new product or service. Videos seem to be more effective than online written reviews as we know that some reviews may not be written by real customers or those who have not actually purchased the product or used the service.
Influencer marketing is seen as effective because it stems from a level of trust and credibility that these influencers have established with their followers. These online followers see these recommendations as more trustworthy and real compared to the traditional methods used in advertising. The influencer marketing strategy is especially effective in reaching target audiences, increasing brand awareness, and driving engagement and sales.
Types of influencer marketing and how it can become the future of digital brand content
There are various types of influencer marketing and each employs its own technique and purpose. From free products, to product collaborations, to affiliate campaigns and sponsored content, if your product or service needs promotion, one of these types of influencer marketing will do the trick. With 50% of Millennials trusting product recommendations from influencers, these various forms of influencer marketing provide an authentic way of swaying potential consumers to purchase a product or service. Maintaining trust while having a variety of content to reach your target audience is proving to be the future of digital brand content.
Affiliate Marketing
One of the newest forms of influencer marketing is affiliate marketing. This strategy is where a business will provide the influencer with a unique tracking link or discount code to share with their followers. This link or code earns them commission or compensation based on the amount of sales generated through said link or code. This influencer marketing strategy can work on any level from nano- to mega/ celebrity.
Product Collaborations
Most companies partner with influencers via product placement or collaborations. Companies will provide free products or services to the influencer for them to use and feature in their content. The influencer receives a free product and typically more visibility through the partnering brand, while the brand receives free advertising.
Sponsored Content
In this influencer marketing strategy, a business will pay the influencer to create and post content that features their product or service. This can be sponsored posts, stories, or videos on social media platforms or even a blog post. This again provides the influencer with visibility through the partnership while the brand receives unique advertisement to the influencer’s following.
Brand Ambassadorships
This influencer marketing strategy is a more long term partnership between the brand and influencer. The influencer/ brand ambassador will create regular content featuring the brand’s product or service and may even participate in events or campaigns. Many large brands will host product launch events and invite their brand ambassadors to attend while posting content of the event, promoting the new product.
Instagram influencer marketing vs. other social platforms
The most sought-after influencer marketing strategy focuses on Instagram. Many other social media platforms are used for influencer marketing but Instagram takes the cake. In 2022, Instagram was the most used influencer marketing platform in the United States. In that same year, 72% of businesses used the platform for influencer campaigns. Instagram yields the highest ROI when it comes to influencer marketing, with over 30% of marketers noting that they receive the highest ROI through the platform. Thirty-two percent also believe it is the easiest platform to use for influencer marketing.
In 2021, the average price per post from an Instagram mega influencer (1M+ followers) was a minimum of $1,200- while that same post on TikTok cost $1,034 dollars. With 45% of businesses using TikTok for influencer marketing in 2022, it is on the rise but not yet reached the level that Instagram has. Even though TikTok is seen to provide the highest engagement, it still does not yield the highest ROI.
When it comes to Youtube and Facebook, only 57% of companies used Facebook for influencer marketing in 2022 and 58% used Youtube. With stricter monetization policies on both platforms, influencers are less likely to use them to collaborate with brands and earn compensation. These platforms also have different demographics compared to Instagram which may not be the correct audience for this marketing strategy.
Need an influencer marketing agency to top-notch your brand awareness?
Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for brands, helping you achieve your desired results through proper planning and execution. That’s where inSegment can jump in. As an experienced digital marketing agency, our team of experts can assist you in developing and implementing an effective influencer marketing strategy.
Whether you’re looking to reach a new audience, increase brand awareness, or boost sales, inSegment can help you identify the right influencer marketing strategy for you and create compelling content that resonates with your target audience. Get in touch with our expert team today and learn more!
