It is now necessary for businesses of all sizes to have an online reach, and the best way to increase your visibility is to diversify your social media presence. The increasing shift away from traditional marketing tactics suggests the modern day consumer is more technologically savvy and more inclined to ‘discover’ you through their trusted peer networks.
This in turn has seen the rise of social influencers such as ‘bloggers’, who have built a rapport with consumers and developed a large online following over time. The high degree of trust between well-established bloggers and their audience is the kind of enviable relationship marketing professionals are unable to organically tap in on themselves. This relationship is logical: consumers are more likely to trust the opinion of a known individual/expert over a company’s marketing campaign.
Bloggers fall into the category of people, groups and organisations that influence your customers’ purchasing decisions. It is difficult for companies to leverage a similar type of relationship, as consumers are usually aware when a company is trying to sell a product to them. Developing a mutually beneficial relationship with bloggers is a more strategic way of keeping your product or brand relevant and alive, particularly with the decline in consumer trust in regards to paid advertisements. Bloggers such as Scott Stratten of Unmarketing have been recognised by Forbes.com as well known social influencers, and his online reach on Twitter (over 165k+) is a good example of the kind of influence a blogger can cultivate online.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of working with bloggers is that it is cost effective: engaging with other social influencers such as the media or local organisations is notoriously more expensive and time-consuming. If your product is ready to sell and you have identified key bloggers that are a good fit with your company’s brand and values, it may be worthwhile to reach out to this new wave of social influencers.