Believe it or not, influencer marketing has been around for much longer than the internet. Before you could watch kitten videos on YouTube, celebrity endorsements were the name of the game. If Julia Roberts wore the gown you designed on the red carpet at a movie premier, you became instantly famous.
Today, however, influencer campaigns take different forms. More importantly, they aren’t reserved for the Fortune 100 brands who can afford to put George Clooney on the payroll.
In fact, marketers from all types of companies have fallen in love with influencer marketing. Here’s why.
Authenticity
A television commercial might be sweet, funny, or passionate, but it’s still branded content. The viewer knows that the commercial director wanted to elicit a particular reaction, and many consumers have become immune to this type of persuasion. That’s why permission marketing has become so popular. Influencer marketing is just one facet of that broader category.
Consumers follow social media influencers because they trust their opinions and because they’re interested in their lives. While an influencer might not share every facet of her life, the information she shares is unique, personal, and authentic.
That’s powerful in the marketing world. There’s no artifice or strategy — just good ole’ fashioned connection.
Marketers love influencer marketing because it takes the brand out of the equation. Instead of filtering the message through a brand’s lens, the influencer makes the product or service his own.
Effectiveness
Traditional marketing tactics have long spiraled downward in terms of actual effectiveness. A company might pay “between $5 million and $5.5 million for a 30-second ad” between breaks in the Super Bowl, but how many people do they reach? Consumers aren’t glued to the tv during commercials anymore. When a program breaks for ads, they get out their smartphones and tablets until the program returns.
Social influencers are effective because they bring credibility to the table. They generate content that’s of legitimate interest to their followers. In other words, they are the program — not the commercial. People love to hear what they have to say.
Forbes contributor AJ Agrawal reports that, based on a recent survey, 84 percent of marketers intend to launch influencer marketing campaigns this year. That’s an astounding statistic.
If social influencers didn’t add value to an organization, 84 percent of marketers would look elsewhere for their campaigns.
Value
It’s more affordable than you think.
ROI is the most important metric when it comes to influencer marketing. You might pay for an influencer to rave about your product on Instagram, but what do you get back?
Working with social media influencers is, in many cases, a cost-effective option, and they can add significant value to your organization. Not only can they boost your sales and conversions, but they can also enhance brand visibility and recognition, both of which come in handy for long-term success.
Marketers thrive on value-driven propositions. They need to make every dollar of ad spend worth the end result. Since the above data shows most marketers seem determined to use influencers to their advantage, you can take away that influencers add value to any marketing campaign.
Association
People love to make associations. When you see someone you admire carrying a particular handbag, for instance, you might want one, too. It’s high school 101.
Consumers don’t grow out of that after they graduate. They’re still watching the “people to know” to find out what they should wear, what cars they should drive, how they should style their homes, and more. Just look at Pinterest’s popularity explosion if you’re not convinced.
In Agrawal’s Forbes piece, he mentions Kylie Jenner’s promotion of a low-cost clothing brand. Instantly, followers started buying up the brand’s products because they associated the clothing with someone they admire.
Metrics
Numbers still matter in influencer marketing — and marketing in general. Working with influencers can become murky, especially if you strike out on your own, but if you partner with a platform built on metrics, you can see exactly how much ROI you generate from all of your influencer campaigns.
From clicks and conversions to sales and brand awareness, metrics help you decide where to take your marketing plan next. At TapInfluence, we help marketers and influencers connect in an authentic, transparent way. When you join our community, you gain access to data that will help you grow your marketing campaign to its full potential.
Are you ready to join 84 percent of other marketers and get started with influencer marketing? We don’t blame you. Just request a demo so you can see exactly how we’ll help you grow your business.