How To Develop Your Strategy With Influencer Marketing
With only a few bloggers and celebrities participating in influencer marketing a decade ago, now, it seems like social media influencers saturate the market. From traditional posts to Instagram stories they are finding new ways to be sponsored on their favourite platforms. Here are some tips to help you decide if influencer marketing is right for you.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from people who have a dedicated social following. This type of marketing works since social influencers have built up high trust within their followings, and recommendations from them serve as social proof to your brand’s potential customers.
When did it start?
Influencer marketing began back in 2006, with many changes over the years. In 2004, Facebook and Twitter were just getting started, but Instagram wouldn’t join the social media landscape until 2010. At that time, influencers were typically bloggers who shared stories about their lives and promoted products they used every day.
The value of influencer marketing
By 2021, the influencer market was worth $13.8 billion, indicating steady growth. This year, it is predicted to reach a staggering $16.4 billion. While Instagram influencer marketing is a well-known strategy, there are other influencer networks that are growing like Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok have their own set of influencers with different demographics.
Where to find influencers and what to pay them
If you’re just starting out, pick one platform to focus on first. You can always expand to other platforms later but just stick with one. Your brand should already have a presence on this platform, or you should be expanding into it. The industry in which you’re operating also matters when you’re working on an influencer marketing strategy.
While researching, determine the influencers you’re interested in. Are you looking for celebrities with massive followings or micro-influencers with fewer than 2000 followers? Perhaps something between 5–10k followers is more your preference. Whatever you decide to focus on will determine your budget. For micro-influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers, the average payment per post is $83; for those with 100,000+ followers, $763.
Set a budget and management strategy
You need to create a budget that includes time for planning, executing, and reviewing your influencer marketing campaign. For example, a well-run campaign involves careful monitoring and follow up. If you need a wider pool of influencers, you might consider hiring an influencer marketing agency that will do the research and coordination for you.
Decide on goals and your message
The two most common reasons for utilizing influencer marketing are to increase brand awareness and to increase sales. However, it will be more effective to kick off your strategy by honing in on what your brand needs. Increase your brand’s customer base among younger demographics, or expand into a new user group with a new product. Influencers have the ability to reach very specific audiences, ensuring the targeted audience is interested and engages with your content, as opposed to relying on thousands of followers.
For micro-influencers, you could reach out directly in a private message on the same platform. For more established ones, click around their profiles and find their contact information in their bio. They may also link a website that indicates a brand partnership.
Review and refine your strategy
Even if your influencer marketing campaign is ongoing, you should still set dates for measuring progress. You can create a specific hashtag, to track your influencers.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing is here to stay, but the way it looks and operates is changing dramatically over short periods of time. It will continue to be popular over the coming years, so now is the time to learn and prepare to incorporate it into your own strategies.
