What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing involves a variety of things, but the main component is influencers. Influencer marketing involved using key brand advocates to share your message to a broader market in an authentic way. Typically, it means people with large social followings, but the market has grown since then.
Now, there are micro-influencers and macro-influencers, which are influencers with minimal followings but high engagement, and people with maximum audiences and average engagement.
Influencer marketing has impacted the way brands interact with the market. Instead of using agencies, you pay influential people, often the customers themselves, to spread the word about your products. Usually, a testimonial from a prominent person is the boost your brand needs to get their name out there. A youtube personality, a blogger or an influential local person all can push your brand to new heights.
Take Jacki Aina – She started working on Youtube while she was young and made a living trying beauty products.
She works with many different brands by using their products and sharing them on her growing platforms. She and others are great examples of influencer marketing. As a business, if you play your card right, all of your success can come from influencer marketing.
Here at BeautyClout, we understand the importance of this market, and we want to help you!
The Growth of Brand Influencer Partnerships
In the age of social media, it seems that the trust of the people lies in other people. Cooperations and advertising agencies are less appealing, especially as the world of advertising changes. This is why influencer marketing is such a powerful marketing strategy.
When you align your brand with a well-known influencer, you give your brand the opportunity to grow. Typically, this person has already developed their network of people that trust their opinion.
Outbound marketing continues to fall off, and inbound marketing is growing in popularity. This means that influencer marketing is one of the most effective techniques for appealing to new and current customers.
Also, it’s essential to know that the market has changed over time and appeals to different kinds of people. For example, millennials are the ones engaging with the market most. The things that made sense in the past need to be mended for the current market. Brands can’t rely on tv and radio anymore, which is how influencer marketing comes in.
Great Things with Outbound and Inbound Marketing
The great thing about it is that it’s more cost-effective than most advertisement programs. Have you ever checked the price of a Billboard? It’s not cheap. Luckily for you, most people don’t pay attention to billboards anymore. It’s all about what’s in the phones.
Influencer marketing makes up a large portion of inbound marketing. How? Well, influencers are tasked with the responsibility of creating and distributing content around the internet. What this means is that influencer becomes an extension of your company. When influencers recommend your brand to their following, they become an extension of your company’s marketing department.
Brand development is essential for any company that wants to be successful. It’s difficult to build from the ground up, but with the help of influencer marketing, it might not be that difficult.
Brand partnerships go a long way, and acquiring the influencer excels your brand to new heights. We’ve got five reasons why influencer marketing helps your brand. Let’s get into them!
Also, be aware that influencer marketing is not the end all be all, but a means to an end. You’ll want to utilize it alongside other products and see what works for you!
The Power Is Real
We’ve said it before, and we’ll repeat it. The power of social media is real. Word-of-mouth marketing has been around for centuries, and it’s the base of influencer marketing.
Studies have shown that over 90% of customers trust word of mouth marketing and prefer it over other marketing methods. The millennial generation appreciates word-of-mouth marketing as well because it helps them feel understood. Millennials believe their favorite Youtube celebrity over other people. That says a lot about marketing today.
It seems that word-of-mouth marketing or influencer marketing today has remained steady over the years, while other methods have shifted. The power these influencers have should be reckoned with and utilized.
The great thing about it is that influencer marketing doesn’t require too much work from you, just that you communicate effectively with the people you work with.
Leverage User-Generated Content
If you want to see an increase in the number of people that follow you might want to try out influencer marketing. Bringing an influencer in your corner can turn around your Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Why? Well, influencer marketing encourages user-generated content. The people you choose have an opportunity to create what they want while centering your products.
Also, the more unique and influencer is, the more believable they are. The great thing is that this takes the task of creating content out of your hands. Instead, you delegate the responsibility to others and allow your platforms to fill with beautiful content that represents your brand and the influencers.
Add Authenticity to Your Brand
In today’s world, it’s essential to curate a brand message that resonates with others. By using influencers, you have the opportunity to add authenticity to your brand.
Essentially, the more that people choose to spread your message, the more that people trust you have a good product on your hands. It’s expected that people will provide authentic reviews for the products they have.
Using influencer marketing provides authenticity in a way that other marketing methods can’t!
Build Trust
To follow up on authenticity, an influencer campaign helps establish trust between you and your customers. For this to be successful, you’ll need to avoid micromanaging.
The purpose of authenticity is to allow others to create their message with their voices using your material. Many people don’t trust brands because it seems that they are trying too hard.
Without trust, your brand has nothing and won’t be able to build itself back up again.
Lower Your Costs While Being Visible
Influencer marketing is more cost-effective than other forms of marketing. Why? Well, you get to choose your price and only work on what works for your budget.
It gets expensive when you begin to use influencers or celebrities that are high profile. However, if you build the right relationships, you don’t have to worry too much about price. Yes, you’ll still have to pay, but it’ll most likely be reasonable.
Even if you do pay a large amount, the fantastic thing is that you can repurpose the content for a variety of situations. You get high engagement, rich content and reasonable prices which is an all-around win. What else could you possibly need?
Find New Customers
Your brand exists among the people who have heard of it but not amongst others, yet. A lot of brands assume that having a strong brand message is the only thing they need to be successful.
A strong brand message is only a portion of it. You have to know how to share that brand message properly as well. That’s how you find new customers. Creating fan bases takes time, but with the help of influencers, you can cut the time in half. The business gets to focus on their selling while the influencers focus on the promo.
The purpose is that you change how your brand is viewed around the nation, primarily if you’re based in the united states. Finding new customers isn’t the most straightforward task.
But collaborating with others means you have fresh and exciting ways to interact with an audience that hasn’t learned about your products yet.
Set a Budget, Track Your ROI
The budget is the most critical part of all of it. It’s imperative to set a budget when dealing with the influencer market. You want to ensure that you have an ROI that fits your needs and your budget. For every dollar you spend, you should be receiving at least 1.5 times in return.
Do you have a particular dollar amount in mind? Do you measure this based on the time it takes to connect with influencers? The important thing is that you don’t go overboard. You don’t need to use every influencer in the market, just the ones that fit with your brand message.
Stick to your budget so that your ROI remains high. Taking your budget seriously is the best way to create and maintain success in the influencer market. Don’t hesitate to try out different things when it comes to your budget. There’s not a singular way to sustain success, but there are many ways to create the success you need to maintain growth.
Also, be aware that the more expensive influencer might not always be the best option. Sometimes, the cheaper alternative is there for you to save money and receive the content you need to thrive.
Change the Face of Your Brand
Influencer marketing has the potential to change the face of a brand. By utilizing this form of marketing, you’re giving your company a chance to expand in new and exciting ways.
Every-time, you use an influencer that is authentic and genuinely enjoys your brand, you’re showcasing your brand in a new light. Take your time as you move along and don’t rush your creative process. Make sure that you work with the right people. These people should be people that enjoy your brand before collaborating.
Be patient with yourself and your brand. Amazing brands aren’t built in one day. The more patient you are, the success you’ll see in the long run.
15 Comments
Ebony Kirven
I love the information that was shared. I understood everything that was mentioned. Is there a blog on how to become a successful influencer, because I would like to become a beauty influencer and would like to get tips on how.
@MoranMikey
So glad you enjoyed the article. We have tons of information on how to be a successful influencer. You can learn how to make money with influencer marketing as well as read how others are influencers themselves with our influencer interviews. The key to success is a lot of hard work and consistency, the same traits that are required to run a business.
Prisca
Very informative and thank you for sharing.
@MoranMikey
There is plenty more of this great information on the way! We want to help brands be wildly successful.
Chrishalen Epps
I enjoyed this article. Building trust is more important than anything so that potential clients aren’t afraid of purchasing any products from you & they don’t feel like they are being scammed out of their money. It’s imperative that you choose the right influencer who fits into your target audience. You don’t want to choose an influencer whose audience is mainly focused on music & your target audience is the beauty industry.
Thank you for this article.
@MoranMikey
Building trust is crucial! People buy from brands that they know and trust. Influencers can help a brand along with that journey. I usually tell our clients to make sure and utilize all aspects of working with an influencer. This includes also promoting them from a brand’s following to show that you reciprocate with social sharing. The odds of an influencer promoting you again in the future, even for free, becomes much greater because they too start to love your brand.
Shauna Thomas
This article was of course very informative and I would say motivational as well. I know that I struggle with the idea of jumping behind a camera and know that there are influencers who I myself have followed and will continue to follow. I would be most anxious about how to approach an influencer, especially considering they’re most likely used to being approached by more seasoned business owners. I can’t wait to read more on this topic and eventually working with an influencer myself.
@MoranMikey
I totally understand. Approaching influencers via DM’s and comments is not always the best way. This is another reason why we created Beauty Clout, which is specifically made for helping with these types of introductions. The “escrow” of payments also takes trust issues away from both sides. There is still more great information about how to work with influencers in the blog!
Pamela Parker
Great article, answered so many questions about influencer marketing. As a newer business, it’s so much to manage…but building clients and earning their trust is a priority. Testimonials and real people wearing your product give authenticity to your brand. I believe Beauty Clout is taking out the guesswork of finding trustworthy representation. No more inboxing “influencers” sending payment and hoping you made the right choice. The idea of escrow is a game-changer. Business is hard enough, Beauty Clout will take at least one task off my plate!
@MoranMikey
Yes, we agree that Beauty Clout is a game-changer for anyone looking to boost the marketing for their brand! If you want to learn even more about influencer marketing we suggest reading the Influencer 101 article. It should give you additional insight into the influencer marketing industry. The key is to be as knowledgeable as possible when dealing with influencers.
Keesh King
Keep going!! I have my note book.. writing the tips.. this is good stuff.. very informative..
Michelle
Okay patience is crucial…I needed to hear that!! Thank you for the great info. Definitely going to find the best influencer to change the face of my brand and gain that trust. Would it be beneficial to have a micro- and macro on your team??
Rene Burrell
I love the information that was shared. It was very informative as well as it shows me how to market my brand and what I need do…
Kaliah
The power is real! I always reflect back on ways I find out about products or how I look at reviews for everything! If someone hears about my brand, I want them to be able to look it up and find reviews, videos, pictures, etc. I know I depend on those options before I purchase any beauty product so it’s only right I do the same for my brand. It can be a challenge to get content as such, but that’s when you can use your friends and family. For example, I make wigs. I will make a wig for free if you purchase hair from me IF you agree to post pics, videos and talk about the hair. It’s kinda like a “buy-in” approach. They might not be considered as an “influencer” but they have a good amount of followers on social media and the share button can be a magical thing! Great content. Look forward to reading more.
@MoranMikey
Great points here. We are huge fans of micro-influencers and think there is a huge opportunity utilizing their marketing power for your brand. The key is to find the right influencers for your niche. Building the right relationships is going to take your brand to the top!