Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a personal and intimate form of marketing that focuses on specific individuals, or a specific type of individual, rather than the target audience in general. Influencer marketing seeks to target individuals who may have the power to influence a wide array of buyers, and so businesses and advertisers will put effort into appealing to them the most.

Focusing on the key leaders of a niche group or audience can help increase awareness of your company’s brand, product, and services. Influencer marketing can be achieved either through pure inspiration, or by paying key leaders to promote your product for you.

Often, businesses will couple influencer marketing tactics with social media and content marketing strategies. These work well together because they can all be shared through more personal Internet channels, and they carry a social aspect to them. That helps to gain the individual’s trust and loyalty.

All the Details

There are several key components of influencer marketing that distinguish it from other forms of marketing. Many people may think that influencer marketing, advocate marketing, and word-of-mouth marketing are synonymous, but they are really quite different. The key details of influencer marketing that distinguish it from the others are:

• Influencer marketing seeks to identify top brand influencers and individuals who have an impact on the rest of the target audience
• Influencer marketing will create a campaign specifically for these individuals
• Influencer marketing will then make another campaign that those individuals can use to promote to the resulting audience
• Influencer marketing is concerned with brand awareness, sales, and overall reach for a product or service

So, who exactly is the influencer? This individual can be a lot of different things: They can be a top buyer, a top supplier, a top reviewer, or simply a third-party member who can be used to connect businesses with more customers. Influencer marketing has also been called the “two-step flow of communication”, as it reaches an influencer first, then through the influencer it reaches an audience.

How Influencer Marketing Really Works

There are a variety of reasons why influencer marketing is on the rise, and why it has been deemed one of the most successful marketing tactics available over the Internet. This is because with influencer marketing, others can do the work for you. Social media channels come to life to help you do your job. There are a few things you can consider when you plan an influencer marketing campaign:

• Prices are increasing – The more popular a certain brand becomes, the more people are willing to pay for its exposure. When Vine was first launched, branded Vines were only making a few hundred dollars; now, top branded vines can make tens of thousands of dollars for a viral Vine.
• People are tired of paid advertisements – Use this to your advantage as influencer marketing becomes more popular. Stay away from paid advertisements, as they are simply thrown in the customer’s face and it may create negativity around your brand.

Influencer marketing is an essential component of promoting yourself on social media and throughout the Internet. By getting key individuals on your side, they can promote your business for you, while you gain more and more profit from it.