Guest Contribution by Shane Barker
Did you know that by 2020, influencer marketing is projected to become a $10 billion industry according to Mediakix data?
For every $1 spent on influencer marketing, a company is making, on average, anywhere between $5.20 and $18. That is some great ROI, And that is why influencer marketing is predicted to keep gaining traction as we enter 2020.
These are not numbers that brand managers and marketers can afford to ignore.
Perhaps the most staggering statistic to keep in mind is that 92% of responders from an Influencer Marketing Hub survey believe that influencer marketing is effective.
If you work in marketing and you need to get approval and budgets in-line to introduce influencer marketing, we have completed the research for you.
While many brands are aware of all of the benefits of influencer marketing, there are still some companies that have not explored this lucrative marketing method. Today we bring you all the reasons why you need to either introduce influencers into your strategies or simply continue and grow your influencer campaign.
1: Influencers Drive Sales
Making sales is the goal of all marketing efforts, right?
Influencers generate sales, and they do so very well. Many brands report an immediate jump in traffic and conversions when influencer posts live content about the company’s products and services. As more people visit the influencer’s page, the sales continue for many weeks after the live event.
Motorola launched an influencer campaign for the Moto Z family and the Moto Mods. They partnered with 13 YouTube influencers. This generated 11.6 million views, 38.1 million social impressions, and an impressive 122,000 clicks.
2: Influencer Content is Highly Effective
Influencers are mini publishers, and they are extremely effective at what they do. They know how to engage their audiences and get the reaction they want. They can be like expert PR reps for your brand.
Perhaps the hardest part of launching a new product or service is to gain the trust of your target customers. Influencers are trusted by their followers, streamlining that process for you.
Combine this trust with engaging content, and you have a winning marketing campaign in your hands. A word of caution, though. When you work with influencers, always ask for permission and approval to share or reuse their content.
3: They are Brand Awareness Experts
Influencers are experts in creating brand awareness. This is their primary focus when creating content. They are so good at it that if you do some research, you can find influencers speaking about a single product for over an hour.
Even the creator of a product might have a hard time engaging in a one hour presentation about it.
Influencers are the kings and queens of PR.
However, raising brand awareness with the right audience requires working with the right influencers. Make sure you search for relevant influencers in your niche to reach the right people.
4: They Have Trust and Authority
Trust and authority are why influencers are such an effective sales channel for your product or service.
For the past few years, we have seen a drop in consumer interest in ads. At the same time, we’ve noticed how people are shying away from creating deep, meaningful relationships.
It’s becoming rarer for people to seek the advice of their friends for a product when they can get the latest news from their favorite influencer.
Influencers know this and are stepping up to fill this gap. They are always there, giving you a shout out and instantly making you feel special, right?
They know that you no longer trust traditional ads, or companies advertising their own products or services. So they capitalize on the existing trust they’ve created with their audiences.
It’s no wonder why influencers are quickly becoming the holy grail of marketing.
5: Influencers Will Engage on a Whole New Level
Any marketing department will do its best to respond and engage with consumers. But they usually do not have as much time to do so as influencers.
An influencer is there to engage 100% with their audience, essentially giving their ultimate attention to your potential client base. As such, they can create the deep trust and connections needed to sell your product.
Their survival relies on engagement. They do not have a stable paycheck like marketers and advertising agencies. Which is often why they will work so much harder for their income. They will push and go that extra step to keep everyone happy.
Influencers often have the following important traits:
- They are very creative.
- They are givers. They give their time, attention, and empathy to their audience.
- They are extremely curious, which is always fun to watch.
- They are transparent and highly confident.
- They do not function in fear. They prefer excitement and attention.
The above traits are necessary for successful brand ambassadors.
6: Influencers Know Their Audiences
Influencers generally do not have a client persona or a perfect profile of who they want to target.
Instead, they create real relationships with their followers.
This approach will allow you to reach people that you might have originally considered as potential clients.
7: The ROI of Influencer Marketing is Strong
According to Mediakix, 89% of marketers report the ROI from influencer marketing to be comparable or better than other channels.
Many marketers are worried about including influencer marketing in their strategies because they are unsure about how to measure the ROI. However, there are many ways to measure the ROI of influencer marketing.
You will need Google Analytics in place or another analytics tool. You will also need some good organization and pacing.
Here are some tips to help you measure the ROI of influencer marketing:
- Issue a new link with a UTM for each influencer you bring on board. Then monitor those UTM links and you will be able to see how much traffic you are getting from each influencer.
- Alternatively, you can issue a discount code for each influencer. The influencer can share this code with their audience, offering them a 10% discount or a free gift with purchase, for example. Again, using analytics, you can see how many times the code has been used.
- At the same time, you can organize your influencer marketing by simply launching only one influencer campaign per week. Then you can see your sales and get a general idea of how well the particular campaign is working.
8: They Have a Strong Existing Follower Base
This is particularly important to consider especially for companies that are just launching.
Instead of spending big money on building up your social media presence (although that needs to happen eventually), it is much more effective to work with an influencer who already has an audience ready for you.
Conclusion
Finding the right influencers for your brand needs to be on your to-do list for 2020.
Consumers view them as trusted sources of information, and they are experts at working with brands.
Clearly, influencer marketing is the next big channel for growing awareness and sales.
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Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is the co-founder of Attrock, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.
Connect with Shane on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
