Influence marketing, a major asset for your strategy
Influence marketing is a widespread phenomenon. It is now at the heart of millions of companies’ strategies and according to a recent study, the influence marketing industry is expected to be worth $15 billion by 2022 (Business Insider, 2021).
But then, should you really make influencer marketing a priority for your business development? Are the benefits of influencer marketing sufficient compared to the expenses involved?
Discover the answers to all your questions and the advice of our experts on influencer marketing in this article.
What is influence marketing?
Definition
Influence marketing is a mode of communication that is based on trust and recommendation. It is a form of marketing that relies on influential people. It can be recognized artists, content creators or influencers on social networks. This form of advertising is not based on a purely commercial approach, but rather on a relationship of trust between the client and the sender of the message. The goal of influencer marketing is to project a positive image of your company or product through an influential personality connected to your brand.
Influence marketing is used by brands to increase their visibility, improve their sales and create a community from the fans of a well-known public figure.
Which platform should I use for influence marketing?
Many platforms exist today that bring together different communities. The first thing to do is to decide what type of influence marketing you want to do. After that, you will be able to find the platform that best fits your expectations. Here are some examples:
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Instagram
It’s the most popular platform for influence marketing because it’s easy to post photos and videos on Instagram. It’s also easy for people who don’t use social media much to understand how Instagram works, making it easier for them to follow their favorite accounts!
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Facebook
The network has over 2 billion active users worldwide, making it another great option for influence marketing campaigns. Facebook also offers more targeting options than other platforms, so you can be sure your content will be seen by the right people.
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YouTube
If your brand sells products that can be easily demonstrated in video form, YouTube might be a good choice for your campaign. You can find many different types of videos on the platform.
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TikTok
The platform has over 1 billion active users worldwide and is an ideal platform for influence marketing campaigns, as it is mainly used by young people (18-24 years old).
Who are the influencers?
While the term “influencer” is relatively new, it is becoming more common to hear about influence marketing. But what is an influencer? And why is their influence important?
For many people, the term “influencer” may bring to mind reality TV stars or social media celebrities who have gained a large following through their posts and videos. While these types of influencers do exist, they are not the only ones that can be leveraged for your brand. In fact, some of the most effective influencers don’t even have a large number of followers – they just have a lot of influence over their audience.
What makes someone an influencer? There are three main factors: expertise, trustworthiness and reach. To be an influencer, a person must be an expert in a particular field (a topic or industry), be able to convey information about that topic in a reliable and authentic way (what we call “authenticity”), and have access to a large audience with whom they can share content (reach). Combined together, these three elements constitute an influencer’s ability to change the lives of others by sharing information or ideas with them via various digital platforms
The benefits of influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has many advantages, which are attracting more and more companies. Here are some of them:
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Influence marketing is effective because it is personal. A brand may offer great products or services, but the people who buy are individuals with their own unique needs and tastes. If a brand wants to connect with and sell to its customers, it needs to understand these people on a personal level – and influencers can help.
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Influence marketing is also cost-effective because it doesn’t require a large advertising budget. Instead of paying a lot of money for traditional advertising campaigns that only reach a small percentage of people who might be interested in your product or service, you can pay influencers to talk about what they like about your company and products – and these recommendations are much more likely to be trusted by their followers than any advertising ever could be!
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Influencers’ audiences trust them because they seem more authentic than traditional ads – and because they are real people who have real relationships with their followers (rather than just spokespeople hired by brands). This means that when an influencer recommends something, people listen!
Tips for a successful influence marketing strategy
Influence marketing is a great way to market your product or service, but it can be difficult to get started. Here are some tips for implementing an influencer marketing strategy.
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Be clear about what you want to accomplish
You need to start by determining your goals. Are you trying to increase brand awareness, get more conversions on your site, or both? Answering this question will help you identify the right influencers and determine how much to spend on the campaign. The first thing you need to decide is whether you want to use influencers who have a large audience (like YouTube stars) or influencers who have a smaller audience but are more targeted (like beauty bloggers). A larger audience will give you more reach, but it will also be harder to get the right message through the filters of all those people. A smaller audience will give you more control over the type of content that reaches your potential customers, but it will be harder for them to find your product.
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Choose the right platform for your campaign
There are many different platforms where influencers can be found, so it is important that you choose the one that works best with your goals and budget. Some of the most popular platforms include Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, among others.
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Establish a budget before contacting anyone
It is important to identify, in addition to the previous points, what budget you wish to allocate to this influence marketing campaign. Your budget will allow you to target a more precise type of influencer (not all have the same budget requirements).
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Choose the right influencers
You need to make sure you’re working with people who already have a large following, so they can help you reach your target audience. Also, the influencer you choose should fit your brand’s vision and mindset.
Habefast, an effective solution for your influence marketing
Our digital agency Habefast helps you to implement your influencer marketing strategy in line with your global strategy. Our team, composed of communication and marketing experts, will be happy to help you develop your online presence in order to increase your business.
In addition, our subsidiary Influenceurs.ch offers the possibility of putting you in touch with a database of more than 500 influencers in Romande Switzerland for your future influence campaigns.