What’s influencer marketing?

Focusing on using influential figures or key leaders to drive your brand’s message to a larger audience, that you may not have access to already. Your business can work with an influencer to directly share with their own large following all of your brand’s key messages, including product information or services. They can also provide regular highly valued reviews. These are all an alternative to directly marketing to a large group of consumers.

How does influencer marketing work?

1. Research is key – you should identify your target audience and determine who they are most influenced by – who do they follow online? What do they like on social media? This information can identify which influencers would be best suited.
2. Working with the right influencer – you should consider the following:
   
   
   • Do they fit your brand?
   • Do they have high social media stats?
   • Do they have a big following?
   • Do they have a high level of engagement on their posts?
3. Approaching your influencer – it’s important to build a relationship, it’s likely you’re not the only brand approaching them for support. You’ll need to put your brand ‘front of mind’ before asking for their help. You usually have to pay a fee in return for a set amount of social media coverage, blog coverage and ‘likes’, or free products, meals or services can be offered in return for their testimonials.
4. Set KPIs – make sure your chosen influencer is aware of what you are trying to achieve from the outset, before you make an investment in their service.

How can influencers help your business?

There are several ways that influencers can help amplify your brand’s messages, here’s a few of our favourites:

1. ROI – with KPIs set, the ROI can be huge. An influencer’s blog or social media posts can last a long time compared to a paid campaign. You can often see results instantly.
2. It beats traditional PR – writing a press release can have its benefits, but there is often no guarantee that it will be published and sadly, never seen. An influencer gives you more control over the message, as well as shining a light on the work completed.
3. Influencers create brand trust – authenticity is key. If an influencer has their say and engages with 10,000 followers about your brand, they are almost sure to listen and want to try your product or service.
4. Creating awareness – setting strict KPIs for sales conversions or not, you can pretty much guarantee brand awareness and brand visibility to a new audience or following that you may not have created previously.