Influencers are people with a wide fan following who can make a significant difference when they don the role of brand ambassadors or business promoters. They serve as a trusted link between the business or brand and its potential clients, convincing people to try out a particular brand of products or avail services from a specific company.
Let’s check out how best to use influencers to boost business prospects.
Defining the Goal of a Marketing Exercise
A marketing goal has to be in place to decide on the right influencer. Based on the type of products/services being marketed and the targeted niche, influencers for different marketing channels most likely are bound to differ. For instance, a theatre or film personality in the role of a brand ambassador may be ideal to promote a brand of cosmetics, while office stationery can be promoted by customer reviews from users who have found the product useful.
Choosing the Right Influencer
With a clear goal in place, businesses need to work on the potential buyer personas (traits) and shortlist the influencers who are most likely to appeal to this target group. Selecting the most powerful influencer from this list is the standard way ahead. However, businesses can take a calculated risk and choose any one influencer, who they see fit for the task.
Picking the Apt Marketing Channels
Yet again, the product and potential client base are crucial factors that decide the marketing channels. For example, B2B promotions are bound to be more effective on LinkedIn rather than on Instagram, which is more ideal for direct marketing to end users (B2C). Needless to emphasize that it is also important for the chosen influencer to be active and popular on the chosen marketing channel.
Again, not all products need to be promoted on social media. Sponsored blog posts (exclusives and product roundups) and product reviews can ramp up SEO rankings, automatically lending the brand a visibility when users start looking for specific offerings. Businesses must make sure to adequately compensate influencers for their efforts, and compensation packages tend to vary based on the type of promotional material requested and the authority of the influencer. It is important that promotional efforts are commensurate with the compensation offered.
It is also customary for businesses to send out complimentary kits for influencers to use before they post a feature blog, product review, or a social media mention. Brand ambassadors, however, must have access to latest brand merchandise both for personal use and for promotional purposes on social media and marketing events as well.
Integrating Influencer Marketing with Marketing Mix
Advantages of influencer marketing can further be leveraged by making it an integral part of the business’s marketing mix. That way, celebrity endorsements or brand ambassador promotions can be further supported by reviews and customer feedback to make the reach even more authentic and emphatic, earning the trust of potential buyers and convincing them to try the products or services being marketed.
Leveraging the reputation, reach and mass appeal of such influencers in the right manner can prove a rewarding marketing technique!