What is Influence Marketing?
The literal translation of the term “Influence marketing” means: “influencer marketing”. Influencers are opinion leaders who have the gift of influencing the public through social media. In most cases, they are experts, bloggers or celebrities who have a certain authority in society and are willing to tell their followers about your product.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Advantages of promoting through an Influencer:
- Nativeness in terms of the organic infusion of the promotional post into the main content of the page owner.
- Targeting of the message.
- Interest of potential consumers in going to the site or profile providing the advertised services.
- Operational feedback to communicate the audience’s reaction to the message, their actions, feedback, etc.
- The longevity of the project. The published post remains in the account for quite a long time.
- Cost-effectiveness. A properly chosen expert and well-crafted offer greatly increases its effectiveness.
Disadvantages:
- Lack of quality assurance.
- Risk of presenting your product in a negative way.
- Difficulty in finding a leader in a highly specialized field.
Strategy development
Product promotion through Influencer Marketing requires step-by-step preparation:
- definition of objectives. Think about what you want to achieve. This will make it easier to choose an Influencer and write a promotional post.
- audience research. The main criteria for assessing prospective clients are: Socio-demographic characteristics in the form of gender, age, location and other data; Type of content demanded; Behavioural characteristics.
- initiation of searches. The initial selection of bloggers should consist of about ten or more people suitable for you in terms of engagement, number of live followers, etc.
- Present an offer that describes its value and benefits to the blogger and its subscribers in the long term. Offer a convenient payment scheme in the form of remuneration per post, per sale or barter – promotion for providing a service or product. Don’t frame the Influencer by telling him what to do and how to do it. A free, creative person knows their audience well enough, what they are interested in and how they perceive new information.
- Tracking effectiveness. From the beginning of cooperation, it is recommended to regularly check the development of your resource using one of the statistical services, such as Google Analytics. If the advertising message is located in a social network, you can see the results in a special section. Do not deviate from your goals. Keep an eye on the metrics and don’t forget to calculate the ROI for the most accurate assessment of the effectiveness of your investment.
Bottom line
If you select the right expert and make the right offer, the benefits of Influence marketing are clear. Good timing and careful adherence to recommendations will ensure a mutually beneficial partnership on a long-term basis.