By today’s standards, social influence marketing, or influencer marketing, is a relatively new form of marketing. It uses the social influence of certain individuals (celebrities, bloggers, thought leaders, etc), to affect the behavior of consumers.
Defining Social Influence Marketing:
According to Wikipedia, influencer marketing is a type of marketing that emerged from a variety of recent practices and studies. Its main focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) instead of the target market as a whole.
Influencers are the ones who make it all possible. Typically, social media and blogging experts have a massive and loyal following; they hold the power to affect consumer decisions to a high degree. These individuals can be found on every social platform, in every niche imaginable; makeup artist and beauty blogger Huda Kattan, social media (Instagram and YouTube) star and actress Lele Pons, and Joy Cho with her creative brand influence on Pinterest.
Some Compelling Statistics:
- In an article dated July 7, 2014, Forbes stated that Nielson, a leading global data analytics company, did a study indicating that 92% of people will turn to those they know for recommendations, over other sources
- According to McKinsey & Company, a reported 37% higher retention rate through WOMM (word of mouth marketing) generates twice as many sales as paid advertising with customers
- A study by Tomoson, surveying 125 marketers online in March of 2015, states that ROI (return on investment) is $6.50 for every $1 invested on social influencer marketing
The Social Influencer Role:
The use of social influencers is the key to a successful marketing campaign, increasing brand exposure, and sales. Influencers take various paths to work in tandem with brands on influencer campaigns.
Some of the possibilities include:
- Twitter parties with one to hundreds of influencers
- Blog articles on your behalf
- Product reviews
- Share your company’s brand, products, or launches on their platforms
- YouTube product or ad videos
- In-person coverage of a launch party or opening, with social media coverage
Social influencers will make use of a singular path similar to those mentioned above or use any combination thereof.
Soc
ial influencers have built their livelihood by writing, V-logging, blogging, and pinning, day in and day out. Certain influencers gain large followings due to their unique voice and quirkiness, others for their authority. Look at it this way, an influencer is their own personal brand; they’re professional marketers who have generated a near colossal following, most often due to a tenacity for being authentic, bold, different, and determined. Many influencers began their YouTube channel or blog as a personal project that grew into envy-worthy social influence quality content over time, while others set out to become social influencers and targeted their content as such. Their initial intention, however, doesn’t matter; what’s important for brands is the influencer’s ability to have a Midas touch when it comes to social media content.
Working with Social Influencers:
Working with a social influencer on an influencer marketing campaign is a great idea, but where do you begin? Connecting directly with influencers can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. An online article published by Entrepreneur provides some ideas about how to connect with high-profile influencers on your own. If you choose to go it alone, how will you be able to tell if someone holds a significant enough social influence to make an impact worthy of an influencer marketing campaign? One of the best things to do is take a look at their social influencer score on outlets such as PeerIndex or PeopleBrowsr’s tool Kred; these scores measure things like reach, engagement, and other factors.
What are the benefits of collaborating directly with influencers? You’ll have an opportunity to cultivate a relationship with that person. You’ll have a sense of control over your social influence campaign. You’ll be able to direct your content when and where you wish.
Drawbacks? Most influencers worth working with are represented by influencer marketing agencies, so even if you are able to contact them directly you might be dealing with a 3rd party anyhow. Other challenges may include negotiated compensation, managing a long-term, multi-platform campaign with numerous influencers can become complicated and overwhelming, and keeping influencers engaged with your campaign over another campaign can become difficult, when working agent-free.
Contact the team at CosMarketing Agency to pair you with the right social influencer to help brand your prodcuts and get people talking about your company! Our first 30-min consultation with your team is free. CONTACT US about our SERIVCES 7-days a week at 407-334-9378 or at CosMarketingAgency@gmail.com!
