What is Influencer Marketing and why it matters for your brand?

June 3, 2020

Having influencers as your allies can make a difference in the success of a marketing campaign! Influencer marketing consists of taking strategic actions to promote a brand or product in partnership with people who influence potential buyers.

Influencers support customers’ purchasing decisions in favor of a particular brand, because they have established a relationship of legitimate trust and credibility with their audience. Therefore, people respect their content and recommendations. And users are much more likely to hear real people talking about products than if they were exposed to a random on-screen ad.

1. The age of the Ad Blocks

The public has become blind to conventional ads. Bombarded by ads on almost every page we enter, we learned to ignore advertising banners.

In addition, according to Customer Think, 47% of people who shop online use ad blockers. This eliminates nearly half the audience that a company can reach through online advertising. Thus, advertising lost momentum, and brands quickly learned that collaboration with Influencers is an essential method for breaking down barriers created by an ad blocker.

2. Creative expose of your brand

Influencers have acquired many followers for a reason. Anyone who has online influence has probably won by creating high-quality content that their audience finds useful and likes. Influencers are creative in editing videos and producing good photos, so when a brand works with an effective Influencer to create content, the result will be high-quality work. Leaving the elaboration of the content in the hands of the Influencer can help you generate quality material to publish on your social networks.

3. Various points of contact with the brand

The content produced by an influencer will be a good representation of the brand and can also be spread on several communication channels. Forrester’s research found that, on average, a consumer engages with 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchase.

In addition, it may be interesting to use several Influencers for the same broadcasting. A person can ignore a brand mentioned by an Influencer, but when several of them talk about the brand, the audience will certainly pay attention. The more Influencers a user contacts, the more likely they are to eventually buy a service or product from you. Individuals connected to the internet will begin to learn more about your brand or product, its history, and the solutions you offer. To ensure success, it is also important to provide useful content that adds something positive to the public experience on social media.

4. Word of mouth marketing

Word of mouth marketing has been a powerful tool for brands for decades. People are interested in hearing about the experiences of their friends and family when making a purchase decision. According to the American magazine Entrepreneur, 92% of consumers rely more on product recommendations made by people than by the brands themselves. The influencer becomes the spokesperson for the brand and talks to the audience that already follows and admires him.

All of this means that word of mouth marketing is still relevant today and Influencer Marketing is just another form of this method. Mark Schaeffer, author of the books “The Content Code” and “Return on Influence”, said:

“Technology has created new ways to help customers discover, share, and discuss their favorite products. In fact, most of our marketing is occurring without us. Today, the customers are the marketing department. We can’t buy our way into these conversations; we have to earn our way in with a new business approach that appeals to constant human truths. The businesses of the past were built on advertising impressions. Today, they are built on human impressions that help customers believe, belong, and find meaning.”

5. Proximity to the public

Through Influencers, your content is placed in front of users who are already interested in your niche. Find the ideal Influencer who already has close communication with your ideal audience and take advantage of this channel that is already open, generating engagement and increasing the reach of your message.

A company can talk to a specific audience through innovative content created by the Influencer, who recommends the brand or product to its loyal followers. More than that, the brand can generate more fluid communication with its audience under the encouragement of the Influencer, collecting opinions and feedback about its products. Companies that know how to listen to feedback and improve their performance are certainly ahead!

6. Reach the audience where it is

People are no longer looking at billboards as they walk down the street, they are likely to be staring at their cell phone screens. Consumers are fixated with social media and most of them use social media in their purchasing decisions so nothing better than using the habitat of Digital Influencers to speak to your audience.

7. High Return on Investment (ROI)

With influence marketing, ROI – return on investment – becomes something tangible and measurable, because it is possible to measure the numbers reached by the end of each campaign. It’s considered one of the most economical means – with a good cost-benefit ratio – when compared to other marketing strategies. For those companies with a tight budget, it is an interesting way to leverage results or achieve other goals.

Check out how you can use Influencer Marketing in your company and see great results for yourself!