Shane Barker — January 3, 2018 — January 3, 2018
Do you think social influencer marketing is for small businesses like mine?
Of course, it is!
But, why is Kim Kardashian going to promote my product on her Instagram?
She’s not going to.
Who, then?
There are influencers in every niche with a sizeable social media following that can help small businesses reach the right audience.
While some small businesses are still scared to try influencer marketing, there are plenty that are using it to sell their products. Businesses hesitate because they think influencer programs are expensive. There are several other myths associated with influencer marketing that keep away small businesses.
Myths Associated with Influencer Marketing
- Influencer marketing requires huge marketing budget
- It is only for big brands and companies
- Influencers only associate themselves with well-known brands
- It’s a one-time campaign
None of them are true. Small businesses can leverage influencer marketing too, even without a huge budget.
According to research conducted by BlogLovin’:
- 84% of micro-influencers charge $ 250 or less for each Instagram post
- 97% of micro-influencers charge $ 500 or less for each Instagram post
The benefits associated with influencer marketing are innumerable. According to an article by Social Media Today:
- 63% of Generation Z agree that they would prefer real people marketing to them over celebrities.
- The same article also says that 34% of millennials turn to social media to make purchasing decisions.
What’s the catch here? The point is that the followers of social influencers consider them as real people and not exactly as celebrities. This increases the trust that the influencers have with their followers and the products they market. It also means that they are a great way to sell your products on social media.
There are more benefits of influencer marketing on social media that I want to discuss with you. But, before that, I would like you to answer yourself why you need social influencer marketing.
Determine if Social Influencer Marketing is For Your Business
Are you spending your marketing budget on social media and AdWords without significant results?
If so, then influencer marketing is for you. 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media reference. If you are already marketing on social media, and your advertisements are not paying off, you need a change. Influencers can help you build credibility on social media.
Are your competitors doing well on social media, but you’re not?
Since your competitors are doing well on social media, it means your target customers are extensively using social media. If so, then again, you have to improve your social media strategies. And influencer marketing can be a great way to do so.
The ROI of influencer marketing is 11 times more than traditional digital marketing. And picking the right influencers will give you an edge over your competitors.
Is your social media growth stagnant? Or do you want to rapidly grow your social media followings?
You have tried multiple platforms but your social media followings are not growing like you want them to. Finding the right influencers will help you reach new audiences. You need word-of-mouth and your influencer’s recommendations will get you fresh engagement.
If your answers are yes, then you know that you are in need of influencer marketing. It has many potential benefits that traditional marketing lacks.
Benefits of Social Influencer Marketing for Small Businesses
#1 Increase in conversions
Social media has become a powerful medium to buy online and offline, especially for millennials. Just like affiliates drive traffic to a product website to increase its sales, influencers do the same. Influencers are valued by their followers. And their support of your brand can increase brand loyalty for your product.
Let’s look at some examples:
A fashion influencer helped Gymshark grow from $ 0 to $ 1.5 M in two years.
How did they start? They started by finding fashion influencers on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube. The influencers had to wear Gymshark clothes, and in exchange for free clothing, they would endorse Gymshark.
Each of these influencers had more than thousands of influencers, which automatically increased exposure for Gymshark.
Scentbird grew from $ 0 to $ 75K monthly revenue with influencer marketing.
How did they start? They began with a YouTube influencer with over 150,000 followers. She reviewed a product for them on YouTube, and they got 100 sales in a span of 2 days.
A complete game changer for them, they focused on influencer marketing thereafter.
If you have just started, or already selling through social media, influencers can help you do so, and drive higher conversions. They can help drive website traffic as well as increase your product sales.
However, a lot of marketers still experience some issue with ROI tracking. So if you wish to understand the increase in sales, traffic, and conversions from your campaign, it would be wise to invest in a comprehensive tool.
Influencer marketing tools like Grin or Buzzsumo can be an excellent choice for influencer marketing campaign performance and ROI tracking. They have made influencers more accessible for a small business like yours.
#2 Increase Brand Awareness and Engagement
Influencers with massive reach can help you reach an audience that you cannot reach on your own, even with regular ads. If you find the right influencer in your niche, they will get you segmented traffic.
Your influencers tag your brand which drives traffic to your social media channels and gets you new followers. They can also help you promote contests like giveaways that directly boost your sales and increase your conversions. They can ask their followers to tag friends which will improve their post’s reach as well.
Let’s look at an example from Cottonelle:
Cottonelle partnered with 30 parenting and lifestyle influencers. Influencers created their own original stories around the brand’s products. In all, 700 pieces of content was created.
The result was a total reach of 6M people and 23,000 online engagement including clicks, likes, shares, and comments.
Such is the power of influencer in providing you the brand awareness you need.
#3 Increase your Customer Database
Getting customer signups is always a long-term strategy because you want to keep in touch with your customers no matter what.
How is an influencer helpful in getting you customer signups? Simply put, an influencer acts as a catalyst. The same list that you will take months to build, influencers build it for you in weeks.
Here’s an example on how Moz helped increase sign-ups for NinjaOutreach:
Isn’t that brilliant for a business that is just starting? An influencer can help you increase your database and you have successfully handed over a complex task to someone else.
There are several other examples where influencers have helped businesses grow their customer list. They could write blogs around your products or a mention by them could increase your customer signup.
Other benefits of influencer marketing campaigns are increasing your brand loyalty, brand trust, and creating quality content for your business.
If you believe that influencer marketing can truly help you, then remember this is just the beginning. You have to find the right influencer and develop an effective influencer marketing strategy to optimize your ROI.
You can use platforms like HYPR, Onalytica, NeoReach, and the Mention tools to find your influencers and manage your relationships with influencers.
Share With Us
We would really like to know how you plan your influencer marketing campaigns for your business and what obstacles you come across. Comment with your problems and we will help you build a successful influencer marketing strategy.
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