The value of influencer marketing

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

The value of influencer marketing

welcome to another episode of Weekly Marketing Tips. I'm Brad Batesole and this week, I want to talk about influencer marketing. You see, the web and all of its content is fragmented into incredibly narrow markets. So, influencers pop up over night and gain traction into these markets through the likes of YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and even the seemingly old school blog. A celebrity endorsement used to be the holy grail, but now, tapping into an influencer who speaks to a loyal base of followers is the real prize.

And influencers attract attention because they're contributing authentically to a community of like-minded individuals. We've got moms blogging about their life and the struggle to raise children, reaching other moms who appreciate those stories. And then we have incredibly talented scientists crafting YouTube videos of a viral quality, and even an entire audience dedicated to a small leather worker turning out beautiful photos of his work on Instagram. Think about your own internet habits.

Do you fill idle time consuming content from a person whom you admire, trust, or aspire to be like? Finding a way to interact and engage with influencers should be part of any comprehensive marketing strategy because as you identified, we all have those people whom we look up to, aspire to be like, or admire. And because we have that connection with this influencer, from there, whatever they do or say, has an opportunity to motivate a transaction.

So, let's look at three key highlights of influencer marketing and then briefly discuss how you can get started. First, influencers provide social proof, what they wear, listen to, where they go, what they use. This inspires communities. They have affirmed that this product is something they like and value. People really don't mind being sold to as long as the seller is authentic and is within their social circle. Secondly, contrary to popular belief, influencers are affordable.

Depending on the reach of an influencer, deals can be had in exchange for free product or often in the sub-$500 range. And third, influencers cut through the noise. Influencer marketing has proven to cure ad fatigue more than any other marketing channel to date. And why is that? Well, it's simply put, consumers want value. They get more value out of an influencer than they do out of an ad. An influencer outreach program is more valuable now than it has ever been.

Remember, it's not necessarily the size of the audience that gets results. Rather, it's the quality of the content and the ability of the influencer to promote your brand in an authentic manner. But, I don't want to make it sound too easy. You see, the hardest part of influencer marketing is finding the right influencers and then negotiating the terms of the promotion. So to do that, you'll need to look into people with a moderate following in your niche. You can take a look at some tools such as BuzzSumo, TapInfluence, and Followerwonk to get you started on your hunt.

Just remember, target influencers that are authentic to the niche you're in and be sure to pick truly influential people, not just someone who can be a brand advocate. I want you to really be thinking on the power and importance of influencer marketing and I encourage you to dig deeper into the topic and invest energy in adding this tactic to your overall strategy.

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