5WPR Co-President Dara Busch presents thoughts on the latest trends in influencer marketing.
She notes:
With the help of mediums like social media, digital marketing has greatly evolved in the last few years. Nevertheless, the world is still at the early stages of developing digital marketing because its true potential has not yet been reached. Since the start of the digital marketing industry, there have been numerous changes, with one of the biggest being the rise of influencer marketing. This type of social media marketing uses endorsements by social media influencers. Companies work with those individuals that have a dedicated social media following, or who are seen as thought leaders of their industries. This type of campaign works because people tend to trust the social media influencers they follow and getting recommendations from them works as social proof of the efficacy of companies’ products or services.
Micro-influencers
Most people believe that the best influencer marketing campaigns are done when businesses work with the biggest social media influencers, but that’s not always the case. In terms of influencer marketing, people that don’t have a large number of followers can actually produce the best results for many companies and businesses. This is because micro-influencers tend to produce more engagement, clicks, and higher returns on investment for businesses. The engagement rate is often very low for influencers that have many followers, which means that influencers with fewer followers generate higher engagement rates. It’s important to remember that businesses aren’t looking for more followers for their businesses or products if they can’t convert those followers into sales.
Upcoming Changes
The world of influencer marketing has been changing since it first started, with the focus of consumers shifting from the brands they follow to influencers that talk about different brands while recommending products. Many consumers are looking for more engaging content from the influencers they follow and want to interact with them. These days, it’s not all about following a product or a brand blindly. It’s also important to know that most consumers, when looking to connect with influencers, follow them across several social media channels. For example, if an influencer is popular on a platform like YouTube, many of their YouTube followers are going to follow their profiles on Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform they’re using. That means when companies are creating influencer marketing campaigns to promote themselves or their products, they should take other social media platforms into account, and create content with the influencer for every platform where they have an audience, instead of solely focusing on a single platform.
Working with Influencers
One of the best things about working with influencers on a marketing campaign is that many consumers view the influencers as their friends, instead of as celebrities. These types of campaigns are very cost-effective for businesses, and they tend to target niche communities in the digital space. Many influencers also tend to have high engagement rates with their audiences. Companies that are looking to take advantage of the opportunities that influencer marketing campaigns provide first have to outline their goals and expectations, as well as set a budget for their campaign. After that, it’s time to find the right influencers to work with and to verify their digital presence.
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