Why Is Influencer Marketing So Popular?
This tactic is used because it works. More than 90% of marketers who have used influencer marketing feel that it is effective, sources confirm. And while social media training courses in Pretoria offer excellent, customised marketing advice, it’s up to you to keep abreast with the latest trends and influencers within your industry.
Realistically, however, not every brand has the resources to snag an influencer – which is fine! You, as a social media management company or a brand, can still exploit the basic principles that govern this method’s success by honing the elements that render positive marketing results. Take what you have at your disposal and evoke the same overwhelmingly positive effect for your social media marketing campaigns just as an influencer whispering sweet somethings in your audience’s ears would – minus some of the risks!
1. A Tailored Experience
When you follow an influencer you keep tabs on his or her life. Thus you should be using your social media platforms in such a way that your audience can relate to and share what you post, as though you’re a family passing around a photo album in which everyone features; page through the album as an outsider and you’ll pick up on a common, familiar thread you can’t quite define because it’s so deeply personal and layered.
Any digital marketing company will attest to the fact that the first question you’re meant to ask, is: Who? Influencers determine this by regularly interacting with their followers, thus their success is perpetuated because they know, understand and grow with their audience on a personal level. Get to know your followers, really get to know what fulfils and inspires the individual, and refrain from posting static, isolated or generic content.
2. Relationships and Not Campaigns
Influencers are real people, a lot of whom rose to social media fame without so much as a webcam; herein lies the appeal. Foster a relatable, human brand and you’ll connect to other humans because regardless of your specific marketing goals, social media is all about building relationships. As Internet pioneer Jay Baer states, “Social media allows big companies to act small again.” Default to an approachable person, not merely a brand, and you level the communication fields. When you truly put the consumer at the forefront of your social efforts you’re activating rather than just (potentially) collecting fans, or, relationships.
3. Grow Old Together
The value of relationships tends to grow over time. To illustrate, influencers are present, consistently earning their followers’ trust by uploading original content. You need to mimic the influencer’s capacity to transcend conventional demographics through a reduced emphasis on primary reach. Your secondary audience might be less likely to buy from you but it can be a powerful force and a strategic asset. It would be a mistake to neglect the relationships that don’t promise immediate conversion potential. Be proactive about opportunities and long-term goals as a fan makes a veritable commitment when he or she decides to follow an influencer, or in this case, a brand, and ultimately expects something in return.
Exert the passion of an influencer, engage with your brand’s followers as though they are peers, and to quote Jay Baer once more, recruit your “volunteer marketing army.”
Contact Starbright, a social media marketing agency South Africa, if you wish to be introduced to your unique social audience.