A Look at How Social Media and Influencers are Changing the Way Companies Market

A Look at How Social Media and Influencers are Changing the Way Companies Market People spend a large chunk of their day on various social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. They often use these apps to connect with friends or share important events happening in their life. For companies, however, it opens new avenues for them to market their business and bring in a new audience. Companies dedicate a significant chunk of their budget toward marketing channels. Since social media is now mainstream, many companies are focusing on looking for customers. Social media marketing helps small businesses target and acquire customers at a lower CPA (cost-per-acquisition). It allows them to compete with big brands even at a smaller budget. The rise of social media marketing has also increased the role of influencers on different platforms. These influencers have fans in the millions, and are reshaping how companies market to bring in a new audience. So, what is influencer marketing? Will it continue to grow? And how can your business benefit from it? We will discuss all these things so you can leverage influencer marketing and get a competitive edge. Let’s start by understanding what it is.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing entails advertising and promoting your product with the help of influencers and content creators on different social media platforms. These influencers can advertise your products via recommendations or endorsements. Usually, companies use influencer marketing strategies to create brand awareness, but they can also increase their sales and conversions through it. The concept of influencer marketing is not new since it even dates back to the earlier years of the internet, between 2005 and 2006. However, it has changed significantly in the last decade. Most influencers saw a rise in popularity after Instagram launched in 2010. Influencers and content creators started to stand out for the videos they made, and would even promote products for various brands. Since these influencers have a good fan following, companies can target them for their products. Today, influencers exist on so many mediums, such as YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. These platforms focus specifically on videos, allowing you to market your brand through visual cues alone. If you want to focus more on blogging, you can get help from influencers who have gathered an audience on platforms like Pinterest or Facebook. Influencer marketing helps you connect with your target audience much more easily and better. For instance, cosmetics and makeup brands can collaborate with a social media influencer with substantial followers. These influencers can help:

• Market your products
• Increase brand recognition
• Target more prospects
• Improve overall ROI

What Does The Future Hold for Influencer Marketing?

While social media and influencer media marketing continue to play a vital role in businesses’ marketing campaigns, many have their doubts if they will have the same impact in the future. Many people consider it a bandwagon that will likely fade away with time. That is not the case since social media has become integral to our daily lives. People spend hours on social media and even use it as a search engine to find products or services they need. Here are a few reasons influencer marketing will stay and continue to grow in the long run.

1. Influencers Are Much More Connected with the Audience

Social media influencers post about their day-to-day activities, giving people a transparent view of their journey. The influencers have a straightforward story on their social media platforms, which shows how they dealt with challenges and started to grow over time. They can build an honest and transparent relationship with their fans. Therefore, people following these influencers will follow their opinions about a particular brand. We can expect to see the same thing continue to grow in the next few years to come.

2. Different Marketing Agencies are Using this Tactic

Over the last few years, many marketing agencies have contacted and maintained good relations with various social media influencers. These agencies use various influencers’ services to market their clients’ brands on different platforms. Consequently, the business around social media influencers continues to expand. Companies rely on marketing agencies to save costs and stay updated about the changing trends. Since the marketing agencies continue to use influencer marketing more than ever, we can probably see an increase in it over time.

3. Number of Social Media Platforms is Increasing Rapidly

Only a handful of social media platforms were available a decade ago. But, today, there are too many to reasonably focus on. The rise of TikTok, Snapchat, etc., indicates how we can expect to see more platforms in the future. As a result, that will only increase the number of influencers on different platforms. It will also allow businesses to target the influencers on their audience’s platforms the most. This way, influencer marketing will play a much more significant role in the marketing campaigns of a person.

4. Better Content Options

Social media marketing is continuously evolving, and brands can have better options to connect with their target audience. The case is no different for influencer marketing since new content options allow influencers to promote your brand much better. The short reels, IGTV, and Facebook/Instagram live are primary examples of how the influencers can promote and advertise your brand. With new ways coming in, we can expect influencer marketing to grow further.

Step-by-Step Process to Make an Influencer Marketing Strategy

A good strategy can ensure you can leverage it in the best possible way and enjoy an optimal ROI. You can get a clear roadmap for the process, which will help you measure your progress along the way. Here is the step-by-step process you should follow.

Step 1 – Decide on the Goal and Aims You Want To Achieve

First things first, you need to have a clear goal that you want to achieve from the social media marketing strategy. Brands have different objectives that they want to achieve through influencer marketing, such as:

• Attracting a new target audience
• Boosting Lead Generation
• Building Brand awareness
• Enhancing their revenues
• Increasing brand recognition

These goals will help you measure the progress of your influencer marketing campaign. You can know whether or not you are getting the result you aim to achieve through it.

Step 2 – Picking the Right Influencers

The next step entails finding the right influencers who can talk to your target audience directly and offer budget-friendly rates. You might find macro-influencers and celebrities to get a higher target audience, but their rates might not be affordable for you. On the other hand, influencers with low rates won’t have the same impact. Therefore, you need to do proper research and find the right influencers who can get your message across to their followers. You can look for the influencers for your product or service and pick the one that offers a reasonable rate with a significant number of followers.

Step 3 – Connect with Influencers

Once you find the right influencers for your brand, you need to get in touch with them. The best way to identify influencers is to use various tools that help you find influencers in your niche on various platforms. Similar to tools like Canva, which you can use for graphics and design, you will find a wide range of software that can help you connect with the right influencers. It will make the search easier for you.

Takeaway

Influencer marketing is the best strategy to help you find new clients for your business in no time. It allows small and medium businesses to use their limited resources in the best possible way. A vital point to note is that it will likely play a much more significant role for brands in the future. So, it is better to start creating an influencer strategy to help you increase sales or spread the word about your brand.