An influencer is someone who has a loyal following within a particular niche. They are usually on a social network but can also include bloggers. They share posts related to this niche – whether that’s tips on places to travel, vegan recipes or other topics.

Influencers can affect the purchase decisions of their followers through recommendations, as their followers want to emulate their lifestyle.

WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?

Influencer marketing is where businesses advertise through people of influence, in order to reach a new and relevant audience.

Businesses have been collaborating with bloggers for many years, but working with social influencers has recently grown in popularity and has become an integral part of most company marketing strategies. From big-time influencers like Zoella to more niche influencers like Sorsasta, there’s an influencer out there for everyone.

WHY USE INFLUENCERS OVER CELEBRITY MARKETING?

Celebrity marketing is in essence, influencer marketing, but on a much larger scale. The difference between the two is that celebrities tend to have little association or connection to the product that they are promoting, while influencers will be established within the niche of the product they are promoting.

As such, influencer marketing generally has a much better ROI as their following is much more likely to be engaged in said niche and believe that the influencer buys the product, rather than simply being paid to promote it.

WHY USE INFLUENCERS OVER CONTENT MARKETING?

Content marketing is important to any business marketing strategy and should not be replaced by influencer marketing. However, marketing via influencers is a great tool to build brand awareness to a relevant audience with a much quicker return. Content is a much more saturated market and it may prove difficult for smaller companies to get cut-through on search engines when competing against larger organisations who can churn out content every day.

Influencer marketing is a quick-fire way to get your products seen by your target audience, whereas content marketing can take weeks or even months to pay off.

HOW TO USE INFLUENCER MARKETING

There are a range of ways brands and businesses can use influencer marketing within a campaign or strategy, from a one-off promotional post to developing ongoing business relationships.

WAYS YOU CAN WORK WITH INFLUENCERS:

• Brand engagement
• Paid-for posts
• Gifted products – agreed and non-agreed
• Competitions
• Brand partnerships

Now you know what to do, how do you go about finding someone who is the right fit for your brand and will help you achieve your goals? We’ve shared our tips here.

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