What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is one of the newest trends in PR and media relations. You're not the only one who may be scratching your head and wondering what it is! Influencers on social media, though, can be the difference between making an impression and not.

This article addresses the advantages of influencer-generated content and the alluring potential of influencer marketing during this period and in the future, as up to 90% of marketers now include influencers in their digital marketing strategy.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of social media promotion that involves product placement and endorsements from influencers or persons and organizations that are thought to be experts in their industry or to have significant social impact.

Social media sites like Instagram are increasingly becoming an unavoidable destination for audiences as PR specialists and marketers traverse the challenging new paradigms of the new normal and social interactions continue to take place primarily online. Companies have begun to investigate the potential of influencer marketing, in which social media stars provide content to promote a brand's goods or services.

Why is influencer marketing important?

Studies have found that over 70% of teenagers trust influencers over celebrities. Marketing pundits are aware that women are one of the biggest demographics a company wants to reach, and more than 86% of them buy products over social media. You can see more valuable influencer marketing data from the Digital Marketing Institute here.

● It helps build trust

In the new normal where the global economy is highly unpredictable, businesses are increasingly keen on how to base their strategies on narratives that focus on people to build more intimate relationships with their audience. Utilizing micro-influencers might be the easiest approach to do that. These are regular folks who have developed a close relationship and trust with a lively community. Evidently, since 2016, there has been a 465% rise in "influencer marketing" searches on Google.

A brand's promotion of a product frequently aims to build a community around the brand. Because influencer-generated content gives a level of authenticity and relatability that other prospective marketing methods are unable to produce, influencer marketing allows them to skip the processes and do just that.

● It is cost-efficient

Using influencer marketing and having influencer-generated content is a cost-effective way to accomplish a variety of objectives, including growing your audience, getting immediate feedback on the success of your social media campaigns, and creating a library of marketing materials that can be quickly reused and modified without blowing your budget on hiring an outside creative team.

● Celebrity power

Influencer marketing is an excellent example of emotional branding. While this might be more applicable to macro-influencers (people who are given a “star status”), it is also becoming increasingly relevant to micro-influencers. Seeing these symbols indulge in a product or service, makes others want to do the same. To somehow, subconsciously get one step closer to their status.

Influencer marketing campaigns work and there’s proof

Dior launched the ‘67 Shades of Dior’ campaign to celebrate the launch of their Forever Foundation, which is a range with 67 unique foundation shades. For the campaign, they chose and collaborated with 67 influencers, each of whom matched one of Dior's 67 hues. The influencers responded by publishing one post each day for 67 days straight.

The combined audience reach of the 67 influencers was 2.66 million. Additionally, their postings generated 592K engagements and 1.85M impressions.

For their PlayStation VR virtual reality headset, Sony created an influencer marketing campaign in Canada. The company decided to collaborate with Canadian mid-tier, micro-, and nano-influencers in the IT and gaming industries on YouTube and Instagram. The average interaction rate for the relatively insignificant influencers' Instagram posts was 3.64%, with 12,728 likes and 230 comments. With 28,322 views, 2,324 likes, and 368 comments, YouTube engagement had an average engagement rate of 3.19%.

In a nutshell, big or small, influencers work. They help brands reach their goals effectively and quickly.