SOCIAL INFLUENCER MARKETING : THE BIGGEST GIG IN THE WORLD OF MARKETING

Marketers are raging for the one thing that is quite difficult to achieve these days online and that is, engagement. Engagement is the first step towards building a loyal viewership of a brand online. Once engagement is mustered, the next step that comes is conversion, i.e. converting the engaged audiences into buyers. Influencer marketing is one of the latest trends which is in huge demand as it increases the visibility of brands across various social media platforms. According to a research published in Forbes, 84% of marketers conduct at least one influencer marketing campaign in a year. Before getting into the details of influencer marketing, let’s first understand what it actually means.

Influential Marketing

This is a type of marketing strategy where the marketer focuses on the niche audience instead of targeting a huge market. In simple words, the marketer caters to the potential influencers who can help in building a network of customers for the brand. But you must be wondering, who are these influencers? Social media influencers does not refer only to the celebrities who are widely followed by general public, but also professional advisors, journalists, retailers and many more. 

Influential marketing uses various tactics that contributes in increasing the engagement rates. In one way, the brands pay the influencers for sponsored ads or they create sponsored accounts for these influencers and the other way, where the influencers are given gifts in return for the paid posts. For instance, Daniel Wellington, a luxury watch brand, has 3.2m Instagram followers and the influencers, be it celebrities or other buyers, post their photographs wearing the brand’s watch. The brand pays them or gifts them watches for their participation.

Influencer marketing and organic reach

Before 2012, it was convenient for the brands to reach masses as it was free (organic). But since the arrival of paid reach, the sponsored ads and posts experienced a hike. Moreover, the power of influencers is realized now and thus, the usage of social influencer marketing has gained acceptance worldwide wide. Besides, ad blindness is prevailing in the market, which simply means that ads flashing on the screen are often ignored by viewers and according to a research, 77% of influencer posts are not seen as ads, rather as a recommendation from a trusted source.

Therefore, it is not easy for marketers to depend merely on organic reach as unpaid content faces severe competition from influencer marketing. Influencers have a long lasting impression on the followers and thus, people show more involvement in the brand. Brand awareness created by these micro-influencers turns into brand loyalty as influencers are considered as mavens and thus, the brands get maximum attention.

Online word of mouth advertising

Influencer marketing is way too different from celebrity endorsement as influencers are not always celebrities nor it uses a cliché content of advertising. The reason they are called influencers is justified by the tremendous chain of networks they form by their impact. Such kind of content has the core element to go viral. Moreover, ad blocking solution rose in 2015, especially in UK where people just can’t bear unnecessary ad pop ups. So, the benefit is that people can still be exposed to influencers’ posts organically even if they opt for ad blocking software.

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