Trying to market directly to consumers is getting more difficult as the “noise” of advertising fills every medium. Influencer marketing — using social media leaders to garner their followers’ interest in a product, service, brand or organization — is moving to the forefront in terms of customer reach. These are the five main reasons why.
1. Trustworthiness
Consumers are leery of promotional content, especially when it comes straight from a brand. Not surprising, according to Nielsen, 83 percent of consumers cite recommendations from people they know as their most trusted source. That same survey found that 66 percent of consumers find online consumer opinions trustworthy, even if they don’t know the person.
Influencer marketers have earned that title from their followers, and earned media trumps paid media.
2. Eagerness
Marketing Magazine cites that 93 percent of bloggers say they don’t mind (and even enjoy) being approached by brands. In some cases, that’s because they earn payment or other compensation in exchange for promoting a brand in their blog posts. Other times, it’s because they already trust and find value in a brand.
Blogging isn’t the only way that influencer marketers can promote a product or service to their audience. Most are eager to host contests or giveaways, or will use conspicuous product placement in social media photos or videos, like Zico did here with news personality and vlogger Cassidy Gard.
3. Cost-effectiveness
Regardless of whether a business pays influencers, the return on investment is almost always more cost effective than traditional advertising. Research by Tomoson found that businesses are making $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. It tied with email among most cost-effective online customer-acquisition channels and was rated as the fastest-growing online customer-acquisition method.
But influencer marketing isn’t just impressive for the quantity of consumers it generates. In the Tomoson survey, 51 percent of marketers said they acquire better customers — those who spend more money and are more likely to spread the word to friends and family — through influencer marketing.
4. Measurable results
In terms of influencer marketing metrics, the Tomoson survey found that 56 percent of marketers consider revenue generated to be most important. But other measurable results like impressions, likes, comments, social shares and brand mentions are also important performance metrics to evaluate your influencer marketing campaign.
Influencers can also be the launchpad for viral videos, popular memes and national news coverage.
5. Ease of integration
Influencer marketing is a natural complement to other forms of marketing. Pasta company Barilla enlisted the help of several parent bloggers to write tips and stories focusing on the importance of family mealtime.
Barilla integrated its Share the Table Advocates’ blogs with a wide variety of marketing efforts, including mobile food booths, white papers, brochures, commercials, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest posts. The use of the hashtag #ShareTheTable kept branding consistent, simple and recognizable.
Today’s consumers are good at ignoring the Internet’s saturated marketing campaigns, but influencer marketing is proving to be a subtle and effective channel to capture customers’ attention. Businesses that choose the right influencers in terms of audience, trustworthiness and content, can see a big return on investment.
