How Can Influencers Help Your Brand?
Understand the power of influencers and how they can boost awareness, engagement, and help grow your brand.
Jamie Oliver. Kylie Jenner. Alexa Chung.
What do these names all have in common? Right now, they are three of the top social influencers in the world. From lifestyle to fashion to fitness, millions of followers are motivated by their every opinion, recommendation, and insight. From a business perspective, their influence is marketing gold.
Today, influencer marketing is stronger than ever. This year, brands will spend over $15 billion (yes, that’s billion with a ‘b’) on influencer marketing. That may seem like an extravagant marketing expenditure, but influencers can help bring engagement, brand awareness, and conversion to another level.
The fundamentals of marketing haven’t changed much. It’s all about telling the right story, in the right place, to the right people. But every one of those points has fundamentally changed in recent years. We’re simply in a new digital era where consumers choose what they listen to and who they trust.
And who do they trust most? Customers tend to trust family, friends, and those who share similar beliefs and interests.
Therefore, influencer marketing has become incredibly important for brands to implement into their marketing strategy.
What is an Influencer?
An influencer is a person who has the power to ‘influence’ the behavior of other people. Influencers, unlike celebrities, can be anyone…anywhere. Influencers are people who've spent time building their own brand and cultivating their audience. They’re protective of their reputation and the people who trust them. Influencers can be segmented into three groups:
Less than 10,000 followers, yet account for almost half of all influencers. Nano influencers have a dedicated niche audience and followers feel a close connection with this group.
This group has 10,000 to 250,000 followers. Power influencers have a highly engaged audience who are very likely to trust their recommendations.
Mega influencers have 250,000+ followers. These are the big names…the Instagram and YouTube influencers with the largest reach.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing refers to using a trusted person on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube to organically promote your brand. Collaboration with an influencer usually includes some sort of co-content creation or promotion of the brand to their community. With influencer marketing, trust is key. Trust helps reinforce influencer recommendations which serve as a form of social validation to potential leads and customers.
Influencer Marketing Stats
Our friends at Shopify listed some interesting 2022 influencer statistics. Here are a few examples of their findings:
- Gen Z is most influenced by social influencers
- 97% of marketers consider Instagram the top platform for influencers
- TikTok has the highest influencer engagement rate
- 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations
- Influencer marketing ROI is 11x higher than banner ads
- Businesses make $5.20 for every dollar spent
Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Enhance brand awareness
Building brand awareness is one of the immediate benefits of influencer marketing. Since social influencers have thousands or possibly millions of followers, it is easier for them to reach a bigger audience. With the help of an influencer, a larger audience can get to know your brand story, your values, and the products and services your brand provides.
Build authenticity and trust
Trust is hard to come by. For some brands, it takes years to build. When respected and trusted influencers promote your brand, the credibility of your product or service can automatically increase. Influencers have built strong relationships with their fans over time, establishing trust and credibility. So, when an influencer endorses your product or service, it quickly establishes credibility for your brand.
Drive conversions
Influencers have the power to direct their followers towards a product or service. Since consumers see these influencers as trustworthy, they look to them for advice, insight, and recommendations. Such recommendations for your brand can increase conversion rates and lead to higher sales.
Generate leads
Speaking of conversion, influencer marketing can also generate leads for your brand. Influencers give you an opportunity to interact with people outside of your target market...expanding your reach. With a simple recommendation, influencers can inspire consumers to choose your brand over a multitude of others.
Spark engagement
Influencers, with their power and influence, can get millions excited to engage with your brand. For any brand, it’s important to tie your product or service with the everyday life of your customer. You don’t even have to come up with content to capture your audience. Right now, there are people on social media living your story. And if you plan it right, your product can seamlessly tie into that story.
Boost SEO rankings, too
If you want more organic traffic from search engines, influencer marketing can boost SEO. Earning links to your website from other sites can tell Google that your content is good, which can lead to higher rankings.
Get Started with Influencer Marketing
Interested in influencer marketing? Do you feel it’s right for your brand? If so, Cuker can help. We develop comprehensive influencer campaigns that expand reach and spread brand awareness within targeted online communities. Together, we’ll leverage the power of social influencers to help grow your brand. Let's get started!
