Almost every article that you will find on Influencer Marketing will tell you how collaborating with Influencers will result in higher sales, get you more clicks, and generate more leads for your brand, which is true. Influencers have taken over most digital marketing strategies nowadays and have become an integral part of many social media platforms. I mean, can you even imagine Instagram without its lifestyle, beauty and fashion influencers? Or YouTube without its vloggers?
We have become used to following great content on these platforms, and their benefits on brand promotions are innumerable. Here are six main reasons why you, as a brand, should be collaborating with Influencers on various digital mediums today:-
They create extremely creative content Most social media influencers are inherently very creative people and rest assured, the content that goes up on their feed is always unique. Sharing an example of lifestyle blogger Masoom Minawala, who is known for showing her excellent sense of fashion through her Instagram feed, Masoom collaborates with many fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands on a day-to-day basis. However, what stands out is her way of showing her viewers a basic product in an entirely new light, an example being wearing a sari with a modern twist, with a waist belt as an accessory.
Tip – Ask the influencer to choose the location that will act as a backdrop to your product. If they are planning a trip somewhere soon, ask them to carry your product along and shoot for it there. This will save you travel costs, and you will receive a beautiful image in return.
Your audience trusts them more than you
Many surveys have shown that the online community trusts a brand more when an influencer is talking about it and not when the brand itself is talking about its product. Your audience would go ahead and purchase a product that an Influencer is talking about, even if they don’t know them personally, and this is one of the best advantages of collaborating with an influencer for a project.
Currently, Clinique is having one of the best Influencer marketing campaigns worldwide. Indian as well as International influencers, be it bloggers, Instagrammers or YouTube vloggers, have been talking about the new Clinique #MoistureSurge on every platform. Clinique has succeeded in ensuring that their digital audience is well aware of their new product launch.
Tip – Repost when the influencer is talking about your brand, on your feed and tag them. Re-posts and tagged posts gain more engagement compared to generic posts.
They are social media experts
Sometimes, brands don’t know how to take advantage of the various social media platforms and use them to their fullest to reach their goals. At such times, it is advisable to reach out to an influencer who has been on the platform for many years and has used the said platform to their advantage in the most profitable way.
Influencers know how to create engaging content on social media much better than a brand which is involved in social media marketing. They know their audience best and can suggest a way forward that is creative and engages the audience well, helping you achieve your goals in a way that is cost-effective and time-saving. For example, as a brand who feels that Twitter is their weak point and wants more engagement on their content, you can collaborate with a few Twitter Influencers who will help you create useful, engaging content to help increase your engagement rate in a short period.
Tip – Always choose a different influencer for a different platform. This will help you target a broader audience base, as many people follow the same influencer on different platforms.
Access to a niche audience
Compared to an ad that goes live on a billboard or the TV & radio, and has a broader reach, influencer marketing targets a small but unique audience group, whose niche is particular in nature.
Brands such as Lakme, Neutrogena and Jimmy Choo have a particular niche and know precisely whom to target as their audience group is tiny and precise. Lakme & Neutrogena will only target influencers who talk about makeup, beauty, and skincare regimes, and Jimmy Choo will only target influencers who use luxury products on a day-to-day basis.
Influencers have made work easier for brands, as they are extremely targeted, especially micro influencers. Brands know that a person will follow an influencer only if they are interested in the content the influencer shares, which makes the process of finding the perfect audience much simpler, cost-friendly and time-saving.
Tip – It is always better to target a smaller, but specific audience whom you know will love your products, compared to a broader audience group whose preferences you might be unsure about.
Increased brand awareness
Macro influencers have a vast following on various social media platforms, with many having over 12 million followers on a single platform. Targeting such a massive audience through just one influencer means you are creating more awareness for your brand among people who you are sure will be interested, at a subsidised cost. For this reason alone, you should collaborate with a macro influencer for your brand. This also acts as an excellent ROI.
Tip – Create an aura of exclusivity when collaborating with a macro influencer. For example, if you have just launched a new game app, get the influencer to hold an online session on your app for an hour and ask them to inform their followers about this. The result will be an increase in the app downloads as most followers will download the app to play against their favourite role model.
Budget-friendly
It is well known that traditional, offline ads that reach your audience through the TV, radio and billboards are costly. For example, a 30 second ad on television can currently cost anything between INR 8,000 to INR 100,000, depending on the chosen timings and channel.
Comparatively, influencer marketing is super targeted and therefore, much cheaper. Micro influencers usually charge anything between INR 2000 to INR 30,000 per post. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The cost varies depending on the platform chosen, the no. of followers per influencer, the ROI rate, and the total reach of the influencer’s page. Also, many micro influencers are often willing to exchange a free product for sharing a sponsored post on their feed.
No wonder these collaborations have nearly replaced traditional ads and become a massive part of many digital media strategies today.
Tip – Get in touch with at least 10 influencers who have a similar follower base and compare their costs before selecting a few for your campaign.
We understand that selecting an influencer for your marketing campaign can be a tough job. Also, many brands do not always have a pleasant experience when they work with influencers alone. To avoid this, I suggest you consult with an influencer marketing expert first, who already is in contact with many other influencers for various projects. He/she will be able to guide you on which influencer to work with, depending on the style of content you create for your brand.
Greenroom is an Influencer Marketing agency, and we are always here to clear your doubts and help you connect with the right influencer. Do get in touch with us for any further queries.
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