3 Tips How Brands Should Use Influencer Marketing

Every year brands spend millions of dollars on mainstream ad-space; but there is a more effective strategy that brands are starting to opt for, Influencer Marketing.

Influencer Marketing allows brands to connect with customers more naturally and authentically. While most brands opt for the same old pushy advertisement techniques, today's Influencer Marketing strategies prove to be the most effective. According to a study by McKinsey, marketing-induced, consumer-to-consumer word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising, along with a 37% higher customer retention rate.

Online shopping has become the preferred choice of consumers in the last few years, consumers will spend nearly $3.46 trillion online just in 2019 alone.

Influencers are an extremely useful tool to reach relevant buyers. They have a significant influence on their audience and a subtle, yet effective way of making a brand's product or service a 'must-have'.

Nowadays, influencer marketing is a vital piece of the marketing puzzle for all brands, regardless of their size or sophistication. Everyone should integrate some sort of influencer marketing strategy into their marketing plans. It allows brands to reach consumers through trusted and familiar voices. Its value proposition is such that it can't be found through many, if any, other forms of social media marketing. However, it is crucial to discover the right influencers, who are authentic in their approach, have a high engagement rate from their followers and match your brand's identity. Here are some tips, which can help you effectively implement an influencer marketing strategy:

1. Stay true to your brand

Before contacting any influencers, it is important to know exactly what it is that your brand represents and which type of Influencers will fit your intended campaign. Think about who their audience is and who you want to engage with. If your main target is to increase brand awareness, one range of influencers might be most effective, while if your purpose is to drive sales, another range of influencers might be better. Authenticity is key in influencer marketing, so be selective in who you partner with.

2. Data doesn't lie

The number of followers shouldn't be the only metric when choosing Influencers. Look at their audience's authenticity, engagement, audience demographics, etc. and make an informed decision based on these stats. Analytics are crucial in the outcome of your campaign. Tools like Collabstr make this simple. Collabstr is an influencer marketing platform that generates an analytics report for every influencer on their platform. The report includes engagement rate, average likes, average comments, audience location, audience age, audience gender and more. This allows you to determine whether or not an influencer would be a good fit for your campaign. By using platforms like Collabstr, you'll be able to avoid the tedious work of manually auditing every candidate and asking for screenshots of their insights.

3. Give freedom of content

Influencers have thousands and millions of followers for a reason, they successfully tap into the emotions and aspirations of their audience, and know how to best connect with them. Set general guidelines and requirements for your campaign, but let the influencer do what they do best. As long as you are on the same page with the deliverables and expectations, they will be far more effective with some autonomy. Their audience doesn't want to be blatantly advertised to, and the influencers don't like simply communicating the brand message to their followers. Influencers should be allowed to formulate and tell a story that engages their audience while still getting across the message of the brand.