Social Media Influencers have become quite popular in recent years as more and more businesses are taking their help to reach out to their target customers. Influencer marketing is quick, effective, and highly targeted, which makes it immensely beneficial, especially for startups.
This blog discusses 3 main topics: who social media influencers are, how they help businesses, and some quick tips to best exploit them.
So, let’s get started:
Who Are Social Media Influencers?
In simple terms, a social media influencer can be defined as any person who has a considerable to huge following on any of the different social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. and holds the power to influence the decisions of their followers.
The influencing power of an influencer develops over time when they slowly and gradually develop a niche for themselves in a particular field, be it apparels, sports gear etc. and then people begin to trust and follow them.
It is the level of trust that tilts a user’s decision toward a product promoted by an influencer.
Social Media Influencers are divided into two categories – micro and macro. A micro influencer generally has a following of around 10,000 followers, whereas a macro influencer has followers ranging from tens of thousands to millions. The latter generally comprises well-known celebrities.
How Do They Help A Business?
You may have the most wonderful product and you may be selling it at the most tempting price. But what good is it if people are unaware of your offering?
Social Media Influencers do exactly what your business needs the most. They take your goods and services to people, at a lightning speed at that, and in some way, convince them to buy it. Studies suggest that more than 72% people made a beauty-related purchase after immediately seeing something on Instagram.
Since it is a time-taking process, it’s important, especially for startups, to make a social media page, work tirelessly for the number of people to increase, and then market one’s products. It is always easy & quick to associate with Social Media Influencers, reach out to people within minutes, & subtly shape their buying decision.
Also, using Social Media Influencers helps establish your credibility, engage the targeted audience, and have that much desired online presence.
How To Best Exploit Them?
Let us get down to brass tacks. Below are 3 ways to make the best use of a social media influencer:
- Make Small Investment – It is true that many charge around $50,000 for a single post, but who said you have to work with macro influencers or celebrities? Depending on your budget and domain, you can get social media influencers accordingly. You may start off with a small investment and then make a big move as per your ROI.
- Give Free Rein to Influencers – It is natural that you would want to keep things under your control; however, remember your target audience follows your influencer and not you. Their eccentricity may seem a bit odd to you, but users love it.
- Be Good at Relation Building – As this world is a small place, your competitors may also be trying to woo the same influencers you might be keen to associate with. What is the guarantee they will work with you and not with them? It is how you build a relation with them. It is not always the perks but respect and the type of relationship that matter.
To sum it up, influencer marketing does not show any signs of waning so far and it seems it will continue to be an essential marketing technique in the coming years. Exploiting it is easy and not as costly as you might have thought.