What You Should Know About Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is no longer sitting at the kid’s table. It’s at the head of the table, and it’s ready to carve out its place in marketing.
As the founder of an influencer marketing firm that uses hard data to perfectly pair influencers and brands together, I’ve been a part of the influencer revolution that’s transforming the marketing scene.
I know that influencers large and small resonate with their select audiences. Their messages have weight, and their followers enjoy personalized engagement.
Influencer marketing has been edging out traditional marketing over the past few years, and brands that partner with today’s hottest influencers are making their mark and abandoning traditional tactics.
A Voice From the Crowd, Not for It
One of the biggest mistakes in influencer marketing is assuming you need to spend big money to get a celebrity.
If you want to leave your audience with an authentic impression, lesser-known influencers have more impact than celebrities. More than two-thirds of teens on YouTube identify with influencers more than Oscar winners. I’m not talking about a few hundred users, either. Almost three-quarters of online users make purchases based on information they get on social media.
With influencer marketing, you’ll be able to capitalize on the power of social media to deliver an authentic message to your audience. Here are three ways you can get started:
Find Your Audience First
Brands often think they have to seek out their influencers first, but nothing’s further from the truth. When you define your target audience first, you find all sorts of data points you can use to find the right influencer.
When we partnered with the people at Axe, they told us they wanted to connect with their audience of young men. So we used our data-first approach to identify influencers like Rudy
Mancuso and Anthony Padilla, who are known for their well-coiffed hair as much as they are for their wit and creativity. Our data told us that Rudy and Anthony were good influencer-matches for Axe, and the massive reach of their posts (which garnered a combined 2.4 million views) proved it.
After you figure out your core audience, you can find an influencer who will inspire conversation. You might even find there’s already an influencer in your audience. Influencers like that are perfect for your company because they’re already talking about your brand.
