Influencer Marketing – The Key To Brand Popularity

“Influence will lead marketing efforts by 2020. It’s the most effective form of advertising there is, and when coupled with a solid contest strategy, no TV or FB ad buy can even compare.” - Ted Coine. Imagine a situation where a popular blogger is flaunting her brand new designer outfit on Instagram, using a quirky hashtag. Now think of a TV commercial, advertising the same outfit. Which one do you think will grab more attention? At a time when TV ads have become more like a background noise, the answer is obvious - it is the former. Influencer Marketing is all about influencing the right kind of target audience in a subtle yet impactful way by letting well-known influencers talk about your brand on various social media platforms or otherwise. An influencer is someone who has a set number of loyal followers and can persuade people with their opinions and actions. He/She can be a blogger, social activist, politician, film star, comedian, cricketer etc.

WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING?

A recent study revealed 84% marketers plan on executing at least one influencer marketing campaign for their brand during the next 12 months. Know why your brand needs this form of marketing below:

1. It Establishes Credibility

“An influencer promoting and amplifying your message, your brand, to their audience means credibility, it means additional reach and it means you get an outsized modifier to the conversion process- Rand Fishkin.” Influencer Marketing not only builds credibility but also increases your brand’s authenticity. People believe what they hear and especially if it is coming from someone whom they can rely upon. Influencers give your brand authenticity because they have certain credibility attached to themselves which they bring to the brand they endorse. These influencers are generally known to give honest opinions and as a result build trust among audiences. It is therefore a more credible source of advertising because it involves personal opinions. Take a look at how Rebook used Influencer Marketing to build trust among audiences:

To strengthen its brand tagline, #FitnessIsForEveryone, Reebok India teamed up with Chetan Bhagat, an influential writer, to promote its campaign ‘Reboot 100’ – a 100-day transformation challenge with a diet and fitness plan designed for Bhagat. This campaign was a hit as instead of a quintessential model or a movie star, they chose a writer to undergo the transformation.

2. It Targets The Right Kind Of Audiences:

Before you start any business, you need to get your target audience down pat. Who do you want to serve? Who will your product/service benefit the most? Don’t worry about the rest.”- Kevin J.Donaldson. No matter how creatively you market your brand, if it’s not targeted to the appropriate audience, all your efforts will go in vain. Influencer Marketing plays a very important role as these influencers are experts in niche fields and have a unique set of followers. For example, a well-known fashion designer will have a completely different set of followers than a food blogger. Therefore, it is important to hire the right kind of influencers to promote your brand. Here is how Amazon used appropriate influencers to reach the right people:

To increase Kindle Paperwhite sales, Amazon India carried out a campaign called #CrazyForReading in which they featured two of India’s bestselling authors – Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi who talked about how Kindle helped them fulfil their love of reading. It was a clever marketing strategy to choose two renowned authors as it expanded the brand’s reach by targeting the right kind of audience.

3. IT HELPS THE BRAND’s SEO

“A Search Engine can determine who shall live and who shall die”- Mark Goodman. For your brand to be in the limelight, its search ranking plays a very important role. Influencer Marketing will definitely increase your brand’s SEO ranking as influencers create intriguing content and promote it on various social media platforms. This increases your brand’s user engagement signals, traffic and visibility. Influencer marketing not only helps in building backlinks through content-driven campaigns but also increases brand awareness. Consumers trust recommendations from influencers more than any other type of branded content. For example, if a brand offering tech products like mobiles and laptops hires a famous tech blogger to promote it on different social media platforms, chances are high that the brand’s visibility will improve drastically. Instead of spending excessively on commercial ads, let real people voice their opinions on your brand/ products. Influencer marketing spreads the word about your brand not just cost-effectively, but also optimally to the right audience. It not only results in twice the sales of paid advertising but also has a 37% higher retention rate among audiences. To know more about influencer marketing and how it can help you reach out to the right audience, leave us a message and we will get back to you.

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