No social media marketing strategy is complete without influencers. It is safe to say that social media influencers have now become an inevitable part of digital marketing. Brands of all sizes need a strong social media presence and that is highly possible with the help of influencers. The high consumption of content on social media has further increased the significance of influencer marketing.
Initially, brands used to collaborate with influencers only to increase sales. Though this remains the main goal, there are several other reasons why influencers can be of great use.
As opposed to the popular belief, influencer marketing is not just about roping in influencers with a high number of followers. This marketing strategy now has several elements to it which need attention. Working with influencers is another layer that needs focus because the effectiveness of the campaign depends on it.
From choosing the right social media influencers to implementing the strategy, everything is a part of influencer marketing. In this blog, we will first focus on the need for brand influencers.
Before we jump to why influencers are a necessity for your brand, let’s brush up the basics. (Feel free to skip if you have already read our previous blogs!)
What is an influencer?
An influencer is an individual who has a strong social media presence to influence people’s buying decisions. Brands rope in these influential entities to convey their intended messages to their target audience. Social media influencers cater to a specific target audience which helps brands reach their customer base.
Types of Influencers
All brand influencers exist because of their social media presence but they differ from one another based on their follower range, niche, and content presentation style. Primarily, influencers are bifurcated based on their follower range.
Mega influencers
Mega influencers have a follower range of 1M or more. These influencers are also called celebrity influencers. Mega influencers can expose your brand to a large audience base.
Macro influencers
Macro influencers have a follower range of 1,00,000 to 10,00,000. Macro influencers are known for their expertise in the niche they are catering to. They have a better engagement with their followers as compared to mega influencers. Macro influencers are highly beneficial for brands that are looking for brand exposure on social media.
Micro-influencers
Micro-influencers have followers between 10,000 to 1,00,000. Micro-influencers sure have less number of followers but when it comes to getting desired results in influencer marketing, this set of influencers are highly preferred. This is because they have a dedicated audience that is genuinely interested in their content and niche.
Nano influencers
Nano influencers have followers anywhere between 1000 to 10,000. Though these influencers do not have a large audience base they are extremely successful because their audience trusts them and they are likely to carry a very high level of authenticity.
Micro-influencers and nano-influencers are taking over mega influencers rapidly because the audience is looking for content that is authentic and not just promotional. Additionally, this set of brand influencers are apt if you are looking for a very specific audience base.
Influencer marketing is tricky because the audience behaviour has changed and the way influencers work has also undergone a transformation. Likewise, there has also been a change in the way content is planned and presented.
With this insight, let’s find out why brands need social media influencers now more than ever.
Reasons Why Your Brand Must Collaborate with Influencers
1. Brand influencers know more about the audience
Be it influencers on Instagram or Facebook, the reason why they are being heard is because they know what their audience wants. This gives the brands an advantage to connect with their consumer base. Influencers are known for creating content that resonates with their audience and that’s what makes them powerful social media entities. Brands can leverage this quality to convey their messages to their target audience.
2. Social media influencers can start a conversation about your brand
An influencer marketing strategy is all about making your brand presence strong on social media through influencers. For this to happen, your target audience has to take notice of your brand and start discussing it. Influencers have the ability to start a conversation about your brand through different content strategies and this can prove to be advantageous in many ways.
3. Influencers can expose you to an undiscovered audience base
Many times it so happens that an influencer campaign becomes viral and starts attracting an audience base that is not the one you intended to target. Influencers are followed by a variety of people and collaborating with them can help you increase your audience base to a large extent.
4. Through influencers, you can know the pulse of your audience
Once you implement an influencer marketing strategy you will also know what the audience thinks about your brand. Brand managers can analyse the audience reaction with the help of likes, comments, and reactions received on the branded content published by the influencer. This analysis will also tell you what kind of strategy works for your brand and target audience.
5. Influencers help build brand credibility
Most brands are targeting millennials because they are the ones with the highest purchasing power. Additionally, some brands are banking on the Gen Z. Because millennials and Gen Z are majorly present on social media, it is necessary for brands to collaborate with social media influencers.
Besides this, traditional advertising lacks credibility and authenticity and that fails to click with these generations. With the help of brand influencers, brands can generate a greater sense of credibility because the audience trusts what they put on their social media handles!
6. Social media influencers will put your brand on the map
Brands do not exist in a vacuum. Even on social media, you will have competitors who will have implemented influencer campaigns. With the help of influencers, you can compete with competitors in your niche. This will also give your brand an upper hand in your industry. The best way to execute an influencer campaign is to rely on an influencer marketing platform.
7. Brand influencers can impact the social media following of a brand
Brands struggling to make a mark on social media can also benefit from influencers. Once your brand becomes the talking point with the help of influencers it also reflects in your brand’s social media handles. Right from the increase in the number of followers to increase in the number of leads, brand influencers can help with a lot!
8. Influencers help you frame brand perception
Every brand has an identity of its own and influencers can help communicate that identity to the audience. Additionally, brands can smartly collaborate with influencers to shape brand perception too. Right from targeting a new audience base to making your brand more relatable, a lot can happen with the help of social media influencers.
9. With influencers, you can be flexible with your marketing budget
Traditional advertising can be quite expensive and may not give you desired results since most people are hooked to their mobile screens rather than television. Like we mentioned before, there are different types of influencers brands can opt for based on the niche, social media platforms, and follower range. This makes influencer marketing all the more flexible. You can opt for micro-influencers and nano-influencers in case your campaign plan budget does not allow for celebrity influencers.
With influencers, you have a lot of options to promote your brand.
10. Social media influencers create brand appeal
Influencers are followed for what they put on their social media handles. Their followers engage with their content and this can also work for brands. Influencers have the ability to make your brand appealing with their creative and engaging content strategies. With regular posts, reviews, stories, and videos by influencers your brand will get the attention it needs.
Instagram influencers are extremely important for influencer campaigns. Instagram forms the crux of influencer marketing because it enjoys a great user base. Moreover, Instagram also gives a lot of creative freedom to content creators.
However, brands must not rely on a single social media platform when it comes to marketing with influencers. Make sure you have a combination of platforms in your influencer campaign.
Now that you know how important influencers are for your brand let’s get into how an influencer marketing platform like Unbox Social can help you.
How Unbox Social Can Help You With Social Media Influencers
Relying on an influencer marketing agency can ease out the overall process of influencer marketing.
Here is how Unbox Social can help you with social media influencers.
1. Influencer Discovery
The Unbox Social tool has curated a list of influencers from different niches and tiers. The tool allows you to find influencers that can be a part of your influencer marketing strategy.
Also, the tool allows you to manually search for influencers by their name or handle.
2. Brand Safety
The tool has a brand safety feature that gives you data on the influencers’ content performance with regards to particular keywords and hashtags. Search for a particular keyword or hashtag and check what your chosen influencers are posting for the same. This will help you check whether the influencer is fit for your kind of content plan and strategy.
3. Campaign Reports
The Unbox Social tool is all you need for your influencer marketing plans because it provides detailed reports for influencers along with their content performance metrics. This helps brands select better and helps them keep a track of content creators.
Brands of all scales need influencers to make a mark on social media. See to it that your influencer selection is apt and you have chosen the right platforms for executing your influencer campaign. Not to forget, influencer marketing is not a short-term marketing strategy, brands need to come up with interesting campaigns time and again to get noticed.
Lastly, keep your brand goals and objectives in mind when activating your influencer marketing campaigns.
