Reading Time: 3 minutesThe end of the year is the time to reflect on your marketing strategies and plan for success in the upcoming year. When you are developing your marketing strategy for 2021, keep in mind that you can benefit greatly from including influencers as part of your plan. Read on to learn more about influencer marketing and how it can improve your business in 2021.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that combines various marketing methods. Generally speaking, it applies the idea of celebrity endorsements to the modern content-driven world of today’s marketing campaigns. Unlike a celebrity, an influencer can be any person with a unique power to influence purchasing decisions due to a certain position, knowledge, authority, or a relationship with an audience.
A successful influencer commands a following in a specific niche and actively engages with them regularly to build a dedicated, enthusiastic audience. The influencer works collaboratively with brands to improve brand recognition and effectively advertise products and services. By employing their credibility and reputation as experts, they create authentic connections with the audience and develop content that significantly resonates with fans.
Today, influencers have become a popular and extremely powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their brands’ reach. Because they are recognized for proficiency in their field, influencers are often the first source of information people go to when they have questions. They share the most appealing content and inform consumers through online discussions concerning their area of expertise, effectively driving brand exposure, recognition, and engagement.
The Value of the Influencer Marketing Industry
According to recent research, the influencer marketing industry was valued at approximately $8 billion in 2019, a figure predicted to grow to $15 billion during 2021. On average, every dollar spent on influencer marketing generates $5.78 worth of brand publicity. Influencer marketing produces a return on investment 11 times higher than traditional digital media marketing!
This success is because consumers truly trust influencers and the content they produce. Ninety-two percent of consumers consider influencer content to be more trustworthy than the content produced from a brand, even if it is a brand they already support. As the global pandemic forces consumers inside and limits exposure to traditional offline marketing strategies, businesses will continue to direct their resources into influencer marketing as a valuable tool.
Steps for Including Influencers in Your Marketing Strategy
To effectively include influencers in your 2021 marketing strategy, take the following three steps:
- Consider Your Goals
Consider your brand’s goals, such as boosting the purchase of a certain product or expanding your target audience to include a younger demographic. Influencers can perform various functions that allow you to convert consumers, and the goals of your campaign affect the duties you will expect from them. For example, if you want to increase conversion and sales in general over time, a long-term campaign would be perfect. If you only need short-term exposure for something like a product launch, you may only need a limited partnership.
- Know What Content Types and Channels to Use
Because content created for awareness will be different from content designed to generate sales, make sure to customize campaigns. Show campaigns in the most relevant format and place them on appropriate channels. Each channel has its unique role, so understanding these differences is essential. While fashion and beauty campaigns find the largest audience on YouTube and Instagram, video game companies primarily employ Twitch.
- Define a Management Strategy
When you figure out the role you would like an influencer to play in your marketing campaign, you can develop the best management strategy. Compared to automated ad strategies, working with an influencer requires more careful monitoring and review. You must cultivate close relationships and provide a more hands-on approach when figuring out what works best for your brand. If you are interested in a wide range of influencers, you should consider hiring an influencer marketing agency to pair you with the right candidate.
Improve Your Brand With Influencer Marketing
An influencer can serve several purposes within your marketing strategy, whether as part of a larger project or the head of their campaign. Influencer marketing boasts an incredible return on investment, taking advantage of digital spending trends and today’s social media-obsessed world to reach the widest, most relevant audience. Incorporating influencers into your 2021 marketing strategy can provide impressive results in improving brand awareness and generating sales.
For advice on choosing the right influencer for you, contact the experts at Vizion today, and you’ll be preparing your brand for success going into next year.
