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Why Brands are Investing Even More in Influencer Marketing
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Why Brands are Investing Even More in Influencer Marketing

We explore why it's more important than ever for brands to consider influencers in their marketing strategies. 

Last month we discussed the anxiety inducing iOS14 & iOS15 updates, that seemed to turn the digital marketing world on its head. But, in the midst of catching your breath and trying to figure out tactical ways to still effectively target your audience, do not fear! There are these strange beings called ‘influencers’ who seem to be doing a pretty good job of reaching your audience themselves, so here’s why you should capitalise on this.

From micro-influencers, to the Kardashian sisters, the influencer industry has exploded in the past few years, with 49% of consumers now saying that they actually depend on influencer recommendations for their purchases. And yet, we know from experience that some of will still be sat there saying “I’m not sure influencer marketing is right for my brand!”. Well, you’re wrong. It is. And here’s why.

Did you know that there is an 8% increase in memorability when an influencer speaks to you? But why is this? Well, gone are the days of polished, staged ads. People want authenticity. They want an influencer’s genuine recommendation, served in a creative way, because that is how your audience relates and therefore purchases. Creativity drives emotion, emotion drives memory, memory drives recall, and recall drives sales.

Using them is a way of understanding how you can balance reach and engagement with relevance. They're at the heart of relevant conversations with their community and audience so it's very important for a brand to utilise this. It is your chance to collaborate with them on something so unique and important to the values of your brand, its building an emotional story before you even think about conversion strategies.

Still not convinced? Well, let me throw another stat your way. Users are savvier than ever about their data, and now 50% of people use ad blockers – I mean, we’ve all been there right, when you’re trying to read a banana bread recipe online but have to wade through a sea of ads for teeth whitening products and life insurance just to find out the ingredients – well, influencer marketing is a great way to tackle this and still reach your audience. While there is still a time and place for digital ads, people want that personal connection, they want Sarah with 25k followers sharing her experience with the latest air wrap hairdryer, not a stylish, filtered, flat lay product ad that pops up on their feed 8 times a day.

So, how do the new iOS updates play a part?

 
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As our Content and Social Media Manager mentioned previously, Apple decided to delightfully introduce new privacy and tracking permissions in the iOS14 & iOS15 updates, making it trickier for advertisers and brands to effectively target their audience via paid social. But although most marketers were feeling like that infamous dog meme, still anxiously typing away whilst the world is on fire outside, the clever brands that were still successfully partnering with influencers, were laughing – seeing as 60% of users don’t mind if an ad comes from an influencer.

Whether you’re using a micro influencer with 10k followers, or one of the big guys with 1.5 million, the story still ends the same – 50% of consumers would consider buying a product that is featured in their post. The influencer industry is set to be worth a huge $15 billion by 2022, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Unsurprising when you consider this area of marketing is the fasted growing, most cost-effective way of obtaining new customers.

How to get started. 


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So now you’ve heard me singing influencers praises, you probably want me to get straight to the point and discuss how and where to get started, right?

Well firstly, you need to identify your main goal. Are you promoting a specific product? Are you simply trying to increase brand awareness or traffic to your website? Pinpoint your strategy according to what you want to do, and who you want to reach. Then, think about the type of influencer you want to work with. Someone that aligns with the goals and core values of your brand, and would be the perfect advocate to represent your business. You want authentic content, so partnering with an influencer that believes in the same core messages as your brand will help you create this. You wouldn’t attempt to partner with a world champion cheeseburger eater to promote your new vegan range, would you?

If you’re a small brand dipping your toe in the enchanting influencer pool for the first time, micro influencers (influencers that have between 1,000 – 40,000 followers) are usually the best place to start. Our experience has shown that they tend to get better engagement rates as they are deemed more authentic and real. And what did I say at the start? People want authenticity.

Once you find the influencers that are right for you, the rest is in your hands – create a campaign brief (but don’t be too restrictive, you hire these guys for their creativity and because what they do is proven to work), get them on board, watch the content roll in and the engagement rates increase. People trust recommendations and information that come from someone they follow, rather than a brand shouting about themselves, so taking the time to consider just how beneficial influencer marketing could be to your business is so important. 

Using influencers may seem terrifying, and to some brands, completely unnecessary. But with the marketing industry constantly evolving, and the influencer area growing rapidly, it seems archaic to not even consider it’s potential for your business. In fact, we managed to reach over half a million users in just 2 weeks by running a successful influencer campaign for Tangle Teezer, to launch their new brush, the Easy Dry & Go.

With 60% of marketers increasing their influencer marketing budgets last year, it’s a no-brainer really!

Hopefully this has given you the inspiration to finally take that first step towards introducing influencers into your marketing strategy, and if you need a little more convincing… we’re always here to help.

Posted 20 October 2021 by Liv Povey

 

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