February 2020

Influencer marketing is a type of socialmediamarketingthatisahybridofoldand

newmarketingtools,takingtheideaofthecelebrityendorsementandplacingit intoa

modern-day content-driven marketingcampaign. It uses endorsements and

product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a dedicated social

followingandareviewedasexpertswithintheirniche.

Why is it important? Because it isbecomingincreasinglydifficultforbrandsto

getattentionontheinternet.Thisislargelybecause every business, big or small, has

invaded the online world creating aninsurmountable amount of noise. This has

madeconsumersextremelyscepticalaboutbrandsthatindulgeinself-promotion.That

is why the demand for new, innovativedigitalmarketingstrategieshasbeenonthe

rise.Thequestforanalternateapproachhascompelledbrands toappreciate thepower

ofinfluencers.Influencersarecharacterizedbyalarge

numberofloyalanddedicatedsocialmediafollowers.Theyareperceivedas‘experts’in

theirnichesandtheirrecommendationsareoften highly regarded by their followers.

Whatmakes them influential is their largefollowingsonthewebandsocialmediabut

theycanbeanyone.AninfluencercanbeapopularfashionphotographeronInstagram,

or a well-read cybersecurity blogger whotweets,orarespectedmarketingexecutive

onLinkedIn.Withinany industry,thereareinfluential people—you just have to find

them. They are easily recognized by theirhundreds of thousands (if not millions) of

followers, and that’s the targetaudienceabrand is after. What distinguishes

influencers from traditional celebrities is

thattheformersharesastrongrapportwiththeir fan communities. They harness the

accessibility of social media to establishpersonalconnectionswithandgainthetrust

of their followers.At thesametime, thesefolksareoften“real”people,asopposedto

celebrities, who have used social mediaplatforms to grow mass audiences. This

givesthemcertain leverageandempowersthem to motivate their followers to take

desiredactions.That’sthereason,evenanunknown influencer but with massive

followingcanactasa contentcreator toasmall community of followers. He can

endorseabrand’sproductorservicesactingmore or less like a celebrity brand

ambassadorbutatafeasiblecost.

Earlier the influencers were bigcelebrities endorsing brands for various

companies but this is changing in recenttimes.Not all brands have big budgets for

influencersandneitherthebiggerisalwaysbetter.So,influencers,inthatcasearemore

costeffectivethanbig-nameinfluencersandare also useful for brands that has limited

social media budget. Influencer marketingregardless of its complications is a very

simple trend to follow. It involves

collaborating with popular and relevantinfluencers in your niche to promote your

brandandincreaseyourrevenue.Moreover,influencermarketersbelieve

influencing a smaller group of high-valueindividuals is easier than finding and

connecting with every single prospect. Asinfluencermarketingworksbecauseof the

highamountof trust that influencershavebuilt up with their following, and

recommendations from them serve as aform of social proof to your brand’s

potential customers, delivering higherengagementanddrivingmoreconversions.

Not sure how to find influencers tokickstart your Influencer Strategy? Check

outthisspaceforourMarchnewsletterforsomeusefultips!

InfluencerMarketing:Whatisit?WhyitisImportantforBrandintoday’sDigitalAge?

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