Making influencer marketing work for you
This latest blog from Idecution covers one of the most interesting facets of digital marketing - influencer marketing. It will answer pertinent questions such as the benefits of influencer marketing for small businesses and why it is here to stay. Sit back and enjoy. Happy reading!
It was 2017 and the entire hall was filled with about 100+ marketing professionals. On the stage, the speakers (CMOs of various MNCs) were set to talk about various aspects of digital marketing such as influencer marketing in India.
During the Q&A, our founder Urjita Kshatriya asked the speakers that bigger brands with deep pockets can engage with the influencers or rope in celebrities, but what about MSMEs? How do they construct their influencer marketing strategy? The speaker replied that he wasn’t sure but looking at micro influencers could be a viable option.
If you are wondering whether influencer marketing is relevant to your business as an MSME in B2B or B2C, read on. In this blog, we have answered the following questions:
1. What is influencer marketing?
2. How can MSMEs or small businesses leverage influencer marketing?
3. How does influencer marketing work?
For the uninitiated, there are roughly 3 types of influencers - mega, macro and micro. Out of these, micro influencers are ones who would have a following in a few thousand or a couple of lakhs. These influencers are focused on specific topics or geographical areas.
The concept of “Influencer Marketing” has existed ever since the term marketing is coined. In simple terms, it is marketing your brand via a person whose public image resonates with the target audience of the brand. At this point, you would realise that brands have been roping celebrities and sports persons for their TV and newspaper commercials for decades now. With the advent of YouTube and videos becoming popular on social media platforms, entertainment avenues like acting, cooking and others are no longer restricted to Bollywood. People from rural areas with no prior stardom are able to publish their content and gain followers. The followers thus gained by these influencers are a product of the content and values which are communicated via these influencers.
So how can MSMEs/small businesses engage with the influencers?
The first step is to identify who the influencers are. As an agency, depending upon the niche of the product/service being marketed, geographical locations and the age group etc. we would look out for influencers who would be apt for marketing the said business. The personal attributes of the influencers would prominently feature in the content and hence it is important to look out for influencers whose values match that of the brand being marketed.
Who would create the content for influencer marketing?
This depends on the marketing strategy. In most situations, it is best that the content creation is done by the influencer since it would ensure that consistency is maintained in their postings. Also, the followers want more authentic content and the influencers best understand the pulse of their followers. The brand values and USPs will be communicated to the influencer. The influencer would then create the content and once approved can be posted.
How much will influencer marketing cost?
The charges charged by influencers vary depending upon the number of followers, the type of content to be created and the frequency of posting/content creation. It is best to keep aside a budget for influencer marketing and then depending upon the number of influencers and their charges, the budget can be allocated.
How to measure the success of this engagement?
There are social listening tools available that can help to identify if there is any spike in engagement during the time when influencers have posted. If the brand is at a nascent stage then simple tools like redirecting to the brand’s website using UTM parameters based URL can be used. If there is a discount or an offer being provided, the same can be tracked using the discount codes.
Influencer marketing is magical but not magic
Just like all other forms of marketing, generating brand awareness and brand recall will have to be achieved before expecting leads or sales. Influencers can definitely help to give a boost to the brand awareness and brand recall value. However, it is also important to ensure that your other channels of marketing are in sync with the message being conveyed by the influencers. You also need to have a strong and effective online presence. Once the target audience is curious about your brand, they will search for your brand on Google and social media. They would not rely only on the links given by the influencers. When this happens, if your website is slow or poorly designed or has boring content then the impact of influencer marketing will be wasted. Similarly, if the customer reviews are negative then again the impact of influencers would be reduced.
It is also interesting to note that certain platforms like Instagram and Facebook have started providing options to content creators to inform about paid content. This move ensures that the influencer is being transparent with their followers about the engagement with the brand.
Influencer marketing is an important part of digital marketing for both B2B and B2C. In the days to come, the ROI and other benefits from influencer marketing are all set to increase. The earlier you get on this bandwagon, the better benefits you will be able to reap.