[Tip 2 of 8] What To Expect With Influencer Marketing?

What to Expect from Influencer Marketing?

There’s no question that influencer marketing is worthwhile pursuing if you want to get connected with a larger range of consumers especially if you’re a growing brand. Influencer marketing is primarily a PR tool whereby the influencers are the communicator of the brand and the intent of the message is to reach their audience; or in other words, their followers.

Let us enlighten you with a few things to expect with influencer marketing.

What influencer marketing does is it increase brand awareness and create brand affinity by using an influencer’s reach. Influencers are associated with terms such as ‘trendy’, ‘current’ and ‘relevant’. When an influencer posts about your brand, it stirs up conversations and drive traffic on the Internet. Collaborations with them would also be focused on strategies on how your brand name would be mentioned to the public.

Hard selling wouldn’t be the best option as it seems aggressive and involuntary. Besides, the essence of influencer marketing lies in the influencer’s own behaviour and character. The few steps taken here are brand mentions (in a casual way), product reviews, unboxing videos, encouraging sharing, contests and giveaways. Ultimately, this will enhance and build strong reputation for your brand through the media.

Next, practice of managing effective communication with the public is essential in influencer marketing. If you can align your brand with a suitable micro-influencer that composes the target market your brand is aiming at, it’s a fitting combination. In this case, brands cannot and should not control everything the influencer intends to post as it takes away the originality of the influencer because well, they’re typically known for being themselves.

When you create your goals and strategies, it is important to share them with your influencers as it builds the relationship and trust. The more you build trust with your influencers, the more authenticity they will champion your brand with. Hence, writing down a clear, personalized pitch is vital to ensure coherent understanding between both parties yet at the same time giving them the freedom to express in their own unique way. Dissociating from the guidelines will most likely bring both parties trouble and complications down the road.

Influencers are also perceived to promote a brand or product only if they truly believe in it as this maintains their content to be original. They gain their follower base because of their authenticity. For instance, a vegan food blogger would most likely not promote Nando’s chicken because it clashes with what they portray and stand for. Well, unless it’s their green bowl salads we’re talking about. Moving on, professionalism is vital in the influencer marketing space. This means respect above all, for both the influencer and the brand. The competition is high with the increase in influencers on social media platforms. If the influencer fails to work with the brand, chances are the brand will look for someone else to do it.