What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing works on the principle of ‘voice of authority’. If you respect someone and their views you are more likely to listen to what they’re saying, and you’re more likely to purchase the products they inform you about.We have seen this tactic used in marketing for a long time in television ads, newspaper ads, and billboards.Famous people are also utilised in advocating products and using their status to endorse the product.Sometimes the person advocating a product is related to the product or brand somehow. They might be experts in the same industry or they may have a famous job related to the product.For example, you’re likely to see racing drivers in advertisements of tires, oil, and other car related products. The most interesting thing however is that this isn’t necessary. People think of celebrities as their role models, which means that they want to do the same things or own the same things that a celebrity does.

So, this means that you can use influencers who have no relation to your product or the industry and still see a marked increase in the perception of your product. That is why you see sports stars often starring in the advertisements of completely unrelated products like watches, shampoos, cars, and much more. This is because these celebrities are people who have the power to influence others because people want to emulate the celebrities they respect.

Influencer Marketing In The Age Of Digital Media

Previously the only access we had to celebrities was through television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. This meant that we only had access to prepared and edited snippets of conversations from celebrities.The only places where the celebrities could actually do influencer marketing were in official advertisement of the product. Social media has now completely removed this limitation.These days you have constant access to celebrities.Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, celebrities can post updates that are seen by millions of people around the world in their own style without any limitations. It has become very popular for celebrities to use their official Twitter pages and Facebook pages to market products for which they are ambassadors. Instagram has also been great for influencer marketing. Within this new wave of social media influencer marketing, Instagram and Twitter are actually used more than Facebook for marketing because of their more casual nature.

Influencers In The Age Of Digital Media

Social media hasn’t just changed the way influencer marketing works; it has also changed who can be an influencer. Before social media, most influencers were big name celebrities that could only be afforded by big organisations.Social media has made it much easier for niche communities to attract influencers and for influencers to form active roles in niche communities.The contemporary youth has completely different influencers compared to the influencers of the past, YouTube celebrities for example, reflect the changing landscape of influencer marketing. For many of us in the professional world there is no concept of a YouTube celebrity. For us, YouTube is a place where we go watch videos about things that we already know. For the younger generation however, YouTube has become a replacement for TV. There are Channels they follow and YouTube stars that they also follow though all levels of social media.

Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Thanks to the new world of influencer marketing it is now possible for small businesses to embrace and use influencer marketing for themselves. It is not hard to find an influencer who will be relevant to your products. If you are selling fitness equipment then you can simply look online for fitness communities and perhaps get one of the more popular social media celebrities to mention your products in their posts. If you look at any of the Fitness celebrities on Instagram you can see that this is already happening. Every 3rd, 4th, or 5th post on Instagram shows them posing with a product which they say helps them get fitter and it seems to have a real effect.The best part is that there are now influencers for almost any industry out there. This even includes industries involved in business-to-business dealings or other technical products that one might not think has influencers. There are experts on the Internet providing advice for the oil industry, the construction industry, the services industry, and they are all influencers that you could theoretically approach to market your products.

Marketing To The Youth

The youth these days doesn’t really spend a lot of time on the television, radio, or newspapers. Instead, they spend most of their time online in different communities. Because of their vast online knowledge, younger people are also very adept at avoiding online marketing materials and often use ad-blocking software so they do not have to see any advertisements. Influencer marketing allows companies to overcome this obstacle. By using influencers they can have the younger generation follow their advertisements and marketing materials without it looking too blatantly like an intrusive advert.

Finding Your Influencers

If you want to succeed through influencer marketing then what you have to find the influencers that will have a positive impact on your industry. Finding influencers for retail products is easy- anyone that is popular with the public will be a good influencer as long as they do not make controversial art or statements. Local celebrities are great influencers if you are a small business. For example, local radio or television stars can have a lot of influence in local tastes. Bloggers are also very big influencers. The cosmetic industry these days is being powered through blogging. Younger customers engage with bloggers online and really value their opinions about new cosmetic products.

If you are in a B2B industry then you will most likely find influencers on LinkedIn or Facebook. Both LinkedIn and Facebook have experts from different industries writing articles and giving advice about the industry. This is true for almost every industry we know of. Through these sites, you can find influencers for construction, finance, medical, sales, and any other industry you can think of. It is also worth noting the people who have a lot of followers commenting on their posts and asking them further questions. These are the influencers that can make a difference.

Imagine the impact of getting an expert in the construction industry to talk positively about your construction related products. It’s easy to see why influencer marketing works. You will have to budget accordingly according to the industry you are in though. One important thing to keep in mind is that influencers aren’t just a celebrity. Influencers actually need to have the public’s trust or their words will have no real effect. There are some famous people out there who may be notorious but are not trusted by the public. If you choose someone as an influencer for your product you need to know that the response to his or her endorsement will be positive. Focus on finding trustworthy people in your own industry and you will see your perception soar in no time.