Using an influencer to boost awareness of a product or service has been part of marketing for centuries. In 1760, Robert Wedgewood of Wedgewood China began using endorsements from members of the Royal Family to boost his pottery sales. In today’s digital age, influencer marketing has evolved tremendously, but its core remains the same. We’ve listed six reasons influencer marketing is critical for your business today:
1. Your competitors are already using them
Staying ahead of the game in a hyper-competitive market is vital to your company’s success. Your competitors are most likely already using influencers in their marketing strategy. According to a 2018 Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey, 75% of marketers are using influencers as a marketing tool and 43% plan to increase spending on it in the next 12 months. ANA’s CEO, Bob Liodice, provided some insights to Chief Marketer:
“It’s clear that the popularity of influencer marketing has increased among marketers in recent years, largely due to the growth and evolution of social media,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice said. “We’ve found that a growing number of marketers are turning to influencers to help them combat ad blocking, leverage creative content in an authentic way, drive engagement, and reach millennial and gen Z audiences who avidly follow and genuinely trust social media celebrities.”
2. They build your brand’s credibility
The trust and loyalty that social media influencers establish with their audiences are among their most valuable assets. According to a 2017 Choozle survey, only 7% of participants viewed online ads positively. And in a 2017 TINT article, only 4% of consumers declared trust in marketing in advertising in general. Using an influencer is a surefire way to speak to your audience through someone they deem trustworthy through their authentic content. The proof is in the pudding: MuseFind, an influencer marketing platform, reported that 92% of customers trust recommendations from strangers (i.e., influencers) over brand advertisements.
3. They create fresh content
It’s well known that companies hire marketing teams to generate content. A lot of marketing plans revolve around content publicity. With social media’s marketing power increasing exponentially, brands want to create content that will go viral. Influencers serve as a loophole and simplify this process. Content created by influencers works like user-generated content. Instead of an ad, it’s like a credible testimonial or product review. Your audience processes the reviews as unbiased and will be more likely to use your product than if they had viewed an ad.
4. They boost organic traffic and engagement
As of last year, 615 million devices now use Adblock and it’s now mainstream across all ages, according to PageFair. This is where influencers come in. Working with credible influencers who are trusted amongst an audience allow brands to bypass the adblocking obstacle and better connect with buyers on social media. We can think of influencers as a form of “word of mouth” business mixed with native advertising. This combined with their massive social media followings allow companies to create organic traffic, engagement and grow their social followings.
5. They improve your SEO rankings
Working with social media influencers doesn’t always mean them posting your products or services on their social channels. You can also collaborate with them and request that the influencer mentions your brand on their blog or post one of your articles. This can result in generating high-quality backlinks to your website, which improves your SEO. Backlinks are a crucial component of any SEO strategy. Search engines like Google are constantly changing their algorithms to filter out junk posts. Having natural links on an influencer’s page to your site or blog boosts your page in Google’s search results.
6. They generate sales
Influencers enable your company to tap into your niche audiences with tailored content so your message will resonate with your target prospects and drive conversions. In fact, for every $1 invested influencer marketing, businesses make $6.50 in revenue according to the latest poll from Tomoson, an influencer marketplace. So, for your marketing funnel, influencers are essential to converting your prospects into customers.
Jolie Shapiro
Passionate about all things communications, Jolie found her dream job as a copywriter with Critical Mention, where she’s continuing her passion for writing and editing. With a background working for high-profile clients in the financial, hospitality and technology industries, she’s excited to bring her experience to Critical Mention. When she’s not writing, you can find her at music festivals, hiking or snowboarding.
