Why Brands Should Rely on Influencer Marketing in 2018 and Beyond

Influencer marketing has gone mainstream. With defined steps to implement it, more and more brands are going to rely on influencer marketing in 2018.

According to Linqia’s latest research:

• Out of 86% marketers who used influencer marketing in 2017, 92% of them found it useful.
• To make the most out of digital channels, 44% marketers are planning to use influencer content.
• 36% of ecommerce marketers are planning to use influencer content in 2018 to increase their product sales.

The problem with TV ads was that you were reaching out to everyone. You could not effectively target your target audience. But with influencer marketing, you can have social media influencers reaching out to your audience. In simple terms, it’s more value for lesser money.

Influencer marketing now is a valid and successful marketing strategy used worldwide. Also, influencer marketing is a long-term marketing strategy. Your association with influencers will build your brand’s credibility and reputation for the long-term.

Many brands combine their influencer marketing with their social media marketing to maximize effectiveness and ROI. 2018 is going to see many brands adding influencer marketing to their marketing campaigns. The biggest reason for this change is that they are seeing influencer marketing working well for other brands. Also, because it gives them a chance to reach their exact target audience.

There are many reasons why brands are increasing their influencer marketing budgets for 2018. Let’s quickly dive into some of the most important reasons:

1. Influencers Are Trust Builders

In a report released by Nielsen, they found that recommendation from friends remains the most credible form of advertising. People have always had a hard time trusting brands and their advertisements. But when influencers talk about your brand, people find it easier to believe them.

Source: Google

The image above clearly shows the strong relationship that people have with YouTube personalities. The same report also found that, compared to traditional celebrities, YouTube stars drive:

• 12 times more comments
• 2 times more actions, and
• 3 times more views.

Why would brands not market with influencers when they charge less and provide better results? The authentic connections that influencers have with people are making them a preferred choice of marketing.

2. Influencers Are Easier To Find And Connect With In 2018

The popularity of influencer marketing has resulted in a vast large number of influencer marketing platforms being developed. There are several platforms which makes influencer marketing really simple.

The privileges provided by influencer marketing platforms are:

• You can set filters and find influencers faster and easier. You can set filters based on categories, social media platform, location, influencer’s audience, and your target audience.
• You can connect with the influencers and discuss their working process with them.
• You can start campaigns where you can specify the kind of influencers you are looking for.
• They also give you the option to set up payment methods on their platform, which makes the entire payment process easy.
• Other benefits include tracking all of your influencers in one place. So you don’t have to run to different platforms to track different influencers.
• The most important advantage is that these platforms help you to measure your influencer marketing ROI. You can see how well your influencer marketing campaign worked, and which influencers performed best.

Grin, for example, is a simple influencer marketing platform that can help you find and reach out to influencers. Using this platform, you can pay your influencers either with cash or product. You can also track your influencer program and results.

You can also find key influencers with BuzzSumo.What’s makes BuzzSumo awesome is that it’s very easy to use. BuzzSumo lets you filter your influencers on the basis of content type, country, language, and time.

The easy collaboration of all your influencer marketing campaigns in one place is going to make it easy to connect with influencers. And track their progress.

3. Influencers Are Revenue Generators

How long would you continue a marketing campaign that doesn’t generate revenue?

Exactly. You want your marketing campaigns to generate a high return on your investment.

And the good thing is that influencer marketing pays. It can help you boost conversions and increase your sales.

Glossybox sells beauty gift packaged boxes. But the beauty industry is crowded. So it wasn’t easy for them to penetrate the market.

Glossybox then worked with Revfluence for an influencer marketing campaign. They collaborated with YouTube influencers who created videos of unboxing their monthly boxes and using them.

The results from the campaign? More than 150,000 views and recurring monthly sales of $3,000.

The reason influencers generate sales effectively is that they are social celebrities with high engagement rates. Their photos and videos reach thousands, or even millions of people. And even a small percentage increase in conversions can generate a large increase sales.

Another example of influencers generating sales is from Gerber Lil’ Beanies. They worked with Linqia for an influencer marketing campaign to reach parents with authentic content. This is how the program worked for them:

Source: Linqia

The influencers’ content for Lil’ Beanies was shared on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. I would say that’s a remarkable contribution to their sales from the influencer marketing program.

4. Influencers Are Awareness Boosters

One of the main goals of marketing is to increase brand awareness. And influencers are awesome at generating awareness. They make your brand look more authentic and popular. They have a significant following on social media, and they amplify your brand’s reach.

Whether you are an established brand or a startup, you will always want to increase your brand awareness. Influencers can also strengthen your social media presence

Mercedes started an influencer marketing campaign with an popular influencer, Loki. Loki is a dog with an Instagram following of 1.6M on Instagram. The stunning video was widely shared on social media. It got more than 17.5K views on YouTube and helped Mercedes reach a younger audience.

Neoreach partnered with TLC and 13 influencers. The program resulted in ranking them in the top five trending hashtags on Twitter in the US. It also helped make TLC’s Outdaughered premier with its highest season premiere rating.

The results of this influencer marketing campaign were:

• 8 million impressions
• $135,000+ earned media value

Source: Neoreach

However, influencer marketing is not just for big brands or established businesses. Even small businesses can increase their reach with influencer marketing campaigns. Small businesses can start working with micro-influencers who are experts in their niches.

Micro-influencers charge much less compared to celebrities and macro-influencers. They also have high engagement rates. If small businesses want to increase their brand awareness with influencers, they can start influencer marketing with micro-influencers.

5. Influencers Are Content Creators

Businesses hire expensive teams to create exciting and interesting content for them. The whole marketing plan revolves around content publicity. With the impact of social media, brands are continually involved in creating videos and images that can go viral on social media.

What if I tell you that influencers simplify the entire process for you?

They create content for you that you can share everywhere and establish trust. The content created by influencers works like user-generated content. It looks like a testimonial or an honest product review. People take the reviews as unbiased and are more likely to use the product suggested by an influencer.

Another benefit of using content from influencers is that it helps you to retarget your audience. The people who are connected to the influencers can be retargeted with their content.

Some examples of brands using influencer content:

Gymshark is a famous fitness brand. They have an Instagram following of 1.8 million. Their entire Instagram profile is influencer-generated content.
The benefits of sharing your influencers’ content?

1. Their content is already appreciated by their audience, which is your target audience when you partner with the right influencers.
2. When people visit your social profiles, they associate your brand with their favorite influencers.

Use the power of influencers to create some meaningful and breathtaking content for your brand.

Social media has empowered small businesses to grow their businesses online. Influencer marketing has the same potential. Before you start your influencer marketing program, make sure you read how to compensate influencers.

Over To You

Are you also planning to incorporate influencer marketing into your 2018 marketing plan? We would love to know how you do it. Share with us in the comments.