If you’ve not already taken the leap into influencer marketing, then I’d suggest that 2021 is the year to do so. Social media has really taken over, particularly due to the fact that people are at home now more than ever. However, the effects that this has had on buyer behaviour are unlikely to change after the pandemic. People are shopping online more than ever before, and this is expected to only increase in the coming years.
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What are your goals?
Whatever your goals, I can guarantee that considering an influencer marketing campaign is a good idea. With 60% of people discovering new products on Instagram, it is the perfect place to encourage sales. You may be interested in increasing brand awareness or creating new content. But at the end of the day, who doesn’t want more sales as a result of this?
The first step is to really understand what you would like to achieve. Do you want to reach out to a new geographical location to expose your brand to a new consumer group? Do you want to improve your social media presence with additional, and improved quality content? Do you want to improve the image of your brand? These are some important questions. By clearly outlining the goals that you wish to meet with an influencer campaign, you can better understand the type of campaign that will be best for your brand.
How can influencers help?
Influencer marketing has become the marketing strategy that gains some of the best results. We often see successful brands working with celebrities and big names and yes, this is a great technique. But, whether your budget does not stretch this far, or you are generally interested in a better ROI, nano and micro influencers could be the way forward. We are seeing more and more brands turning to these groups of influencers, and it’s clear why!
Nano influencers have between 1k and 5k followers. This group is known for their authenticity and their engagement. These influencers have most likely grown their accounts based on something that they love. This means that you are able to access a niche community of engaged followers. They will be passionate about what they do, which is where authenticity comes into play. Micro influencers have between 5k and 50k followers, and have fairly similar engagement rates, but tend to have a bit more experience in what they do.
For example, these influencers may have begun their account due to their love for baking, and consequently gained followers that enjoy their recipes. As a brand that sells kitchenware, you could work with an influencer like this to directly access an audience that would be interested in your product, with followers that trust their recommendations.
What will they post?
With a variety of social media platforms out there and different media types to choose from, this is where you need to think about your goals and your target audience. Instagram is, generally speaking, the hub for influencer marketing. It is a highly visual platform where you will find Instagram influencers from all different categories.
Content can be posted here in the form of photos through posts and stories, or videos through IGTV, IG Live, Reels, and also on posts and stories too. The investment required for each media type will be different, due to the time and effort needed for each. For example, stories are only available for 24 hours and involve less time from the influencer so may be cheaper than a video. However, this doesn’t mean that they are less effective.
You could consider giving influencers a promotional code that they can supply to their followers to receive a discount at checkout. By hiring a micro influencer, for example, they could post a story that includes captioning their promo code, or a call to action like ‘swipe up to shop’. This story has the opportunity to reach, say, 40k people, with fairly minimal work needed.
However, depending on your product type, your goals, and your audience, another platform might suit you better. For example, YouTube influencers are an incredibly popular choice due to the versatility and creativity of video content.
This type of content requires more time from the influencers, with editing typically required to create high-quality videos. You may opt to work with influencers here for a product that requires a more in-depth explanation, full review, or tutorial. Consumers love to see a product in action, so this is a great opportunity to really show off its uses and benefits. For an extra bit of help, you might want to read about the 8 ways to create video content that stands out.
Again, with YouTube, influencers can promote your product whilst incorporating discount and promo codes within the video as well as in the video description.
How to find the right influencers
So, with all of this in mind, you’re probably wondering how to find influencers most suitable for your brand. You can, of course, try to search directly on Instagram first. We would suggest that you first look for influencers within your own followers. This way – you know that you will be finding someone who is already a fan of your brand.
However, the most efficient way would be to use an influencer marketing platform like Heepsy. This enables you to specify your search through dedicated filters such as influencer category, location, followers, and more. Let’s say that your aim is to increase brand awareness in a new location, we’ll go for Spain, and to work with micro influencers in the food category. Your search would look like this:
It’s important to keep in mind that just because the influencer is from this category, it does not necessarily mean that their followers will be too. This is where the audience insights become crucial. With Heepsy, you can analyse an influencer’s profile, by looking at their quality in terms of engagement and authenticity, as well as audience insights such as demographics and interests.
Conclusion
To sum up, influencer marketing has become one of the best marketing strategies for driving sales. Whether this is through increased content creation or general brand awareness, the overall result is a positive influence on sales figures. With a little help from a platform like Heepsy, you’ll be well on your way to creating an outstanding campaign in no time!
