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If you asked a marketer what he would do to increase sales, one common answer you would get is- implement an influencer marketing strategy. According to a leading study conducted in 2018, almost 80% of the marketers surveyed said influencer marketing was a high ROI and effective medium to boost sales as compared to other marketing mediums. In fact, the study estimates that influencer marketing gives brands up to 11 times higher returns on investment than other marketing platforms.
This implied form of marketing, where brands hire influencers having a high engagement rate and a loyal following, is set to become a 15 billion dollar industry by 2022. Marketers have realized that getting a product endorsed by an influencer makes more sense than creating content to advertise the same product through conventional means.
With practically the entire target audience present on social media, brands know that the best way to target them is through their peers or online role models i.e., social media influencers. There is a vast difference between the pushy tone of conventional marketing and the unbiased reviews, recommendations, and promotions by influencers whose followers look forward to interacting with the influencer’s posts.
Why is influencer marketing so effective?
If brands have set a goal for themselves, they rely mostly on influencer marketing to achieve them. As mentioned earlier, the majority of marketers prefer using influencer marketing due to its cost-effectiveness and high Return on Investment (ROI).
Conventional forms of marketing like running ads in print media, radio, and TV does not guarantee brands a return on investment. In fact, it does not even guarantee that the ads have been viewed by the target audience the ads are being run for.
On the other hand, influencer marketing gives brands a sort of guarantee that the influencer is engaging with the target audience of the brand. For example, an influencer specializing in male grooming tips would be ideal for a men’s semi-formal brand to push their checked shirt collection.
The grooming influencer may have a good following of young men who want to know how best to groom themselves. Interactive and relevant content posted by the influencer resonates with his followers, encouraging them to emulate him. This is where influencer marketing works best.
Influencer marketing strategies that help boost sales
Affiliate Marketing- The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about affiliate marketing commissions. This is the secret sauce that encourages influencers to post engaging and unique content that helps the brand increase conversions. Coming back to the male grooming tips influencer example, the men’s semi-formal brand gives the influencer a unique Promo code and a link posted with the sponsored content. Whenever anyone buys any product using these promo codes and links, the influencer receives a commission. This helps the influencer to earn an additional income besides his fixed pay mentioned in the influencer contract. This is mutually beneficial to both parties as it helps increase sales, improves brand awareness, and motivates the influencer to earn more.
Video is (and will) remain king- A video helps explain much more than what a single image or text can. This is why TikTok and Instagram reels have exploded in popularity. Marketers, therefore, prefer those influencers that create engaging videos against those who rely on text or images. Videos help to engage with the audience on a deeper level. This is why people tend to view videos rather than view text or images on their social media feeds. If you compare two influencers, one who does videos exclusively against the other who depends mostly on text and images, the former will always get a better engagement than the latter.
Festival Discount and Offers- Similar to affiliate marketing, brands can use influencers to promote festival spending by giving them special discount coupons and offers.
When the influencer promotes these discount codes and offers, he helps the brand compete with its peers to increase sales and market share. After all, who doesn’t like a special discount offer, especially during the Christmas- New Year holiday?
Long-term collaborations- Just getting your influencer to promote a product on a single post does not work well these days, what matters is long-term collaborations. Long-term collaborations help brands earn trust and credibility through influencer posts. A single post recommending the use of a product may not work well, a series of posts encouraging people to try the product ensures higher conversions. Many brands also go for long-term collaborations with a host of influencers, this allows them to reach a wider geographic market within a niche.
The rise of micro and Nano influencers- The best advantage these influencers have is their high engagement rates. Many of these influencers with followings up to 100,000 are more targeted to their specific niche. If a brand wants to promote its stuff within a niche or a geographic area, these influencers are the best choice. In fact, many brands do long-term collaborations with a host of micro and Nano influencers to target specific audiences within a niche and gain market share. For example, restaurants, amusement parks, local internet service providers, and other local businesses prefer using such influencers.
Trendy hashtags- Many brands come up with special hashtags to differentiate their products from their competitors. Yet others use current affair hashtags to stay in the limelight. These brands get their influencers to incorporate these hashtags in their posts for best results. Sometimes, brands create an exclusive online campaign with a set of hashtags to identify it. When anyone searches for these hashtags, they can understand the campaign and interact with it, helping to boost brand awareness and conversions. In fact, it would be disastrous to implement an influencer campaign without using a special or trendy hashtag.
Final thoughts
You can choose a strategy or a combination of strategies to boost sales through influencer marketing. What actually matters is how well you have planned, developed, tracked, and executed the influencer marketing strategy. For many marketers, getting hold of the right influencers seems to be the biggest challenge. This can be solved with Quikplace.io , a platform that helps you choose and manage the entire influencer marketing campaign. If you want to know more about influencer marketing, its trends, and other ways to improve your marketing strategies, contact Quikplace today!
