If you are on social media for commercial purposes (or actually, even if you are just present socially), it doesn’t take much to understand that social media is a highly influence-driven
medium. Whether it be getting Likes and Comments on your post, views on your Reels or engagement and swipe ups on your Stories, holding influence over your followers is a powerful
feeling. And if you are a brand, great influence can also mean higher persuasion power & lesser convincing for people to buy your product/service. However, of late, the meaning of the word
‘brand’ on social media has increasingly shifted from a product/service to certain individuals. These individuals are a brand in themselves, with a loyal fan following latching on to every word
they say and recommendation they make. Their tips are followed rigorously by their followers and they majorly dictate the buying choices and patterns for a significant number of customers.
Hence, these individuals are rightfully called Influencers.
Influencer Marketing has exponentially grown from what was once thought to be a passing fad into a thriving industry. It has earned the recognition of several big brands, with influencers
collaborating with such brands on a regular basis. Asper a 2019 survey![]()
, 93%of marketers use InfluencerMarketing as a part of their overall marketing strategy. ![]()
Nearly 2/3 (63%)of
businesseswhokeepabudgetforinfluencermarketingintendtoincreasetheirspending over the next 12 months, with 17% expecting their influencer marketing spend to remain the same. And it is also a marketing
medium that yields rich dividends ,as most![]()
businesses are making $5.20 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT INFLUENCER
Now, who do you define as an influencer? Is merely the number of followers a factor, or is the content more important? Are you willing to go with an influencer who has better content but
not the number of followers you expect? What about your domain and the influencer’s network in that domain? Well, depending on your need, target audience and the domain of your brand, you may not
always need influencers with a huge number of followers. Sometimes, micro-influencers, content creators with a concentrated following of less than 2000 followers, can prove helpful to
your brand as well. If you are looking at tapping a concentrated, niche audience, a micro-influencer could be the ideal fit. But mere numbers are not enough. The content should be equally good. A necessary part of
your research should include browsing through the feeds of these influencers and gauging the quality of their content. Also, you need to compare the followers to engagement ratio to see
how effective and engaging their content actually is. Of course, you also need to make sure that the influencer you choose is relevant to your domain and has worked with brands in the same domain before.
Also, budget constraints are a factor. Hence, be sure to research and ask around for a ‘standard price’ that most influencers command. Some influencers work independently while others are
represented by marketing agencies. If financial compensations are not an option, you can also talk about compensations that involve free use of a product/service or a complimentary
coupon. Micro-influencers are typically open to accepting products/services in return for their services. Next comes the ROI. You want your investment to pay off. To gauge the response to the
influencer’s post on your product/service, you can ask the influencer about a general or expected number of interactions, engagements or conversations his/her post can spur. This
helps set a preliminary expectation or a basic standard. You should also continually monitor the
insights on the post/s and communicate your feelings about the progress.
INFLUENCER MANAGEMENT
While a lot of people might feel that Influencer Marketing starts and stops with recruiting an influencer, paying him/her and then letting them do their job, it is actually much more than
that. As mentioned above, you need to follow up and monitor the insights of the posts featuring your product/service and communicate your feedback to them. Several influencers work with
multiple brands at the same time. Hence, you need to ensure that they are sticking to the timelines. Some might forget and fail to add the desired call to action or tag you in the post.
Hence, you need to be civil and yet sincere about correcting these scenarios. It takes time to cultivate fruitful relationships and give the influencers an understanding of what works and
does not work for your brand. Be sure to be as hands-on and dedicate the time required to cultivate these relationships. Feature the influencer in a post introducing a new product, involve
them in the marketing process of the brand. Regular monitoring and analysis of the campaigns you conduct together can also help foster a good working relationship.
Another factor that comes into play when collaborating with an influencer is the tonality of your messaging. While your brand might have a pre-decided tonality, it is important to let the
influencer add his/her own vocabulary to it and let it resonate with their, and consequently, your audience. Find a middle road between your tonality and the influencer’s communication.
CONNECTING WITH INFLUENCERS
Once you have identified the need for Influencer Marketing, contacting relevant influencers is the next step. There are several options to do this.
Micro-influencers are usually prudent and quick to respond over Direct Messages on Instagram. More established influencers prefer communication over mails or a dedicated website link for
partnerships. It also helps to have a meeting with the influencer after the initial communication and explain the way you would like to collaborate with them and the strategy you’d like to
adopt. All said and done, Influencer Marketing is a much newer and promising trend that is surely here to stay. Influencers have been known to gain their followers’ trust more convincingly than
celebrities. And they don’t charge as much as a celebrity would. That can be a truly win-win combination for your brand. However, the constant need to maintain relationships, devising
different types of influencer campaigns and monitoring and revising them from time to time are important for constant and long-term results.
We hope this post was helpful to get a basic understanding of how Influencer Marketing works and certain nitty-gritties behind it. Reach out to us on ![]()
connect@gdcs.online if you would like to
include an Influencer Marketing Plan as part of your marketing strategy. We would love to help you plan and execute the same. Also, check out our other posts on various factors related to
Digital Marketing and how you can optimize your brand’s online presence through them. We hope this post was helpful to get a basic understanding of how Influencer Marketing works and certain nitty-gritties
behind it. Reach out to us on connect@gdcs.online if you would like to include an Influencer Marketing Plan as part of your marketing strategy. We would love to help you plan and execute the same. Also, check out
our other posts on various factors related to Digital Marketing and how you can optimize your brand’s online presence through them.