Social media has become the cornerstone of the new inbound marketing trend. It is used to create engaging content, share promotional material, and reach out to the millions of users who spend an average of 1.72 hours on social media every single day. Now, 80% of people prefer to use social media to connect with brands and 78% say that a company’s social media posts affect their purchasing decisions. Though powerful in their own right, these statistics are only some of the direct results of social media that companies experience. Social media is also, however, the cause of a new marketing trend: the social influencer.
The Untapped Potential Of Influencers
Because of the relative ease of use and access of social media, almost everyone has the ability to have their voice heard by large audiences. Some popular social media users are celebrities who, with fame found in movies or sports, easily rack up millions of followers, but many others are just regular people who share ideas that people want to listen to. And, surprisingly, these ‘regular’ people are the ones the general public trusts more when making decisions and forming opinions about companies. Trust is critical in effective marketing, and these influencers are able to develop this trust with their users, by slowly building their social media accounts with content that users truly respond to. No one likes to receive sales pitches, but everyone loves to learn more about a topic that they are interested in. In a world where 95% of the largest consumer generation, the millennial generation, says that friends are the most credible source of product information, it’s no surprise that influencer marketing can be a huge asset to companies.
The Key To Identifying Your Influencers
The most important thing to remember while considering influencer marketing, however, is finding the correct influencer to meet your marketing goals. Most influencers occupy a niche. They are experts in a certain field, have a unique audience, and post a particular type of content whether it is popular articles, product information, or advice. According to Kristen Matthews at GroupHigh, to determine which influencer is right for your brand, the three most critical factors to consider are context, reach and actionability.
1. Context
Make sure that the niche of your influencer matches yours! If you’re selling makeup, try reaching out to a famous YouTube artist like Michelle Phan who has amassed millions of followers with her makeup tutorials. If you’re starting a new authentic American restaurant, maybe you can try to find an expert chef like Bobby Flay, for example. Obviously, you cannot always get these big name celebrities but reach, the next factor, is equally important to context.
2. Reach
It is important that the influencer that you choose to work with has a large audience. This doesn’t mean millions of followers but hopefully more than a couple hundred. While looking at reach, also look at the networks of the audience members of your influencer. Social media is all about sharing information and spreading the word, and an influencer is supposed to encourage that exchange of information about your brand.
3. Actionability
Last but not least —can your influencer drive lead and sales conversions, beyond increasing brand exposure? Are they an authority that people look to when making purchasing decisions? This is an important factor to consider when looking for the best influencers for your company.
How To Get Your Influencers On-board
Once all of these steps are complete, go get that influencer! Start slowly and build a repertoire with them. Follow their accounts, share their material, and comment with your appreciation for their work! Once you’ve shown your interest, reach out to your potential influencers and clearly outline who you are, why you are interested in working with them, and what they will gain in return. If you’ve done your research correctly and know that this is the right influencer for you, it shouldn’t be difficult to show how beneficial the partnership would be. Once everyone is on board and a measurable plan is in place, execute your new influencer marketing strategy and let the results speak for themselves.
Advanced WiFi location marketing solutions, such as Wavespot, automatically provide business owners with the top social media influencers in their network. With Wavespot, for example, users are easily able to spot the influencers among their customers – and thus create new marketing assets for their business.
Stay tuned to our blog and explore more creative ideas for your business!
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