Science Behind Influencer Marketing And How To Use It

We often see videos of influencers with a large social media following endorsing different brands and products. Have you ever thought, why are they doing it? Let us tell you what goes on behind the scenes so that you know why you keep seeing your favorite influencers endorsing brands and products on social media.

In the past 10 years, social media has grown immensely. People are currently using social media for business purposes. Many influencers that we see are present on social media so that they can build their careers out of it. On the other hand, brands have started using social media to market their products since more than four billion people use it. This makes social media a huge market for brands.

Businesses have their online stores on different social media platforms. However, to increase their sales, they have developed an influencer marketing strategy. To understand this marketing strategy, recall how brands have used celebrities to market their brands for ages.

For example, Pepsi has been casting movie stars, athletes and musicians for the longest time to market its beverage. Influencer marketing is similar to this marketing technique. However, it is relatively new, and it uses the medium of social media.

Influencer marketing is a form of digital marketing in which brands work with individuals with a strong online presence and a large following on social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter. These individuals, known as “influencers”, use their different platforms to promote products or services of different brands to their followers.

Influencer marketing is an effective way for brands to reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. Since influencers have a high level of trust and credibility with their followers, their promotions are often perceived as more authentic and credible than traditional advertising.

In this marketing strategy, influencers are classified into different categories. For example, there are Macro-influencers. These are influencers with a large following, typically over 100,000 followers. Therefore, they have a broad reach and can effectively increase brand awareness.

Then there are Micro-influencers who have a smaller following, typically under 100,000 followers. They often have a more niche audience and can be more effective for driving conversions.

Then last, but not least, there are the Nano-influencers: These are influencers with a following of 1,000 to 10,000 followers. They have a very niche audience and can be more effective for building brand awareness in a specific market segment.

Brands work with these influencers in several ways, such as sponsoring posts, creating sponsored content or hosting giveaways. To run a successful influencer marketing campaign,

Choosing influencers that align with your brand values, message and target audience are important. Influencer marketing has become a necessity for brands and businesses worldwide.

This is why many universities offer MSc Digital Marketing & Analytics courses and other courses in which they teach influencer marketing and other helpful marketing skills. Influencer marketing is a beneficial marketing strategy. However, several factors are to be considered by brands while practicing Influencer marketing.

Audience alignment

When practicing influencer marketing, choosing influencers whose audience aligns with your target market is crucial. This is because the influencer’s audience is the audience you will be reaching through the influencer’s promotion of your product or service. Suppose the audience of the influencer does not align with your target market. In that case, your marketing efforts will likely be less effective.

For example, if you are a fashion brand targeting young adult women, it would make sense to work with influencers who have a following of young adult women. On the other hand, if you were to work with an influencer whose audience is primarily made up of young children, it is unlikely that your marketing efforts would be successful in reaching your target market.

Choosing influencers whose audience aligns with your target market increases the chances of reaching the right people and achieving your marketing goals. This is because the influencer’s audience is more likely to be interested in your product or service and, therefore, more likely to engage with your marketing efforts.

As a result, you are more likely to see a positive return on investment for your marketing efforts. Additionally, it is essential to note that choosing the right influencer for your brand will also increase the followers’ trust, which can lead to conversions and sales.

Reach

Brands have to consider the reach of the influencer while choosing the influencer. The number of followers an influencer has can give you an idea of their reach, indicating how many people potentially see their posts.

However, it’s important to note that a large following doesn’t necessarily mean that the influencer’s audience is engaged or interested in their content. The followers might have followed the influencer a long time ago and might not be interested in the content that the influencer is currently posting.

On the other hand, the engagement rate is a more accurate indicator of the engagement and interest of an influencer’s audience. It tells how many people actively engage with the influencer’s content by liking, commenting and sharing it. Therefore, a higher engagement rate indicates a more engaged and interested audience.

When an influencer has a high engagement rate, it suggests that their followers are actively engaging with their content, which can mean that they are more likely to be interested in the products or services they promote. This can lead to more conversions and sales for your brand.

Brands should know that engagement rate is a more reliable metric than the number of followers because it’s a better indicator of the quality of the audience. A higher engagement rate means the audience is more active and interested in the influencer’s content.

Also Read: 6 Metrics You Need To Analyze When Finding Influencers

Budget

When implementing an influencer marketing strategy, it’s essential to consider the cost of working with influencers and whether the investment is worth it for your business. The cost of working with influencers can vary depending on the partnership type and the influencer’s following size.

For example, a sponsored post on an influencer’s social media account can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on the influencer’s reach and engagement rate. The cost varies on the type of content to be created, the duration of the campaign and the number of posts or stories.

It’s also important to consider your business’ potential return on investment when working with influencers. The return on investment can be measured regarding website traffic, engagement, conversions and sales. If the cost of working with an influencer is high, but the potential ROI is also high, then the investment may be worth it for your business.

Brands should also know that working with many influencers can be costly, so it’s essential to be selective and focus on working with a smaller number of high-quality influencers rather than a large number of low-quality ones.

Influencer authenticity

While carrying out influencer marketing, it is essential to work with authentic and genuine influencers in their posts rather than those who may seem inauthentic or insincere. Authenticity is a vital aspect of influencer marketing, as it helps to build trust and credibility with the influencer’s audience.

An authentic influencer is someone true to themselves and their audience and genuinely interested in the products or services they promote. As a result, they are more likely to produce content that resonates with their audience and that is viewed as trustworthy. An authentic influencer can help build trust between the brand and the audience, leading to increased engagement and conversions.

On the other hand, influencers who may seem inauthentic or insincere, for example, by promoting products or services that do not align with their personal brand, can damage the trust and credibility of the influencer with their audience. This can lead to a decrease in engagement and conversions and, ultimately, harm the brand’s reputation.

Additionally, working with authentic influencers can help in creating a sense of community and loyalty around your brand. Because people trust authentic influencers, they are more likely to trust the brand they are promoting.

Brand fit

It is important to work with influencers whose personal brand aligns with the values and message of your brand while practicing influencer marketing. This alignment helps to ensure that the influencer’s and brand’s messages are in sync, which can help increase the effectiveness of the influencer marketing campaign.

For example, if you are a sustainable fashion brand, it would be more effective to work with influencers who promote a sustainable lifestyle and have a personal brand that aligns with environmental and ethical values. On the other hand, if you were to work with an influencer who promotes a fast-fashion lifestyle, it might not align with your brand’s message. Therefore, it may not be effective in reaching your target audience.

When an influencer’s personal brand aligns with your brand’s values and message, it can help increase the credibility and trust of the influencer’s audience in the brand. As a result, the audience is more likely to trust and engage with the influencer’s recommendations. As a result, the brand’s message will be more likely to resonate with them.

Moreover, when the influencer’s personal brand aligns with the brand, it can also help to create a sense of authenticity and consistency in the marketing campaign. It will give a sense of genuineness to the audience that the influencer actually believes in the brand they are promoting.

Legal requirements

While implementing an influencer marketing strategy, it’s important to be aware of legal requirements when working with influencers, such as disclosure of sponsored content and compliance with data-protection laws.

One of the key legal requirements when working with influencers is transparency and disclosure of sponsored content. In many countries, it is a legal requirement that sponsored content be clearly labeled to avoid misleading consumers.

This means that influencers must disclose when a post or video is sponsored or when they have been paid or compensated for creating content. Depending on the platform, this can be done through hashtags, captions or other means.

Another legal requirement is compliance with data-protection laws. As a brand, you should be aware of any personal data you collect from influencers or their followers and how it will be stored and protected. This includes obtaining informed consent for data collection and being transparent about the collected data, how it will be used and who it will be shared with.

Conclusion

Brands have been using celebrities for ages for promotion purposes. However, as social media usage has increased, brands have adopted a marketing strategy called Influencer marketing. As per this strategy, brands use social media influencers to promote their products and services because thousands and millions of people from different targeted groups follow these influencers.

Influencer marketing has emerged as a significant marketing strategy since people trust when their favorite social media influencer asks them to use certain brands. However, some factors are to be considered by brands before adopting influencer marketing.

For example, brands have to choose the influencer wisely. They have to see whether their product is aligned with the audience that the influencer attracts or not. Moreover, they also have to observe whether the influencer is fit to promote their brand. Besides that, brands need to consider the costs that will be associated with influencer marketing and what legal procedures they have to follow to carry out this marketing strategy.

Also Read: B2B Influencer Marketing Trends To Be Aware