Influencer marketing may not be a new term among social media users. It has become a new trend in the age of social media that is slowly replacing traditional ads.
You might have seen influencers on social media showcasing their reviews, opinion, ratings, videos, or just posting a photo of a particular brand or service on their social media handle. Then, their followers would purchase those products just because the person, someone they look up to, is endorsing the product. Well, this is a part of influencer marketing, about which we will be talking in this article.
Influencer marketing agencies and real people who are not top A-list celebrities are earning millions through influencer marketing strategies. Before diving into why influencer marketing is successful, let’s first be clear about what influencer marketing is.
What is Influencer marketing?
If you haven’t heard about influencer marketing, give a quick look at this Layman’s perspective for a concept. “Influencer marketing is simply a modern-day content-driven marketing campaign with collaborations between brands and influencers. It is a form of social media campaign but involving endorsements and product placements from influencers – individuals/organizations having an implied master level of knowledge or social impact in their respective fields.”
Influencer marketing is a great online marketing tool in digital marketing that helps you to reach wider audiences, increase brand awareness, and boost your marketing Return on Investment (ROI).
Influencer marketing platform can be any social media platform where you have a reach among numerous households. Though Instagram influencer marketing is the most popular and influential strategy, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter are a few social media platforms with different demographics. Influencers are not necessarily celebrities with a massive following on social media. It can be anyone who has an impact on the audience through their content on social media.
Who are Influencers?
Influencers, also called social media influencers, are those individuals who inspire through social media. They have some genuine followers on social media who trust the influencer’s authenticity. The influencer’s words and posts have an impact on a follower’s selection decision.
Some celebrities with massive followers on Instagram sometimes fail to become influencers, and sometimes a person living an ordinary life, having only a few thousand followers on Instagram can become influencers.
The brands reach out to those influencers, and they get paid for promoting their brand. These influencers bring brand exposure and awareness among audience communities, which is the primary goal of influencer marketing.
Why is Influencer marketing effective?
Since both influencers and brand companies are earning enough from influencer marketing, it is evident that influencer marketing is an effective tool. Here are some points that justify the effectiveness of influencer marketing.
1) No thrusting campaigns/ No Ads blocking
Influencer marketing is not like traditional marketing. The ads that come up on television in between the tv shows and the ads on social media are annoying and repetitive. But, influencers do not appear out to distract your social media experience.
They, in an organic way, drop a post about the brand on social media, which gets exposed to the influencer’s followers without appearing pushy. People have also started using Adblocker, but people cannot block influencer’s posts so, it is not a thrusting campaign.
2) Brand exposure and interface with the audience
Influencer marketing is people-centered marketing, and influencers deliver genuine engagement with their followers. Audiences spend a lot of time on social media platforms. Influencers, with their expertise, can really pull the target audience and help brands build a long-lasting relationship with consumers. It also adds credibility to the brand.
3) Source of remuneration
The frequently asked question about influencer marketing is how much does an influencer earn? It is a good source of income since a lot of influencers choose to work full-time. The remuneration varies with brands and influencers. It is not the same for all so, there is no exact number, but influencers probably charge per post.
4) Guides purchasing motive
Influencers influence consumer purchasing decisions. Consumers often seek advice from influencers on which product to buy, where to buy, what to eat, where to eat, etc. The influencers guide the purchasing motive of the consumers. Therefore, influencer marketing can help brands to increase sales and reach a wider audience.
5) High ROI
The more the influencer can reach a wider audience and make them purchase the particular brand/product, high is the ROI. All the brands are looking to outreach the expenses so, the brand must collaborate with an influencer relevant to the brand concept.
6) The power of sharing
Influencer marketing strategies is knowing your audience and deciding which influencer you want to work with to pull off an effective influencer marketing campaign. Influencer marketing campaigns have unlimited sharing potential since people on social media can possibly share the content again and again. It can go famous or viral and help you increase your business. It can boost brand awareness and help stand out from the crowd if the brand chooses the right influencer for marketing.
7) Unique contents
Influencers gain the attention of thousands of people from their unique content. They know how to attract audiences and connect with them. When people see them using the product or buying the product before their eyes and give a genuine opinion, people trust them. So, when an influencer comes up with original and authentic content to promote a particular brand, people are attracted to those brands. Different influencers have different techniques to promote the brand on a social media platform. So it’s all about authenticity and creativity.
How to reach out to influencers to promote your business in Nepal?
In influencer marketing, the partnership between brand and influencer is not enough. Just because the influencer is popular on social media, the partnership between the influencer and the brand may not work.
Fundamentally, a brand needs influencer marketing when it has to catch the audience’s eye for exposure. Brands across the world employ this strategy, and Nepal is no exception.
Sometimes the brand chooses the wrong influencer, and instead of an increase in sales, your investment drowns in the river. People make mistakes while reaching out to influencers, which is avoidable. To solve this problem, we have Uptrendly.
Uptrendly is Nepal’s only influencer marketing platform established in 2017. This data-driven marketing company helps brands meet target influencers with the target audience and initiate an endorsement campaign partnership. In these three years, Uptrendly has created an association with brands like Samsung, Coke, Unilever, Vianet, Ncell, Tuborg, and Mahindra, to name a few.
Uptrendly aims to assemble influential figures from various fields and platforms, analyze their followers, engaging content and reach to the audience, and create an influencer marketing strategy to promote the business. Currently, Uptrendly has ties with 150+ influencers of Nepal. So, if you want to promote your business and increase sales, then register into Uptrendly and collaborate with the right influencer for your brand and make the most of your investment.
How Uptrendly works?
Uptrendly works in three steps:
Step 1: Brands communicate with Uptrendly for the endorsement or brand awareness for their products/services.
Step 2: Uptrendly and the brand generates a concept and framework for the influencer marketing campaign and collaborates with an influencer, whose audience demography matches the brand’s audience.
Step 3: Influencers upload the conceptualized posts in these social media account where is visible to the followers, and the campaign outcome is later calculated according to the post insight.
Conclusion
The influencer marketing landscape is changing since it is not the same as before and will not certainly be the same in the future. The competition is high in the business field, so it is better if we fuel our business with influencer marketing. The risk is minimal, and the success rate is high, so even if your business is new, it may help you in breakthroughs. You don’t have to be a celebrated brand to do influencer marketing, and you do not have to be a celebrity to be an influencer. Influencer marketing is an effective marketing tool for big business and small business since it is budget-friendly.
What strategies have you tried in influencer marketing to promote your business? Tell us in the comment section below.
