Influencer marketing today enables audiences to communicate with each other as well as with experts and celebrities who endorse and promote products. 

Consumers today are requesting recommendations from friends and acquaintances prior to any online research. Such an increase in the popularity of sourcing information in comparison to company channels is tremendously changing the marketing communication methods. 

Influencer marketing encompasses experts in respective fields like health, beauty, fitness, etc., sharing their experiences, beliefs, and opinions on products and services through various social media channels. This, in turn, is impacting the purchase-decisions of the tech-savvy generation. 

The personification of these influencers is giving them leverage to shape and affect opinion, seek validation and acceptance. Brands and realizing these trends and therefore using influencer marketing as an effective communication strategy to reach out to audiences.

Understanding Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing essentially is a strategy that identifies people who have a strong influence on a brand’s industry or target audience. In an influencer marketing campaign, a brand builds a partnership with the influencer. The influencer then agrees to expose their audience to the brand’s messaging or content. 

Since influencers have a large and engaged audience. Therefore, brands benefit when an influencer shares or mentions their content or messaging. This exposure allows the brand to showcase themselves in front of their target audience in a positive, natural, and meaningful way. 

Influencer marketing is about working with people who have the right audience so they can connect with the people who are most likely to further connect with your brand. 

Here are the few ways in which influencer marketing helps brands in their communication strategies

1. Idols are Trusted

Celebrities, talents, and idols are considered the societal class that the people build their identities upon and the class that instigates mimetic behaviors among their followers and the larger society in general. This builds the trust that the audience needs to have before it accepts any message. 

2. Marketing through People show Authenticity

People’s channels become a natural source for stories to be perceived as authentic, and they are the native channel where word-of-mouth marketing imparts. Influencer marketing instigates conversations and capitalizes on consumer beliefs in the credibility of recommendation. 

3. Turns brands into hot topics

Influencers are mostly the force behind trends. They frequently share new ideas, brands, and products with audiences. With influencer marketing, you can convert your campaigns into hot topics. By associating your brand with a trendsetting influencer, you show your brand as an innovative leader. 

4. Drive Purchasing Decision

When influencers mention your brand, it can actually drive sales. Consumers look to influencers for advice on what products and services to buy. In a recent study, it was found that 40% of respondents said that they made a purchase after noticing a social media influencer use the product or service. Another research found that over 85% of Gen Z users use social media to learn about more products. Therefore, if a brand aims at increasing sales, influencer marketing can help achieve that goal. 

5. Outweighs other Advertising Options

Though banner ads were a great tool for brands to promote their products and services, audiences today have become blind to this advertising method. The average CTR or click-through-rate for display ads is only 0.06%, as per a study by HubSpot. Influencer marketing cuts through banner ads by placing the brand where audiences notice it. 

6. Connects with Audience Exactly where they are

Audiences invest a lot of time on social media. This number only goes on to increase across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. When influencers mention a feature or a brand on these social media platforms, they allow the brand to connect with audiences on the sites where they spend the most time. 

7. Higher ROI 

Studies have shown that the benefits of influencer outreach outweigh the costs, and ROI in influencer marketing can be very high. Previous studies reported that, on average, brands with an influencer marketing program received $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 of paid media.   

8. Unlimited Sharing Potential 

Another reason why influencer marketing has such a higher ROI is that campaigns have unlimited potential. With most paid advertising tactics, there is a limit to the audience reach. However, with influencer marketing, a campaign can be shared and even become viral, giving your brand a higher reach than you paid for. Shareable content promoted by an influencer can grow brand awareness and attract attention over and over again. 

Types of influencers 

Collaborating with the right influencers gives brands access to a large pool of fresh and engaging content. Such content is perceived as credible and authentic as the influencers have a strong connection with their audience. Here are a few types of social media influencers that usually brands turn to. 

1. Blogger and Vloggers

Bloggers use a dedicated blog to publish content on a regular basis and usually have a highly engaged and loyal audience. They are regarded as industry experts and trusted sources of information. 

Vloggers share content in the form of videos over platforms like YouTube and Vimeo to share their content, which can be anything from snippets of their daily life to extreme travel videos. 

2. Social media sensations 

Social media stars share glimpses of their daily life and build strong relationships with their followers. Though they are not niche experts, they definitely have the power to influence purchase decisions. These influencers have a personal bond with their followers, are often highly engaged, and have faith in their recommendations. 

3. Reality TV stars

Reality television stars are household names today. Therefore, social media users find it easy to relate to them. At times many contestants of TV shows also collaborate with fashion and beauty brands. However, the fame of reality TV stars is short-lived, which is why brands need to identify and partner with them at the right time. 

4. Micro-influencer

Micro-influencers have a few hundred thousand or smaller number of followers. However, they have extremely engaged fan communities and highly specific niches. They can easily motivate their followers to take desired actions. 

5. Thought leaders 

These are influencers who are known faces in cutting-edge technology and innovation. They are entrepreneurs and top-level decision-makers of big companies. Social media users follow them and learn about the latest development and trends in their industries. 

6. Mainstream celebrities

These influencers are movie stars, athletes, sportspersons, musicians, models, and other public figures. They are often appointed as ambassadors and become the face of the brands. Due to their immense popularity, they have a massive reach on social media platforms and are not particular to any niches. 

Examples of influencer marketing 

1. Angel Broking 

Angel broking is a stockbroking platform that turned towards influencer marketing to create an awareness of their share market app. They partnered with leading finance YouTube influencers who unraveled the app’s features and various offers in a video format. They aimed at educating their audiences on the ease of creating Demat accounts and the steps involved. 

2. Yahoo Cricket

Yahoo Cricket is an application that provides real-time cricket updates with news and gamified polls to engage with users. The brand partnered with cricket lovers and cricket related fan pages as well as influencers in the sports field like Sudhir Gautam to amplify the campaign. 

3. Satt Naturals 

Satt Naturals is a beauty platform that provides natural products. They combine with old-age ayurvedic practices and modern aesthetics.The brand decided to showcase the unsaid stories of the LGBTQ community with the message “they are natural, just like Satt Natural.” The brand collaborated with influencers from the LGBTQ community and gave them a platform to share their personal stories that truly touched hearts. 

4. Flying Fur 

Flying Fur is a platform that offers mobile pet grooming services in a quiet and stress-free setting. The brand aimed at building brand awareness and driving sales with the power of influencer marketing. Many micro-influencers collaborated for the campaign and shared videos of their furry little friends after an amazing grooming session! 

Summing it up! 

Influencer marketing is a strategy like others that relies on word-of-mouth marketing. The goal of influencer marketing is to build momentum for a brand, which is one of the innovative approaches and just one of the many referral marketing strategies. 

The benefits of influencer marketing typically outweigh the costs as long brands launch a strategic campaign by targeting audiences with the right content. To help with launching successful, informed influencer marketing campaigns, check out Confluencr so you can set up your campaign for success. 

Author Bio: Sharan Phillora

I believe that every business has a story and I thrive to tell that story to the world through my writing. 

I have been writing for influencer marketing for a long time for www.confluencr.com and have grown exponentially with the industry. 

With Confluencr, I have learned that quality content + targeted marketing can do wonders not only for businesses but for any individual.