Ways On How Small Businesses Can Benefit From Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is rising in popularity amongst brands and marketers globally in the past few years. If done well, it’s one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies that exist today. It can help both large and small businesses (SMBs) to increase leads and conversions.
Partnering with an influencer gives SMBs the competitive edge they need to level with larger companies’ marketing campaigns in a shorter time. There’s only one issue: the lack of knowledge of SMBs about how to tap into its potential. The data that Campaign Monitor got from its survey of 1000 SMBs backs that up.
Having a basic understanding of your audience and how they’d like to engage with your brand is what you need to benefit from influencer marketing. To understand both factors further, you can start by learning about what influencers can do for you. Here are the ways on how SMBs can benefit from influencer marketing.
Direct channel to your target audience
Influencers are social media users who have cultivated a following from uploading content or branding themselves within their chosen niche. Finding and partnering with an influencer who’s in the same niche as your business will give you a direct communication channel to your target audience.
Through an influencer, you can reach more people who might be interested in your products. Since they follow your influencer of choice, that means those users are also in your niche. You’ll increase leads and conversions easier because you don’t have to work too hard to convince a more specific audience.
Recent data supports that statement indicating 49% of customers rely on influencers’ recommendations when making a purchase decision. A small business’s message becomes more believable and interesting when delivered by a social influencer. It also helps that a specific crowd with the same interests as they have.
Go directly through the sea of audience engagement methods
There’s so much noise in the digital space nowadays that’s why it’s very difficult to engage consumers. Social media is saturated with content and ads that it seems impossible for SMBs to reach their target audience organically. Partnering with an influencer solves that problem.
Partnering with influencers in the same niche will help your small business cut through all the noise in the digital space. Since they can give you a direct communication line with an audience of the same interest, your message and brand don’t have to fight for exposure time. You’ll have your own spotlight on the big stage, wherein your target consumers can see and hear your message.
Your messaging will also avoid the ad-block option that browsers, apps, and social media platforms have. The ad-block was made to assure that the overwhelming number of digital ads online won’t affect user experience. By having an influencer recommend your product, you won’t need to spend money on a digital ad only to have it blocked by users.
Better investment returns
SMBs can’t afford to spend more than their means, so they’re more careful with the investments they make. Money is always a priority, especially for smaller enterprises focused on progress. Working with an influencer is one of the most sound investments an SMB can make.
Working with the right influencer will help you gather leads, increase conversions and brand awareness without spending too much money, time, and effort. Relaying your message and bringing your product to the attention of an already segmented audience makes it so. You can also spread your influencer marketing strategy timeline by counting on influencers, which means you won’t have to pay them regularly.
How to determine the ideal influencer for my small business
As an extra tip, here are the factors you need to consider when looking for influencers to work with.
Niche
Determine your business’s niche because influencers also have their niches in which they’ve cultivated a following.
Brand mission
Set the short-term or long-term goals you want to achieve by working with an influencer.
Brand ideals and values
Identify the things that are most important to your brand and find an influencer who represents them.
Wrap up
Influencer marketing is effective, affordable, and doesn’t require much of your time. SMBs can now level the digital marketing playing field by working with them, making it more competitive, which is a great thing for the digital ecosystem.
Author’s Bio:
Edwin Deponte is a motivational writer who is also passionate about anything digital and social media marketing-related. On his free days, he spends his time indulging in digital and social media marketing books.
