This is the process businesses use to identify and partner with individuals or niche communities creating content that is relevant to their product, service, or brand. Influencer management isn’t as new a concept as many people think it is. In fact, in ancient Greece and Rome, historians call the strategizing of public relations and celebrity endorsers “Guild Management.” Nowadays, though, social media has taken over the market for providing an easy gateway to consumers in an ever-shortening attention span world. It has many benefits including;
1. Drives awareness and reach
Sharing your product or service message with influencers, who in turn share that message with their audiences, can drive awareness and reach. These individuals have an established (or growing) fan base. The more of a following these individuals have, the more influential they are in reaching out to the community you want to target.
2. Brand favorability and product interest
When people see an influencer share something they like on social media and the like, there is a 7% increase in interest in that brand over the next 24 hours. That translates into sales.
3. Measurable results
The best thing about working with influencers is that you know what you’re getting. An influencer management campaign is measurable, making it easy to determine the return on investment (ROI). The average cost per engagement rate for influencer marketing is $.06 USD. Influencers can go as low as $1-3 per post, but it may be more cost effective to hire an in-house employee to do this job instead of relying on an outside source who may not give the same amount of work.
4. Gain followers
When you engage influencers, you are promoting yourself and your brand. You can increase engagement among your followers by sharing a post or commenting on it. You can also share the influencers’ posts on social media platforms. When your influencers have followers and you have shared their content, this will help them to get more like-minded fans who will also see their posts.
5. Increase ROI with earned media
This is where influencers provide content about your product or service. This should be paid for, but the cost of this service is relatively low compared to paid advertising, giving you the opportunity to test out a new product or provide a retainer fee for them to share your message.
6. Reduce cost through organic reach
If you’re working with an agency, they can provide you with an influencer strategy that will help you reach the influencers needed to achieve your desired ROI. Influencers are often reached through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. You can also reach them through referrals from other influencers or through targeted paid advertising.
7. Provide a personal touch
Working with an agency may make it feel like you are doing business with a faceless corporation and will be viewed as impersonal and robotic. However, working directly with influencers allows you to establish a connection with them so they believe in the product or service that you offer. influencer management understands what your brand is about and will share their message the way they can best help your company reach their audience. With this type of relationship, people see that you are human, not just another faceless client looking for information from someone who has a large following but doesn’t really know much about your business.
