Having been an Essex online PR agency for over a decade, we have seen first-hand just how drastically the industry has evolved. The terrain is far more diverse than it once was and staying one step ahead is vital. As the digital world takes over, new trends arise. Namely, influencer marketing. At VerriBerri, keeping your brand relevant is our main priority.
When it comes to influencer marketing, having a range of skills is important. As a full-service firm, we have departments specialising in each element of the marketing and PR landscape. Our knowledge in other areas has excelled the way we implement communications strategies for our clients. This allows us to deliver amazing results and an impressive ROI.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
An influencer is defined as any regular user of social media who has a high following and good engagement. They are given this title simply because they have an influence over their audience. We have all heard the saying that people trust people, and this is most definitely true. These individuals can be extremely lucrative for brands, providing campaigns are well executed.
There are a number of ways you can utilise influencer platforms to ensure your brand reaches new markets. Types of campaigns include:
- Gifting
- Sponsored Content
- Giveaways
- Social Media Takeovers
- Brand Ambassadorship
There are several categories that influencers can be split into. These are known as either nano, micro or macro influencers. Celebrities can also be utilised in the same way. Think of influencer marketing as the newly refurbished celebrity endorsement. The two techniques share a lot of similarities.
How Influencer Marketing Adds Value
Before committing to any change in strategy, it is important you know how something is going to add value to your business. Moreover, that you have weighed the positives against the negatives. Really, the list is endless when it comes to the benefits of influencer marketing.
As we touched on earlier, people trust people. Especially when they have a following. This adds a huge amount of desirability to your products. In addition, influencer marketing gets people talking. Our online Essex PR agency knows that word of mouth is an extremely powerful tool for businesses to harness. Not only will people buy products that influencers promote, but they will also share this content with their friends. All in all, this form of marketing has an extremely high conversion rate. The bigger your influencer campaigns, the further your reach grows. Like all marketing, content creators heavily contribute to your overall brand awareness.
When working in collaboration, your product/service becomes visible to an entirely new audience. This is invaluable when it comes to generating new business. With the right team behind you, influencer marketing can also be very cost effective. Many influencers are willing to share your product with their audience for free. This means the cost to you is very little. Even when indirect costs are involved, ROI usually far outweighs the loss. Finally, your activity on social media can also add value to your other marketing channels.
PR and social media marketing are heavily intertwined with SEO and the success of your website. Influencer marketing will aid in building your following. The more engagement you have across your social profiles, the more discoverable your site becomes. Our Essex online PR agency can also help you tackle search engine optimisation, if required.
Is Influencer Marketing Right for My Brand?
As an Essex online PR agency, we know that on the surface, influencer marketing may seem industry exclusive. The beauty, fashion and hospitality sector are notoriously known for implementing these campaigns. As professionals, however, we know that there are very few businesses that this technique cannot work for.
When it comes to your communications strategy, the key to success is knowing where to find your targeted demographic. Providing you are utilising appropriate influencer platforms; this form of marketing can be extremely plentiful. If you are in need of guidance, our team are reading and raring to go.
Implementing an Influencer Marketing Strategy
Running an influencer campaign is no easy feat and can be extremely demanding. It is for this reason that many companies explore utilising our Essex online PR agency. For those of you wanting to attempt this yourselves, however, we thought it may be useful to share our tips. Below, the team have listed some of their biggest pieces of advice for implementing an effective influencer marketing strategy.
1. Define Your Goals
Success is usually determined by the distance between where we are now, and our goals for the future. Without clearly defined objectives, no marketing campaign is going to be efficient. Knowing what it is you want to achieve is extremely important. This helps your team to all stay on the same page so that communication isn’t lost.
2. Establish Your Target Audience
We have said it before and we will say it again, you need to know who you are targeting. This is going to have a huge impact on the kinds of influencers you use. Once this has been established, you then need to spend time researching content creators before beginning outreach. Ensure these individuals work in line with your brand message. Who you work with can either make or break your reputation.
3. Track Campaigns
Social media gives you access to insights for a reason. Despite platforms sharing easily interpreted data, many brands still choose to overlook their analytics. This information tells you how successful your campaigns are and allows you to identify key changes that may need to be made.
Contact Our Essex Online PR Agency
If influencer marketing is something you would like to explore further, why not speak to our professionals? Transparency is something we pride ourselves on here at VerriBerri. We are dedicated to doing what is right for your brand, not what brings us a higher revenue. Allow us to identify if this is the right course of action for you.
For more information on our services, get in touch by clicking here!