Take a guess – how much do you think a person can make from a single Instagram post? A few hundred dollars? Maybe some free product? Celebrities like Selena Gomez have been known to earn over half a million dollars off each individual sponsored post, with others not far behind. With tens of millions of followers between them, the Kardashians can make between $250,000 to $500,000 per post.
Influencer marketing isn’t a new concept. Celebrities and TV personalities have used their popularity to drive product sales for countless brands. Remember when Bette White endorsed Snicker? Or what about Britney Spears acting as an advocate for Pepsi? Many brands crave a celebrity influencer because these celebrities have the power to supercharge a brand’s sales and profits.
Is your brand ready to embrace the power of influencer marketing?
The Statistics
Influence comes from a wide variety of source. Any person, group, brand, or entity has the potential to influence a consumer’s purchasing decisions. Here’s a fact that everyone is starting to understand: influencer marketing works. Just in case you’re still on the fence though, here are some compelling numbers.
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- Over 80 percent of consumers admitted that they trust recommendations from third parties over brand content, according to a recent study by Nielson Global.
- 30 percent of consumers are more likely to trust recommendations from non-celebrity bloggers than celebrities.
- That stat jumps among millennials, 70 percent of whom value recommendations and reviews when shopping.
- Influencer marketing pays, providing a return that is an average of 11% higher than traditional marketing forms.
Still not convinced? Let’s highlight a notable brand influencer. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ve probably heard about the beloved American reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. This past January, Khloe Kardashian announced to the world that she was pregnant. To leverage this joyous announcement, Khloe partnered with Amazon to bring brand awareness to their many baby registry and maternity product available through two sponsored product posts. With more than 74 million followers on Instagram, Khloe is certainly helping her fans “keep up” with all of Amazon’s offerings for newbie mothers. To date, the two posts have collected more than 5.5 million likes.
Finding the Right Influencers
The Internet is vast, so narrow your search and focus on engagement and relevance.
- Start Close to Home: Take a look at those you follow, who your friends and coworkers follow, but most importantly pay attention to who you’re all engaging with: comments and shares. Users with high numbers in these two areas will lead to more organic reach, as opposed to someone with lots of followers and low engagement.
- See Who Follows You: Check out the consumers that are already interested in your brand. Their clear passion will likely make them perfect advocates for promoting shares, reviews, and more.
- Use Every Tool Available: Find communities where users are already discussing who they follow and what they love. Forum sites like Reddit make it easy to connect directly with users to find out who could be useful within their community.
Remember these tips as you begin to uncover more influencers!
Approaching the Right Influencers
After narrowing your search to a group of potential perfect influencers, it’s time to approach. Think about how these users are contacted often, and find a way to make your brand stand out. Be sure to make your partnership proposal mutually beneficial and motivating.
- Connect: In order to grab their attention, point out why you’re approaching the influencer specifically. Mention that you or your coworker are a long-time fan and use the opportunity to give a specific instance to when their work has related directly to your brand or industry.
- Convince: Be upfront and lay out exactly what’s in it for them. If your budget is low, bulk up your offer with alternatives. For an up and coming blogger, links to their content from your site are likely priceless. Shares among your social channels and email blasts can also be hugely beneficial. For more concrete perks, offering free and exclusive products before any other consumers can lead to great reviews.
- Compliment: Be sure to thank them for their time and consideration. Show enthusiasm for the potential opportunity to work with them and provide follow-up contact details. For negative or non-responses, don’t give up. Continue to engage with them on social media and follow up again in several months with a new and exciting venture.
Remember that sometimes less is more. You only want to attract influencers that align with your brand’s overall goals.
Plan for Success
Have a solid plan in place for partnerships so that when influencers agree to work with you, you can jumpstart its likelihood of success.
- Offer Resources: Make sure that getting to know your brand is as easy as possible for new influencer partners. Send them guidelines; information, photography, video, or anything else that might give them a clear idea of what your brand is about. These resources can double as assets for their social media or blog, so make them count.
- Offer Information: Answer any questions that might pop up as quickly as possible. This will avoid any frustration about your brand and increases the likelihood of better content.
- Always Follow Up: Show gratitude and continue to engage with their content after the campaign ends. Their followers will keep growing, along with the possibility of organic mentions and shout outs or even the opportunity to work together again.
Once you’ve completed all three steps, it’s time to rinse and repeat as you continue to narrow down your targeted influencers!
What’s Next For Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere because the ROI and relationship-building potential are far too great. There’s no doubt that more savvy marketers will soon jump on the bandwagon.
Before you follow suit, remember that this multifaceted marketing requires careful planning, dedication, and focus. Heightened brand awareness may take time, but the influence you receive from a celebrity will prove more valuable than any paid advertisement could hope to do.
Ready to dip your feet into influencer marketing? Contact Premiere Creative to begin planning your influencer marketing campaign today or give us a call at (973) 346-8100 to learn more about the future of influencer marketing!