Ronn Torossian  Ronn Torossian

Keeping in mind that 47 percent of online consumers use pop-up blockers and ad blockers, it’s not surprising that a recent survey showed 84 percent of marketers plan on using influencer marketing campaigns in 2017. Influencer marketing breaks through many doors and will increase in popularity.

Personal branding comes into play as well. Successful Influencers know how to build a strong following around their expertise to qualify, making them assets to companies that market in the influencer’s specific niche. Popular industries like travel, hospitality, fashion, and food most likely bring in big celebrity names — at least to represent the top-notch brands and products. But they also could bring in people with very specific skills, like Oprah’s eyebrow lady, the “Queen of Brows,” Anastasia Soare. She’s not going to be a general fashion and beauty expert, but give her eye makeup products or anti-aging eye brands, and she could enhance sales dramatically for a new line.

How influencers have impact

Most influencers have spent time and energy building their base of followers and are dedicated to keeping it real. So if the influencer likes the results of what a product does and then shares those thoughts on her blog or in an article, it’s likely that there will be a bump in sales as your company gets the news to the target audience beyond the influencer’s reach and the influencer gets it to their followers too.

Kylie Jenner recently posted on her Instagram page that she loves her Fashion Nova Jeans. Fashion Nova is a line that’s affordable and easy to find. Her photo post wearing the jeans received well over two million likes. Such a post at the beginning of the holiday season could well show up on thousands of teenage girls’ gift list. Sometimes those comments come out of the blue from someone with a large following, but often they are sponsored endorsements with some profit making its way to the influencer.

Best strategies

Finding an influencer that has a story able to closely align with a brand is as important as making sure they have a large following. Sometimes it’s even more important. If one influencer has a strong connection to their followers and your brand, if the message hits, it could generate a lot of buzz. Those followers spread the word to their friends and followers and that could generate thousands of new customers. While connecting with someone else with millions of followers — but only a loose tie to your brand — might well have less impact.

As we enter 2017, the success of influencer marketing and PR is going to grow. There will be more and smarter collaborations as brands and influencers become more adept at moving forward in the process. Look for more of it, but innovations to the process must continue, or just like television and print ads, consumers will look for another way of finding what works best for them.

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Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, one of America’s leading public relations firms.