 Ronn Torossian |
According to data collected from McKinsey.com, influencer marketing might be one of the best digital marketing strategies available for today’s companies. After all, influencer marketing-related sales and conversions from word-of-mouth marketing happen twice as often as those generated by paid advertising. If that wasn’t enough, the customers on your social networks are 37 percent more likely to stick with your brand.
In today’s socially-connected world, traditional advertising is losing its spark. Inbound marketing strategies have replaced old-fashioned options like TV advertising, particularly as streaming options like Amazon Prime and Netflix become more popular. At the same time, the impact of social media marketing is growing rapidly, with countless consumers logging in from their phones and computers every day.
Buyers in the modern world want to have a closer connection with the brands they enjoy. Influencer marketing campaigns support this, whether you’re using celebrity endorsements or micro influencers. In fact, influencer PR comes in many shapes and sizes, from people who will comment on your products for free, to those who expect compensation for their efforts.
If you have the right product and a great influencer marketing strategy in place, you can attract a huge range of people to your company, each with their own Instagram followers and personal brand. For some companies, if your product is compelling enough, all you’ll need to promise to get your hands on free digital marketing is a freebie or giveaway promo. Just think about how many people got national recognition when Oprah did her annual “favorite things” episodes.
If a brand had something to offer that Oprah and her customers would love, just providing enough of the item for her audience to take home with them could be enough to multiply the annual sales for a brand in no time.
The rule of supply and demand means that influencers can offer fantastic bang for your buck. After all, word of mouth marketing has the best ROI of any marketing strategy out there. Right now, there are only a handful of brands experiencing the power of influencers for themselves, meaning that you have a chance to tap into a huge amount of potential.
Appealing to savvy customers
One of the most important things you need to know about digital marketing today is that you’re using your campaigns to reach out to a new breed of customers. Your target audience is more empowered than ever before, and they’re tired of old-fashioned advertising campaigns. In fact, according to data revealed by NYTimes.com, the average consumer in the U.S. sees around 5,000 ads every day. It’s no wonder that most graphics and banner ads go overlooked.
The digital landscape is covered with logos, and as people become more overexposed to traditional marketing strategies, companies from every industry are once again searching for ways to connect with their social networks. The good news is that businesses who work with influencers can overcome the saturated market, and start improving their sales again. After all, influencer marketing campaigns are just an extension of the word-of-mouth marketing efforts that deliver so much valuable traffic to websites.
When customers share positive experiences they’ve had with a brand, this creates “social proof,” a concept that convinces other would-be prospects that it’s worth investing their money and time into a new company. In the same way, micro influencers develop this social proof by sharing positive shout-outs and messages with their Instagram followers, and social fans.
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Ronn Torossian is CEO of NYC based 5WPR, a leading top ten PR firm.
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