What is influencer marketing and should your business be doing it?

If you're on social media, you've probably come across influencer marketing. Celebrities promoting brands to their followers have been around for a while, but influencer marketing isn't just for the rich and famous these days. Online influencers are increasingly made up of everyday people with a strong online fanbase, making influencer marketing easier and more accessible for small businesses.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of digital marketing in which products or services are promoted or placed by influencers, usually on social media. Influencers who promote products and services will have a large following on social media and will be seen as reliable and trustworthy sources of information by their followers. You can also Become an industry influencer and grow your business.

Your business may already be investing in digital marketing and even working with an agency like Fastfwd Multimedia Birmingham UK. Influencer marketing is simply an extension of marketing your business to online channels.

What are the benefits of influencer marketing?

Now that you know what influencer marketing is, let’s talk about why so many businesses are drawn to it.

• It builds trust. Influencers work hard to build trust and credibility with their followers. This means that when they recommend a product, their followers believe them. As a result, influencer marketing also builds your brand trustworthiness, which is essential especially for small businesses.

• It improves brand awareness. Influencers have huge reach and could promote your brand to users who have never heard of you before – an exciting prospect. Ideally, the influencers you work with should have a follower base made up of your target customers. If you're selling luxury outdoor fireplaces to homeowners, for example, you don't want to work with an influencer who's mostly followed by teenagers!

• It enriches your digital marketing strategy. Influencer marketing is a great way to ensure you have a comprehensive omnichannel digital marketing strategy that covers all the bases. It also helps if you've been stuck for content ideas for a while and need to breathe new life into your online presence.

• It helps you "glocalize". "Glocalization" is when you consider local customers on a global scale. If you want to expand your business globally, finding local influencers in the countries you want to expand to will help you quickly build trust and brand awareness with international audiences.
• It promotes collaboration. Although some influencer marketing campaigns are singular and short-lived, effective collaboration could lead to a long-term partnership between you and the influencers you work with. From sponsored events to collaborative product lines, good collaborations can lead to innovation.

How can your business find influencers?

If you are now convinced that you should give influencer marketing a try, you might be wondering "how do I find influencers?" ". Luckily, there are plenty of tools that connect businesses with influencers. There are influencer marketing platforms like AspireIQ and Influencity that do just that. This list of the best Instagram influencer marketing platforms has a great breakdown of the most popular platforms and their prices.

The rise of influencer marketing means it's easier than ever to connect with influencers and their fans and promote your brand. You don't need a celebrity to talk about your brand, just the right influencer.