Let’s get influenced, shall we?

Influencer marketing is on the rise.
Consumers are less trusting of brands and of content created by marketers.
And apparently, marketers are planning to shift their spending toward influencers.

Makes sense, right?

It does.
"74% of consumers rely on social media to help them make purchasing decisions. And influencers on social media are the ones affecting those decisions." – Sujan Patel, Co-Founder of Web Profits, for Inc. – July 2017

It's been the talk of the year; the power of the influencers is on the rise and this is especially true in our region. Some marketers are jumping on this while others are skeptical.

To those who are skeptical, we say: Love them or hate them, social media influencers are a new communication channel that warrants your consideration, provided they speak to your target audience. Just as you are willing to spend on press ads, billboards, events, sponsorships and online ads, influencer marketing is another channel you can add to your communication mix.

After all, "research shows that for every $1 marketers invest in influencer marketing, they get $6.50 back." - Sujan Patel, Co-Founder of Web Profits, for Inc. – July 2017

Ok, but for now we’ve only stated the obvious, which is that influencers are powerful brand allies; however, investing in influencers comes with some warnings:

1. Make sure that the influencers you are selecting align with your target audience; just because they are popular doesn’t mean that your target audience connects with them.
2. Make sure that the influencers you are selecting don’t partner with too many brands because you don’t want your brand to get diluted in the crowd (besides, when influencers partner with too many brands, it starts to look & feel like regular old marketing and loses all genuineness).
3. Don’t fall for the trap of overpaying for the “influencer du jour” because you may not see the returns you are hoping for (unless that very influencer is your new BFF!).
4. Make sure your influencer marketing strategy is sustainable, at least for a short while, to get traction you need; don’t just bet on one influencer for a one-time deal because like everything else in communications, your effort will quickly lose steam and soon you will feel like it went to waste.
5. Finally, remember that it’s not all measurable; sometimes, influencer marketing will affect the top of the funnel, drawing attention and awareness to your brand, but may not necessarily result in driving sales.

In light of the above, when dealing with influencers, work at it like it’s any other marketing channel; sign a contract, get familiar with the numbers and remember to try to measure as much as possible (i.e. drive traffic to your website, use promo codes, etc.).

Still uncertain? Just think of influencers as you would the cool & popular kids in high school. Most of the others want to talk like them, look like them and simply BE them. That’s pretty much the logic behind influencer marketing. So if it fits with your communication objective, use it wisely.