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October 16, 2020
Over the last few years, social media has grown tremendously in importance. According to a report released by We Are Social last year, almost 3.5 billion people actively use social media — that’s about 45 percent of the world’s total population. Certainly, these people are interested in looking up to someone to help them make decisions. In the world of social media, these “someones” called “influencers” are individuals who have built a reputation for their specialized knowledge, authority or insight on a specific topic. They post regular content in that subject area on various social media channels and generate huge followings of enthusiastic, engaged users who pay close attention to their views. Their preexisting presence in an industry makes them a useful launching pad for companies looking to establish credibility. Influencers help businesses with “influencer marketing” — a type of social media marketing that uses product mentions and endorsements from influencers. Businesses love to work with social media influencers because they can establish trends and encourage their followers to buy products they promote. In fact, research says, due to its effectiveness, nearly 39 percent of marketers increased their influencer marketing budgets in 2019 — 54 percent marketers planned to spend more than $250,000 annually on influencer marketing, and 17 percent planned to spend more than $1 million. Businesses can get influencers to take on the following responsibilities:
Influencer marketing is effective because it uses such techniques as social proof and word-of-mouth marketing, which currently are essential elements of any successful marketing strategy. Customers trust their friends, peers and people they admire more than the businesses selling the products and/or services they buy and use.
Types of Influencers
An influencer could be a celebrity, blogger/vlogger, industry expert or even a lifestyle brand. Influencers can be broken down into the following four categories:
The majority of influencer marketing today occurs in social media, especially Instagram. According to a report, Instagram influencer marketing is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2020.
The content on Instagram is presented in the form of images or short videos, and it encourages more peer-to-peer conversations, which helps businesses improve and grow their target audience reach. The audience on Instagram isn’t limited to only direct followers; influencers can also connect with their followers’ followers, who further share their content.
Leveraging Social Media Influencers to Grow Your Business
This type of marketing incentivizes influencers to share information on a company’s behalf. And because influencers are also consumers, the target audience is more likely to find the shared information credible. As a result of increased trust, influencer marketing can help a company grow in these eight ways:
How to Find Influencers
Use the following tips to guide your search for social media influencers. These guidelines should help you find the most relevant influencers for your business.
Where to Find Influencers
Here are six avenues that you can use to find the right influencer to help you improve your brand awareness and reach.
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