Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing trend in internet marketing. Such brands and their products are focused on reaching the target audience with the help of influencers and teams in the audience to market them. In fact, the concept of influencer marketing is not a new concept! But it has not gained much popularity till recently. And the reason for this is the rise of social media, which has created a great environment for the proliferation and activation of the role of influencers.

 

In general, an influencer has a high level of trust in his followers, which enables him to influence their decisions and actions. Hence, recommendations given by influencers are trusted by followers and this prompts brands to consider collaborating with influencers to promote products known as influencer marketing.

 

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing. It is primarily based on recommendations and brand and product references by influencers with expertise in a particular field and the ability to influence individuals. Thus, it involves the brand collaborating with online influencers to promote the product.

 

Influencer marketing concept

In fact, influencer buying refers to a collaboration between a brand and an influencer. In other words, this concept focuses on using an influencer's power to influence his followers' decisions to promote a particular brand or product. Thus, it is suitable for various marketing purposes such as generating leads and increasing sales.

 

Who are the influencers?

In general, an influencer is defined as a person who influences the decisions and actions of a group of people. Influencers also have a large following on social media. They are classified into three categories according to the following audience size:

 

●      Juniors: The number of followers does not exceed 10,000, and they are the most suitable category for brands to deal with due to their specialization in a particular field.

●      Medium or medium value influencers: They have between 10,000 and 250,000 followers.

●      Celebrity: Their audience exceeds 250 thousand followers. Thus, they are the category that reaches the largest audience. But they don't have enough credibility and trust among their followers to help in brand marketing.

 

 The importance of promotion and advertising through influencers.

 

In fact, the concept of influencer marketing derives its importance from influencers' ability to influence the decisions of a group of people in a particular field where they have expertise and credibility. Thus, identifying the right influencers for the brand helps to reach potential customers faster because those in his field are most able to answer his followers.

 

On the other hand, studies show that influencer marketing provides 11 times higher return on investment than traditional marketing. Thus, it has become a popular trend in branding and its use is expected to increase. Its importance increases with the growth of social media platforms that allow many people to become influential.

 

Information about influencer marketing

 

In fact, the concept of influencer marketing is not a new concept. But it has not been seen widely as one of the most important marketing methods until the last five years, specifically since 2016. At this time the search for the term influencer marketing through the search engine Google increased by 465%. The most important statistics related to this concept are:

●      Companies generate a return on investment of $5.78 for every $1 spent on this type of marketing.

●      He could be worth $13.8 billion by 2021.

●      67% of brands use this type of Instagram marketing.

●      1,360 platforms and agencies have focused on this concept in just 5 years.

●      90% of people find it an effective form of marketing.

 

Features and benefits of influencer marketing

If you are wondering about the features that have made influencers an essential part of advertising campaigns and created a new trend in the marketing world, here are the most important features of this type:

●      Possibility of publication of trademarks in various mediums.

●      Use influencer beliefs to define the brand.

●      Widespread and easy access to audiences, as the brand is exposed to thousands of people who have never heard of it before.

●      Advertising methods and methods are varied.

●      Ability to determine target audience type based on the sphere of influence.

●      Ability to set advertising and promotion budgets according to selected influencers.

 

How to measure influencer marketing?

In general, the measurement areas depend on the marketing goals and the most common measurement areas are:

●      Audience impressions of the audience.

●      Interactions include comments, likes, and shares.

●      Quality of content.

●      Conversions like increased sales increased branding and more site visitors.

 

Steps to managing an influencer marketing program

The steps to running an effective influencer marketing program are generally summarized as follows:

●      Knowing the reasons for setting goals and running an effective campaign.

●      Determine the target audience for the campaign.

●      Determine the type of influencer.

●      Find the right people for the marketing goals and brands you want to market to.

●      Contact influencers.

●      Conclusion of the contract between brand and influencer.

 

How to build an influencer marketing strategy?

In fact, this direction of marketing is not limited to finding a personality with the following audience. It requires a lot of work to build a strategy that ensures the success of the marketing process. In general, the steps for building this marketing plan are summarized in five main points, which are:  

 

●      Find the influencer: By choosing the platform you want to focus on and the field of work, for example, YouTube and Instagram are perfect for marketing for fashion brands while Twitch is perfect for video games. This includes choosing both influencer types and areas of measurement for the influencer's contribution to achieving marketing goals.

●      Create a budget and management strategy taking into account the time required for planning and implementation.

●      Setting goals: This step is mainly focused on answering the following questions: Do you want to increase brand awareness, attract potential customers, increase sales, or something else? Care should also be taken while maintaining influencer uniqueness in the method used to advertise the message directed at the audience.

●      Communication with influencers: After selecting the right influencer to meet the marketing objectives, it is necessary to determine the method of communication with him. For example, it is possible to contact small influencers directly by sending messages to them on the platform. Continuously review and improve strategy.

 

The role of influencers in marketing

In general, the role of influencers in social media marketing is to provide effective brand communication. Their role is to create and publish original content on social media and similar channels aimed at achieving measurable goals such as:

●      Introducing the brand or raising awareness about it.

●      Generate traffic to the company website.

●      Increase sales

 

Ways to find influencers

Finding influencers is one of the most important steps to influencer marketing success. Finding the best influencers is essential when it comes to marketing campaigns. In general, the following sources are very suitable for finding influencers:

●      Blogging and Social Media Search Engines.

●      Influencer Marketing Company.

●      Programs for Finding Influencers Through the Internet, there are many sites that focus their work on finding the right personality for you.

 

Is influencer marketing different from celebrity marketing?

In general, the concept of influencer marketing is different from celebrity marketing. , since an influencer doesn't need to be famous because what makes him an influencer is a large number of followers on social media. So, an influencer can be a blogger, a manager, a photographer, a content writer...etc.

 

In conclusion, this was the most important information about the concept of influencer marketing. But always remember that the success of this type of product promotion comes not from selecting the influencer with the largest audience, but rather from finding the right brand of an influencer with an engaged audience.