How to Use Influencer Marketing and Influencers in Business

In today’s hyper-competitive world, marketing plays a crucial role. The Internet and social media have completely changed the marketing industry. Thanks to eCommerce and social commerce, businesses have increased their profits and revenues substantially. In recent years, a growing number of companies have used influencers in businesses. Although celebrities have been used in ads for certain popular brands for decades, influencer marketing has changed the landscape drastically. Nowadays, not only actors, athletes, and singers can influence the buying decisions of many. Instead, there are nano and micro influencers that are popular among a targeted audience. Examples include travel and food enthusiasts, fashion and lifestyle influencers, pop-culture and gaming hobbyists, and various other types. Businesses can achieve much better eCommerce marketing results by partnering with influencers in their specific niche market rather than using traditional broad advertising. In this post, we’ll share more about the role of influencers in business and how they can help brands.

Key takeaway: Using influencers in business has become an important part of the whole marketing mix. There are both small and large influencers in various niches. Partnerships with influencers can increase sales and brand awareness.

What Is Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is part of the digital marketing category. It includes collaboration with influencers in order to boost brand awareness and sales. The primary role of influencers in business is to create content that reaches their audience and promotes products, services, or brands. Using influencers in business has become one of the main eCommerce trends. Since these content creators are credible and trusted by their audience, they can promote products more naturally and effectively.

Influencer marketing is traditionally done online via social media channels. This can include YouTube channels, Instagram and TikTok profiles, or blogs. There are four main categories of influencers:

1. Mega. They have more than a million followers and are usually used by nationwide or global brands. 
2. Macro. With an audience of up to a million, these individuals usually partner with brands in specific niches.
3. Micro. Although they have less than a hundred thousand followers, the benefit of using these influencers in business is their strong engagement and loyal audience.
4. Nano. These influencers have less than ten thousand followers but they can be a cost-effective solution for the eCommerce marketing strategy of small brands or regional businesses.

Ways to Use Influencers in Business

There are various ways businesses can partner with influencers. It all depends on the goals they have and the expected results. For example, a company that wishes to increase its brand awareness will have a different approach compared to a company that wants to introduce a new product. Here are a few ideas on how business owners can use influencers in business.

1. Sponsored posts. This is pretty straightforward. It includes paying a certain fee for an influencer to compose a post promoting your product or brand. These are often seen as not genuine, especially by younger audiences. They are suitable for international brands who wish to partner with mega influencers to boost their business’s marketing efforts.
2. Brand ambassadors. Some brands establish long-term partnerships with influencers. They can become brand ambassadors, promoting the company and its products or services regularly.
3. Product unboxing and review. This type of content is very popular among influencers and their audience. It shows the product, its features, and how it can be used. It also creates more trust between the audience and the brand. This type of content is usually part of the consideration or conversion part of the funnel. It’s commonly used when a company wishes to promote a new product. 
4. Giveaway. Thanks to giveaways, companies can increase their brand awareness. They are used as campaigns to gain new followers and help both the business and the influencer.
5. Affiliate marketing. This approach requires creating discount codes or using affiliate links. Many companies prefer affiliate marketing when working with influencers. That’s because the payment influencers get depends solely on the result of the content they create.

What Businesses Use Influencer Marketing

Generally speaking, every business can use influencer marketing. However, it’s not the optimal option for all companies. For example, a business whose main target audience is made of seniors will likely see higher ROI if they use traditional advertising. Let’s examine some of the different sectors that can use influencers in business.

1. Beauty and fashion brands. Skincare and makeup brands can greatly benefit from partnering with influencers for tutorial videos, reviews, and other types of content.
2. Retailers. Both online stores and brick-and-mortar retailers can increase sales and improve brand awareness by working with influencers. Influencer marketing is often part retailers’ omnichannel eCommerce marketing strategy.
3. Technology and electronics brands. That includes gaming gear, laptops, quadcopter drones, and various other gadgets.
4. The finance sector. There are many influencers who specialize in investments, the real estate industry, or the general personal finance sector.
5. The entertainment industry. That includes a variety of subsectors – from online gaming to the food service sector (read more about restaurant marketing and how to market a restaurant). Various entertainment companies can benefit from partnering with influencers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Influencers in Business

Are you curious about the ways to do eCommerce marketing automation? Or perhaps you’re looking for resources on marketing distributors? You’ll find many useful articles on our website. Below we’ve answered some common questions regarding using influencers in business.

Why Are Influencers Good for Brands?

By using influencers in business, companies can target different audiences and increase their brand awareness and loyalty. Furthermore, our mind naturally stops paying attention to different ad formats as we’re overwhelmed by them. That’s why traditional marketing and advertising such as billboards, print media, and banners have become less effective in recent years. On the other hand, influencer marketing has shown good results. It’s important to know that investing in influencer marketing is not a one-off purchase. Instead, brands need to regularly partner with influencers in different fields in order to achieve better results.

What Are the Cons of Using Influencers in Business?

One of the biggest drawbacks to using influencers in business is that many of them might use controversial ways to keep their fame. Thus, your company might be associated with a celebrity or a niche influencer that has not only loyal followers but also haters. Many influencers also use deceitful tactics. That includes purchasing followers or deleting promotional posts after a while. The high fees can also be a major disadvantage of influencer marketing compared to other marketing approaches. That’s why smaller businesses prefer to partner with nano or micro influencers. This gives them better ROI and a more targeted audience.

Where to Find Influencers to Partner With?

Businesses should do thorough research when it comes to finding influencers. They should know their target audience very well and the channels their customers use. For example, some brands might search for influencers on TikTok while others can find suitable ones on YouTube. There are also platforms that connect businesses with influencers. Make sure you don’t spend your full budget on a single influencer campaign. Instead, partner with a few influencers and track results from these campaigns. This will help you adapt and use influencer marketing more efficiently as part of your omnichannel marketing strategy.

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