Influencer Marketing

Who is an Influencer? 

According to the Cambridge dictionary, an influencer is "someone who affects or changes the way that other people behave" or "a person who is paid by a company to show and describe its products and services on social media, encouraging other people to buy them" 

What is Influencer Marketing? 

On forbes.com, influencer marketing is defined as the relationship between a brand and an influencer. The influencer promotes the brand’s products through various media outlets (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) 

Types of Influencers 

 

Social Media Marketing Vs Influencer Marketing 

Let’s take a look at the difference between social media marketing and influencer marketing.  

Although both marketing strategies use social media platforms for advertisement, social media marketing is actually a business to consumer (B2C) form of advertisement while influencer marketing is a referral form of advertisement. 

The pictorial explanation below further reiterates the difference between social media marketing and influencer marketing. Using the brand “pretty little thing” as an example, we can see the brand advertising their products via their Instagram page and an influencer advertising the brand via her Instagram page.  

 

 

IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING 

Amplified brand awareness: When an influencer recommends/endorses your brand, their followers are likely to notice and consider the recommendation as authentic. 

Enhanced Credibility and Trust: Once an influencer shares their honest feedback about your product or service, it is perceived as a genuine testimonial. 

Renewed Content Strategy: Content that features an influencer is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy. 

Increased Audience Engagement: When an influencer shares your content, their audience will also engage with it. If the followers like it, they might share it and tag their friends, further increasing its reach. 

Improved Search Engine Rankings: Influencer marketing increases brand awareness, thereby driving more traffic to your website. 

Increased Conversions: The ultimate objective of any business is to drive sales and earn more profit and influencer marketing is an effective tool for customer acquisition. According to gen.video study, 33% of the respondents agreed that influencers are their most trusted sources of shopping suggestions. ROI of influencer marketing is as high as 65%. 

 

 

*Data from an online survey we carried out*