Influencer Marketing is the next big thing. It combines traditional advertising, celebrity endorsement, and genuine word-of-mouth. People are turning to people they trust like influencers for recommendations. Influencers build loyal communities through authentic, relatable content. When looking for influencers, we look to see if they are creative, share the same core values as our clients, and are consistent with their personal brand. If done well, their endorsements often feel more personal and persuasive than ads from the brands themselves.
What is Influencer Marketing?
It’s a social media strategy that involves partnering with influencers to promote a product, deal, etc. The goal is to increase brand exposure and sales. It stems from the idea that followers trust the influencer’s opinions, and when the influencer has something to share, their followers will be more likely to purchase what they share. Sometimes, it can be a quick action and lead to immediate action, however, it typically works hand-in-hand with your marketing campaign, and can be one of the many points of connection that leads the consumer to purchase. Both actions are valuable and highlight how
Influencers are experts in their niche. Their focus could vary from food to fashion, and there will always be an influencer who matches your criteria and has a content style that aligns with your company’s vision.
Influencers vary in size and fit into the following four categories:
- Mega: 1M+ followers
- Macro: 100k-1M followers
- Micro: 1K-100K followers
- Nano: Less than 1K followers
The content created is typically either a story post or an in-feed post (video or photo) on any social platform. Depending on your marketing objective and the influencer, the post could be a giveaway, a review, an influencer-hosted Q&A, etc.
What are the challenges faced in influencer marketing?
Influencer Marketing is rapidly changing, which leaves people feeling skeptical about the effect it truly has on sales. Truthfully, working with an influencer is valuable if you have the right approach, expectations on what they create, and understand how it fits into your overall marketing plan. Influencer marketing is effective when done well.
The main challenge is that navigating influencer marketing can be confusing. It can be hard to keep up with the changes or know how and when to engage. That’s where CossmanPR comes in. We take all the possibilities out there and hone in on the ones that make the most sense for your brand. Like any marketing tactic, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Your time and money are valuable, and we want to help you understand where influencer marketing can fit in and maximize your Rate of Investment (ROI).
Sometimes it can be difficult to assess the success of the post and/or the ROI. We take this into account when finding influencers. We strive to find high-performing and affordable influencers, which can be a challenge, too.
One concern shared by many brands is identifying fake influencers. We have the resources and team to weed out social media accounts that have purchased their following, analyze engagement metrics, audience insights and past campaign data to make informed decisions that fit our clients. For the ROI, we go beyond basic likes and impressions. We evaluate the return by tracking website traffic and sales. We consider long-term brand awareness and the quality of engagement. This holistic approach allows us to understand not just how the post performs, but by how it also impacts the clients overall business goals.
Why is influencer marketing important for your business?
Influencer marketing offers something traditional marketing doesn’t: an opportunity to actively engage with communities and fans of the brand in real-time. Influencers spark the conversation through their post, and it’s up to the brand to continue the conversation. This can be done by responding to comments or being active on the company channels. By doing this, it develops the path for brand loyalty, which started with the influencer’s post. Working with influencers who have expressed a genuine interest in your brand makes their sponsored posts feel authentic, which builds a stronger customer base while strengthening brand awareness. In the long run, influencers also help with content strategy. They help develop your target audience and get a deeper understanding of what they need.
How do we leverage influencers/channels for our brands?
At CossmanPR, we strive to work with influencers that we deem to be mutually beneficial partners. We start with finding influencers who align with our target market. For example, if we are promoting a new restaurant opening in Dallas, then we look for influencers whose content is focused on food in the Dallas metroplex. Influencers can be used for a range of industries and targets, not just consumer brands and products. When done right, influencers can drive awareness, engagement, trust, and even sales for any brand. The success of influencer marketing is because of the creator’s following. We take this into account and prioritize both reach and relevance. We focus on working with influencers who drive real engagement and trust with their followers to ensure we have measurable results. For some brands, influencers with large followings and broader lifestyle topics are valuable, but for others, a niche following interested in a specific subject is even more valuable in driving the needle for their campaign goals.
When we partner with influencers, our goals go beyond results–we focus on establishing strong, long-lasting connections. We do this by encouraging the influencer to create content that feels authentic to their online profile. Our goal is to partner with the influencer continuously, because it shows that these influencers truly love the brands we represent.
Ultimately, with the collaboration between our clients and influencers, we ensure maximum success for both parties through strategic alignment, clear communication, and data-driven campaign execution. Success with influencers doesn’t come from picking ones with huge followings, it comes from intentionally choosing the right fit. As influencer marketing continues to grow, marketers should learn how to leverage it for their companies and turn authentic partnerships into measurable business growth.