It’s 2022 and brands need influencers in their marketing not only to stay relevant but to thrive as well.
The online space is growing, and to be a king, you need to have social currency. Influencers are an easy way to earn that currency.
Why must brands incorporate influencers into the marketing mix?
68% of people on Instagram interact with creators and influencers in some way. It’s the reason they use apps like Instagram in the first place. This in itself should be enough motivation for you to come aboard the influencer train.
1. Build brand awareness
Influencers build overall brand awareness by increasing visibility and reaching into the audience and community of the influencer.
2. Reach your target audience
Any company or brand is only as good as the audience it has. A luxury brand looks for affluence. A sustainable brand attracts the educated. Influencers make it easier to capture the right and niche audiences.
3. Influencer alter purchase decisions
Influencers have the ability to alter the purchasing decisions of people and, when used in the long run, give incredible conversion rates. From being the poster child for D2C startups, influencers are increasingly becoming the faces of every popular brand.
4. Diversify and spice up content strategy
Every campaign has a marketing strategy laid out. #Thngs that go on TV, #thngs that go on print ads, so and so forth. Adding influencers to the marketing mix for the online space – which is one of the most important spaces right now – is a nice way to keep your brand fresh.
Plus, including influencers in your marketing mix will ensure you have a flexible content schedule. For the amount of time a print ad doesn’t go live, influencer-generated content can work in its stead.
5. Establish social proof
People, at the end of the day, are… people. They trust other people over brands. No matter how quirky you may be on Twitter, there is a personal gap.
Influencers, on the other hand, are much easier to relate to and trust. Seeing influencers promote brands or products creates reliability and establishes social proof.
We talk extensively about social proof and its benefits here. The audience may not know the influencers personally, but that’s how para-social relationships work. All that is left to do is convert that trust into a call to action.
6. Capitalise on the growing time spent online
Traditional media is dying. People prefer OTT over cable and paid platforms with no ads over ones with ads. In this scenario, where does a brand seek exposure?
It moves to a place where people live, and that’s social media platforms. Since the pandemic, Indians spend 4 hours 42 minutes a day on their mobiles on average.
Adding influencers to your marketing mix ensures you can capitalise on the attention that you’re missing out on elsewhere.
7. Influencer marketing is increasingly measurable
Influencer marketing campaigns provide direct and quick feedback, unlike traditional media. Social media and influencer marketing platforms are constantly adding tools to calculate beyond reach, engagement, and impressions and get stats on link clicks, sales, and more.
Measuring the success of influencer marketing campaigns has graduated from vanity metrics such as likes, shares, or retweets.
This helps brands measure ROI tangibly and get a crystal clear picture of the impact of influencer marketing budget spend.
8. Constant stream of content
Collaborating with influencers also means getting authentic and impactful content regularly. Influencer-generated content tends to solve audience problems and address pain points with your brand. For marketers, it’s equal to valuable content, packaged and delivered at the right moment.
9. Cost-effective medium
Lastly, the most important reason of all why you need influencers as staples in your marketing is cost. Influencer marketing campaigns are more cost-effective compared to other digital media.
How to include influencers in the marketing mix?
We here at DYT pride ourselves on ticking all the boxes of running a successful influencer marketing campaign. We not only match you with the right creator, but we also make the process effortless.
Want to know more?
