What Are the Advantages of Influencer Marketing for Your Brand?

When it comes to informing consumers about your brand, you have plenty of options. You can experiment but no matter your brand’s overall marketing approach, you should aim to incorporate an influencer campaign into your strategy as well.

1. Higher Return on Investment

The ROI of an influencer marketing campaign may vary based on your strategy as well as the influencers you partner with. However, in general, experienced marketers perceive influencer marketing to yield a higher ROI than traditional advertising methods. According to research by IZEA, 52 percent of marketers believe influencer marketing has higher ROI than television ads. Sixty-two percent say influencer marketing has superior ROI than online banner ads. Radio ads, magazine ads and newspaper ads also seem to underperform influencer content.

As you develop a budget for your marketing brand, consider reserving more money for influencer recruitment. Don’t cut out traditional ads entirely, but experiment with a shift toward influencer campaigns.

2. Increased Authenticity

Consumers see influencers as authentic. A sincere recommendation from a trusted influencer tends to be more compelling than a scripted ad from an actual brand. Let influencers carry your brand’s messaging on social media with either short, simple endorsements or longer content, such as unboxing videos. Of course, the key here is that the influencer should have a genuine appreciation for your offerings. Audiences will see through insincerity.

3. Increased Brand Awareness

To get the biggest boost in brand awareness, consider partnering with macro- and mega-influencers. Social media personalities who have a high number of followers can use a single post to introduce your brand to a broad audience. These popular influencers tend to be expensive, so consider working with them for a one-off campaign that quickly increases your brand’s visibility.

Micro- and nano-influencers can also increase your brand awareness. But since these influencers have less reach, you might need to work with a team of them.

4. Higher Credibility

IZEA research reveals that 66 percent of social media consumers find influencers to be credible when it comes to the brands they endorse. Influencers who are qualified experts in their field may be seen as especially credible. If you’re representing a fitness brand, team up with health experts and coaches for an informative series of vlogs. If you have a fashion brand, partner with well-established designers for in-depth blogs about the industry. By siding with the experts, your brand’s credibility will grow.

5. Improved Engagement

Brands that have an online presence should aim to respond to customer concerns and feedback as soon as possible. Influencers can help out here by answering questions and creating tutorials about your products and services. Influencers can also spark online conversations about your brand or host giveaways and other contests that put your brand in the spotlight.

An increase in audience engagement can help your brand build trust and improve public sentiment. But don’t expect every influencer to be equally skilled at generating engagement. Even though they have small audiences, micro- and nano-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than macro- or mega-influencers.

6. Generate Leads and Sales

Want to collect leads for your brand’s email list or newsletters? Influencers can help with that task. Simply ask an influencer to include a call to action and a link to your brand’s landing page in their content. Interested consumers can easily follow the link and sign up for updates.

Influencers can also direct traffic to your actual product pages or offer coupon codes on your behalf. This approach could result in increased sales, or at least raise awareness of your newest offerings.

7. Lasting Partnerships

Not all influencers will be a perfect match for your brand. But once you find someone who’s a reliable partner, you can begin to develop a long-term business partnership. As you work together on longer campaigns, the influencer will begin to see that their success is intertwined with your brand’s success. The result is a higher level of trust and a stronger commitment to the campaigns. You might even consider turning an influencer into a brand ambassador and giving them a voice in the product design process.
How can you tell if an influencer is a potential long-term partner? Ask yourself the following:

• Does the influencer share your brand’s values? Do they seem genuinely excited about your products?
• Do they have a record of successful campaigns? Do they have any work habits that may prove problematic in the long run?
• Do they seem likely to commit to a brand ambassador role? Or are they more focused on building their personal brand appeal?

8. Reach Young and Niche Audiences

Influencer marketing gives you better access to younger consumers than traditional ads. Research shows that millennials and Gen Z are particularly trusting of influencer opinions. Whether this is your target audience or you just want to test the waters with the demographic, social media personalities can serve as a bridge between your business and younger consumers.

Age demographics aside, influencers can also help you reach small niche communities. Need to reach East Coast vegans or female comic book lovers? You can likely find influencers who have a strong connection with those specific communities online.

9. Social Media Versatility

It’s not always easy to keep up with multiple social media accounts, especially if you’re running a smaller business. Influencers can help you cover all your bases. If you only have the time or resources to regularly update your brand’s Facebook page, recruit influencers who can spread the word via Twitter, Instagram or YouTube.

Be thoughtful about your posting strategy and how your official posts align with an influencer’s content. Even if you have an influencer helping you out, you don’t want your official accounts to become completely inactive for weeks at a time.

10. Creative Collaboration

Influencers are often experienced content creators, so they can excel at blogging, photography, video editing or some other craft. Their creative minds may prove to be a powerful asset to any brand that’s running low on new ideas. The more you trust an influencer to faithfully represent your brand, the more creative freedom you can give them.

Allow an influencer to workshop new slogans or aesthetics for your brand. Give them space to brainstorm giveaway concepts or memes. They already know how to grab attention and build an audience. A savvy influencer may find an innovative way to make your brand go viral on social media.

The advantages of influencer marketing aren’t limited to what we’ve covered on this list. Discover even more benefits for yourself. Use an influencer discovery tool or search the creator marketplace to find partners who can help your brand thrive.