Let’s look back at 2020. While most of us cringe just at the mere mention of this calamitous year, there are a lot of life lessons that came along with it for everyone. Most businesses were under crisis during the pandemic and in an attempt to restore their status, most of them turned to social media. 

While the virus roamed the Earth, everybody locked themselves in their homes and turned to their phones for information, entertainment, motivation, and everything else. Social media has always been a top choice of brands. And the pandemic proved that when all doors were closed, social media stood strong and in fact, experienced the most traffic since its existence. 

What adds a cherry on top is that influencer marketing on top of the hierarchy yet again. It did take a while for everyone to figure a way out of the lockdown for businesses at least, but as humans, we sure have mastered the art of adaptation and after the hustle for a few weeks or months, businesses were back on their feet with the help of influencer marketing. 

Who knew influencer marketing strategies were so flexible? Since its inception, carrying prejudices and criticism on its back, influencer marketing has made it to a point where all marketers, brands, businesses, creators, and even customers are in favor of it. 

Why do brands use influencer marketing?

1. To stay connected to their customers

The power that influencers have is that they share a personal connection with their followers. There are influencers with different numbers of followers and from dynamic niches. As the ‘influence’ of influencer marketing grows, it is suggested that influencers be as specific about their niche as they can. Why? Because that promises a designated and dedicated follower base. As the niches become more specific, so do the brand’s preference towards working with a certain influencer. Niche helps influencers increase their following and stay tight with their followers. And this is a jackpot for brands to stay connected to their customers through influencers. 

2. It gives high ROI

As stated by Influencer Marketing Hub, for every $1 that brands spend on influencers, they are receiving an ROI of $5.78. It also suggests that sponsored blog posts alone have proven to yield up to 11 times more ROI than standard banner ads. So this is a true fact that influencer marketing is proven to give you conversions, an increase in sales, and hence, an increase in revenue. There is a high chance that the results might not be so clearly visible at the start. But it’s a process that requires an investment of thought, efforts, time, and yes, money. ROI is sure to be achieved, but with time and consistency. 

3. It’s trending

What’s social media if not trends? Every now and then something or the other is trending on social media, both negative and positive. But influencer marketing is a strategy that has been trending for a while. And has also become a medium to start and participate in trends. What a wonderful social media loop! Influencer marketing is trending for the performance that it delivers to the brands. And so far, there is no reason why one should not try it. With the number of influencers available on social media right now and the kind of creativity they exhibit, influencer marketing is set to trend for even longer now. 

Influencer marketing is incredible in itself. But as a brand, there are certain initiatives that you have to take to make your influencer marketing strategy work. 

1. Goals 

Measurable goals are the way to a successful start of an influencer marketing strategy. Everybody sets goals for their business, but one mistake that they make is, be vague about it. By setting goals that involve numbers and time periods, the input and output of the strategy improve. When the goals are clearer, the strategy is set to get off to a good start. 

2. Budget

For some businesses, budgets are not always a big deal as they are flexible about it. But that cannot be the case for everyone. An influencer marketing strategy is made up of many things. And you can choose to do them all by yourself or partner with influencer marketing agencies, either way, the budget is to be considered. After you set your goals, you can plan your workflow and hence, set a budget for your strategy to avoid any mishaps in the future. 

3. Influencers

Influencers are in almost every niche, of every age, and from all walks of life that you can imagine. But to find the one that serves your purpose is all you need. To find an influencer, you can use online data, influencer marketing platforms, hashtag research, or do manual research all over the internet and social media. Finding the right influencer is very important because they are the key to your customers, both existing and potential. To do that, you need an influencer marketing platform like WORD Marketplace. This platform lets you post a campaign brief by signing up for free and all you have to do next is wait for influencers to approach you with their content. You can further talk to the influencers, make amends in the content, set your prices, negotiate, and seal the deal. All of this and more is available on WORD Marketplace, with zero third-party interference.

What are the key strategies in influencer marketing that you use?  

1. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a great way to enter into long-term collaborations with influencers. The benefit of long-term collaboration is that the followers of the influencers that you work with will be exposed to your brand more frequently. The more they spot you on their feed, and on their favorite influencer’s page, the more likely they are to check your profile, follow you, engage with you and eventually make a purchase. The affiliate marketing vs influencer marketing debate can be neverending. But the truth is that they both can work hand-in-hand. Affiliate marketing can be done through affiliate links and plug-ins on blogs and other social media platforms of your choice. Another best part about affiliate marketing is that you pay when the conversion is made. You can set the conversion metrics to anything from clicks to purchases. It’s a full-proof strategy. 

2. Contests

Contests and giveaways are a fun way to create user-generated content. Let’s take a look at one such contest that took place for a movie promotion in association with the stars of the movie who also happen to be popular social media creators and personalities. 

The movie Bhaag Beanie Bhaag starring Swara Bhaskar, Dolly Singh, and Varun Thakur, was running a contest for which the participants were asked to share a reel showcasing the talent of their choice and the top 10 winners were featured on the pages of the actors of the movie. The price here was the exposure that the participants received for their talent. In a day and age where being seen on social media and being a creator, is a profession chosen by most. They ended up receiving a lot of entries and the campaign was a success. The key to creating UGC or just running a contest is to reward the participants with something that they want or can’t say no to. 

3. Sponsored posts

As stated above, sponsored posts are more effective than banner ads. A single sponsored post goes a long way. It can help to create brand awareness, to introduce your brand to a new audience, make announcements, or just to create content around it. A sponsored post can be in any format. But in this digital age, video content seems to be more preferred as they are more personal and elaborative. 

4. Reviews

Reviews are something that every individual considers before purchasing a new product. Some even live by it. Having influencers review your product, talk about it, and give a detailed introduction about it to your audience or their followers, can help you leave a long-lasting impression on the minds of the viewers. Reviews impact the purchasing decision of buyers and so do influencers. Now imagine a combination of the two? That’s a powerful influencer marketing strategy right there. The only thing to care about is that you choose the right influencers. The kind of communication and brand image that your business has should match with influencers. 

5. Meet and greet

Influencers already keep their pages and work so personalized that their followers are more like their online family. They tend to reply to the hearty comments that their followers leave, they answer the queries that they have, they take their content requests and put time into building it, even when they are not sponsored. To amplify this personalization of the influencers and use it in your brand’s favor, arranging a meet and greet is their way to go about it. You can have events hosted by the influencers, which can be both online or offline. This will ensure that your brand is exposed to many new audiences when you try to bring them closer to their favorite influencers. Meet and greet, launch events, shows, are a way for you to get closer to your audience by bringing them closer to their favorite influencers. 

Your influencer marketing strategies can be as dynamic as you want them to be. You can work with multiple influencers, multiple campaigns, multiple mediums, and have more than one agenda. But you have to pick the right influencers, the right time, and stay consistent with it. These key strategies of influencer marketing are enough to not only help you get started but also continue with it for a long time, successfully.