By now, you’ve heard of “influencers” – people (usually celebrities) who showcase big brands online for what seems to be a ton of money. While some influencers may fit that general stereotype, there are many others sharing brands and services with their smaller but highly devoted groups of followers. In fact, influencer marketing may even be helpful to your business!
Why Influencer Marketing?
With so many brands out there, it’s becoming more important than ever that your marketing strategy establishes familiarity and personality. A real, live human who can attest that your brand is trustworthy gives your social media campaign a personal touch, like a recommendation from a good friend.
If you want to reach Gen Z with your marketing, influencers are an absolute must. This tech-savvy generation is most likely to learn about new products and services online, usually through TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Many influencers are their peers, so they’ll be paying attention when one of them talks up your brand.
Finding Your Influencer
Targeting the type of influencer you want to reach will depend on your brand and your budget. If you serve Galveston, Clear Lake, La Marque, or surrounding areas like Friendswood or Texas City, it wouldn’t make much sense to aim for an A-list celebrity for your marketing strategy. Macro- and micro-influencers may not have millions of followers, but they specialize in a particular niche. No matter what area of business you’re in, you’re likely to find someone who is a respected “subject-matter expert” on it with a strong presence on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.
Working with influencers whose follower base is under one million can be tricky; often, they are very cautious about what they promote to their highly specific audience, so you’ll need to establish a trust in your brand. Be sure to engage regularly on social media in places where you might find them. For instance, if you are the owner of a bicycle shop in Hitchcock, you might want to look for Hitchcock cycling groups on Facebook, where you may find your ideal influencers. Just be sure to do some sleuthing to know their followers are legitimate (a good clue is how often and how genuinely their followers engage with their posts).
And, don’t forget to look among bloggers and vloggers – they are already used to getting creative with their content, which can be very helpful for a social media campaign.
Working With Your Influencer
Once you’ve found the ideal match for an influencer marketing push, you’ll want to determine how to compensate them for their promotion. For nano-influencers (those with fewer than 10,000 followers), a free product may do just fine. However, if they seem to hold a lot of sway over their followers, you may want to discuss a payment structure that you both feel comfortable with. For instance, if you’re serving Galveston and Clear Lake, and your goal is to get more people to purchase custom-made gaming PCs from you, it would be worth it to pay an influential gamer from the area whose recommendations are very likely to increase sales.
Next, determine your goals and your target audience, just as you would while formulating other marketing strategies. Be sure to work with your influencer so the message is relevant and aligns with those goals, but is also relatable and won’t seem forced to that person’s followers.
Finally, remember to track the performance of these posts just like any other social media campaign.
Help! This All Seems Pretty Daunting.
If you’re in Galveston, Clear Lake, La Marque, Hitchcock, Friendswood, Texas City or surrounding areas, and want to give influencer marketing a try – but aren’t sure where to begin – JanMar Agency can help you through the process. Give us a call at (409) 502-8221 or book online for your free one-hour consultation.