in: Social Media In General
by: Sabina Hitchen
There are so many new buzz building techniques that come and go, and new social platforms popping up regularly that it's hard to know where it's best to spend your time and money. One of the newest and most popular marketing strategies that businesses of all sizes are using is social media influencer marketing. It's a mouthful, but in layman's terms it's simply a campaign or partnership between your brand and a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or blogging influencer who can help you share your brand story, product or service with their audience in a strategic way.
Still not sure if it's for you? Think about this...
A Powerful & Trustworthy Way to Tell & Control Your Brand's Story
When a popular Instagram personality posts a photo of herself wearing your product, she's not just putting your business on her audience's radar, she's helping tell your story, influencing what people think about it and shaping the feeling people have about your brand. When a popular YouTube star who focuses on health and wellness tells the story of your gluten-free snacks, they're telling a story that in some ways you can control and broadcasting it to thousands - potentially millions of people.
Remember, this type of campaign extends way beyond the post, it's helping you tell your brand's story and connect it with people who can influence how people think about you and what you sell. That's pretty powerful stuff that can have long term impact on sales, consumer trust and business growth!
Spread Your Business Across Multiple Niches/Segments
Perhaps you're killing it in the "mom" world - press in mom/children magazines, mom events asking you to share your business with their attendees, and you're customers are mainly moms. But now you want to grow and expand behind this niche. What do you do? Turn to a social influencer! They can quickly and authentically put your business, product or service in front of their audiences which could be fashion, food, health, travel, education - you name it. You may not have the contacts or reputation in that niche yet, but if you can find a great fit with a social media influencer who is, you can get on the radar of multiple new audiences (and customers!) faster than you can say "retweet"!
Size Doesn't Always Matter
Let's say you have a budget that isn't too big yet and you don't want to spend it all on one famous influencer. No problem! Do your research and create relationships with influencers who may be new, or have smaller audiences, but they're willing to work with you on a plan, they have an audience that is engaged and interactive and they're open to taking a smaller fee. Some may even be open to taking product/service comps in lieu of payment. This is a great way to try your hand at social media influencer marketing.
**Before you dive in, check these "must know before social media influencer marketing" tips!
