Influencer Marketing for Sellers

Influencer marketing has become a regular part of the selling game. If you’ve started to research strategies behind leveraging influencers to build your brand, you’re on the right track. We’re here to share how to identify the influencers who make sense for you, and how they can best accelerate your brand reach and awareness.

The global influencer marketing industry generated $13.8 billion in 2021. And, that number is only projected to grow to an estimated $24.1 billion by 2025. Here’s why:

• Influencers build trust. As we’ve seen with the impact of product reviews, social validation is a vital part of the purchase process.
• Influencers help you reach a wider audience. Tapping into an influencer’s network can help introduce your brand to consumers you might not otherwise have the capacity to access.
• For influencers, follower loyalty is a key element of growth and success. Partnering with the right influencer gives you a solid stake in that loyalty.

If you’re just starting out, setting up an effective influencer marketing program can seem daunting. How much should you spend? Which influencers are right for you? Can you trust someone else to represent your brand? By implementing a few simple strategies, you can join the ranks of companies using influencers to help grow their brands in the online marketplace—and drive their bottom line.

Your first step in establishing an influencer marketing program is to set goals. What do you want to accomplish with an influencer partnership? Increased sales? Brand awareness? Product perception? Whatever your goals, the key is to communicate them clearly and make sure they are viable.

After you decide what you want to accomplish, it’s time to decide who will be your best partners to reflect your brand ethos. Most importantly, make sure they are experts in your niche. While it may be tempting to engage an influencer based on name recognition and followership alone, if they’re not relevant to your audience or what you’re selling, your brand will see far less impact. Look for influencers who know your space inside and out.

Once you’ve narrowed the playing field, you’ll also want to make sure the influencers you’re considering are aligned with the core values of your brand; an influencer with the biggest name or most followers who’s not authentically dedicated to your brand won’t necessarily be your best brand ambassador.

As you go about selecting your influencers, you should choose those who communicate through the same social channels as you use for your brand. Even the best TikTok influencer for your product won’t drive awareness if your audience doesn’t use TikTok regularly.

Are followers important? Our digital marketing partners and influencer media experts at Taylor and Pond say the answer is no. According to the agency:

“Everything is about engagement, and a digital influencer with 5,000 followers can have more engagement than a digital influencer with 1 million. Engagement is the perfect metric to know if people are organically interested in all that person posts or recommends. Most people like to make a big purchase after watching or reading reviews and getting recommendations. So, investing in local digital influencers is a great choice to reach residents from your city or province. Moreover, local influencers live nearby and are easily seen on the streets, demonstrating even more relevance to your business.” Otherwise known as micro-influencers, these are often the people who will be most dedicated to your brand and the most niche-focused, leading to deeper engagement with your audience and greater collaboration on your campaigns. And, simply because a macro-influencer has a large following doesn’t mean that those followers are actively engaged. It’s crucial that you partner with influencers who are regularly involved with their followers—posting frequently and responding to comments.

Once you have established an influencer program and kicked off a campaign to get the word out, be sure to monitor your ROI and check that it aligns with your goals. Did your brand awareness increase? Did you reach new prospects? Did sales increase? Are you seeing better reviews? You’ll also want to monitor your site visits in the months surrounding the influencer campaign to look at its impact on traffic and conversion.

Have questions? Seeking more influencer marketing inspiration? We’re here to help. Reach out to us and see how you can partner with us.