Are you really still wondering if your brand might need a social influencer?
Despite the many success stories, I understand your reticence in the face of a growing phenomenon that perhaps isn’t clear to you yet. We’re talking about putting your brand’s image in the hands of a person, or more than one, who does something for a living that still eludes you; perhaps.
Your brand is a creature that you’ve thought of and grown with your own hands, with your commitment; it’s not easy to let it walk on its own two feet on social networks. Yet, people need to perceive your brand as if it were a person. A friend they can trust, capable of advising them, informing them, making them feel important.
Social influencers can help you personify your brand, giving it the human characteristics your potential customers need to connect with. Their content can attract and engage: it persuades.
So, it’s time to understand what advantages social influencers can bring to your marketing strategies on Instagram, but not only. How to identify the right ones to enhance your brand.
Jump in and let’s start building the foundations of your success on Instagram.
What is a social influencer and what is influencer marketing
If you want to understand how to set up your influencer marketing strategies on Instagram, you should start with a couple of essential definitions. You need to understand who does what, and why it works.
Influencer marketing has always existed. Whether we are aware of it or not, our every action or word influences the people around us.
Think about it for a moment. We are all influencers. Have you ever recommended a brand of detergent? A type of smartphone? How many times have your friends asked you for advice, because they trust you? Well, when you recommend a brand’s product, you are encouraging people to buy it, preferring it to other brands.
What is a social influencer?
A social influencer is that individual who can “infect” the purchasing decisions of other people. They exert their influence in a particular niche, through the use of specific social channels. Thanks to their authority, they are able to involve people and establish relationships of trust.
There are people who carry out this type of activity spontaneously. They are able to involve people and gain a passionate following. But, there are also professional social influencers capable of implementing influencer marketing strategies to monetize the attention of people who trust them. Instagram is the social network that, more than any other, allows a profile owner, with a well-targeted following, to develop profitable marketing strategies.
Since brands began to hire famous people as testimonials for their products, the effectiveness of this marketing strategy has become evident to everyone. So, it is not surprising that it has arrived on social media and exploded on Instagram.
What is influencer marketing?
It is the set of marketing strategies that involve and use the qualities of an influencer, to create profitable relationships with potential customers. Therefore, involving an Influencer allows your brand to have an effective “medium” in your corporate communication. Already recognized as credible and competent, his collaboration transfers these qualities to your brand.
In an era in which advertising messages are seen as forced purchases, the influencer allows brands to strip themselves of commercial infrastructures. You can give visibility to your products and services by creating profitable and lasting relationships and conversations.
See how the Influencer algorithm works and use it to increase your visibility and attract new customers.
4 Benefits of Influencer Marketing for Your Brand
People, like you and me, prefer to create relationships based on respect and trust, for the sake of mutual benefit. The old “industry leaders” companies do not impress or convince anyone anymore. This is why traditional advertising is suffering: it is a one-way communication, which comes from far away. The increase in positive results obtained by influencer marketing strategies underlines the need for human to human relationships.
Here are the 4 advantages of influencer marketing that your brand can exploit.
1 Trust and Engagement – Social influencers are more effective because they stimulate trust and human relationships. Not only that, companies have realized that investments in advertising banners are increasingly less fruitful, because people implement ad blocking technologies. No one wants to be disturbed while doing what they want to do: time is short for everyone and must be of quality.
Influencers do not fear these blocking technologies, in fact they are often references. They are people capable of engaging their audience and are one of the reasons why people are on social media: they want to be inspired, intrigued, entertained.
2 Authority – Influencers know that to be authoritative they must become experts and show their authority in a specific niche. In their field, they are the best promoters of your product. They break down the barriers of attention by showing their followers the advantages of your products. They can make them savor the pleasure of being able to have them. There is no reason why they should not listen to them. This allows your brand to acquire the same authority and reliability in the minds of your potential customers.
3 They are entrepreneurs like you – Most social influencers are true entrepreneurs and know how to hold the attention of their followers to lead them to the conversion stage. They know how to convince people and this aspect should not be underestimated when it comes to selling your products and services.
4 Targeted people – Bringing targeted traffic to your site requires time and strategy. Many people, who come to your site organically, may not be interested in your products and leave immediately. This negatively affects the positioning performance of your site. Through influencers you can receive targeted traffic from Instagram. Every visitor will certainly be interested in learning more about what they will find on your site.
How to choose social influencers on Instagram
Before you start frantically searching for one or more figures to whom you can entrust the visibility of your brand on Instagram, you need to start with your goals.
There is no strategy if there is no goal to reach. Only in this way will you be able to outline the activities necessary to reach the goal.
Your influencer marketing strategy must be based on essential key points. You cannot create lasting relationships with your potential customers if you make an impromptu agreement with an influencer: the so-called “marketta”. But you must create a concept, or a common strategy that can enhance the figures involved: influencer and brand. This is why the choice of influencers and the definition of the activities in which to involve them are very important. For example:
- product launch;
- corporate communications;
- events;
- content promotion.
Where should you start to look for influencers to whom you can entrust the fate of your brand on Instagram?
You need Instagram profiles that have real followers, not bought ones, and above all that these followers are targeted. Your search starts from these two elements. There are tools that can help you understand the real value of an influencer’s audience:
- DeepSocial
- Buzzole
- OpenInfluence
These are three tools, but there are many others. They allow you to find the right Influencer to promote your brand and vice versa. They also allow influencers to find brands looking for collaborations, to promote their products. Solutions of this type require investments, you have to evaluate what is best to do.
Instead, if you want to move on your own, you need some more advice, to avoid running into unpleasant situations. We are talking about doing business on Instagram, your money is at stake, you cannot move lightly.
Useful metrics to find the right influencer for your business
Do a keyword search, that is, use the hashtags popular in your sector.
Analyze the highlighted content, because it is likely that the Influencers you are looking for are there. Once you have identified the profiles that seem interesting to you, you need to analyze these metrics:
- number of followers and following;
- average number of “likes” in the last 10 posts;
- average number of comments in the last 10 posts;
- check if he publishes stories and how they are made;
- check the frequency of publication;
- read the bio, check if there are links and go check them;
- analyze the style and content, to understand if you like his approach.
You should choose influencers with an audience close to yours, not only in terms of audience or tastes, but also in terms of geolocation.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the idea of having to contact only famous, and therefore expensive, influencers. Depending on the type of business you are developing, even micro-influencers can be crucial. In particular, if your business operates in a limited area: province or region.
Social influencer: how to become an influencer
Now you have a clear idea of what an influencer is and how influencer marketing strategies can benefit your brand.
If you want to delve deeper into all the strategies needed to find the right influencers or want to create an Instagram profile to be a successful Influencer, you will find all the necessary insights in the course: Instagram – how to increase followers and create a business.
Instagram is the social network that allows you to maximize influencer marketing strategies. Although these strategies are relatively new, now is the time to dive into this adventure if you want to ride the wave and get the most out of it.