Influencer Marketing: A Modern Day Growth Tactic

Give your eyes a break, listen to the audio version:

http://www.einsteinmarketer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Influencer-Marketing-A-modern-Day.mp3

Remember The Need to Know Digital Marketing Trends of 2018?

After we published that post, we had a ton of messages about one particular strategy…

…yep, you guess it, Influencer Marketing.

So, as the audience-loving, reader-serving marketing advice hotspot that we are, we’re going to give you the ultimate rundown on this must-have strategy.

Let’s kick this bad boy off with a definition.

Influencer: a person or group that has the ability to influence the behaviour or opinions of others. The influencer is an individual whose effect on the purchase decision is in some way significant or authoritative.

(Not our own words, The Cambridge Dictionary’s).

In the 21stcentury, influencers are vloggers, bloggers and people with a huge LOYAL following on social media platforms.

Myths and Legends

Now, you might be thinking, ‘Influencers are all well and good, but how the hell can I afford to pay someone like Tom Cruise to recommend my product/service?’

To which Einstein replies, you don’t need to pay ££££’s to find your perfect influencer. Consumers are actually 30% more likely to purchase something recommended by a NON-CELEBRITY BLOGGER.

EINSTEIN MOMENT –Many influencers with small audiences will promote your product in exchange for a freebie!

Non-celebrities are more like you and me. People trust their opinions, because they feel more REAL. They’re experts in their industry too.

So, SCREW TOM CRUISE.

God, that sentence felt good.

SCREW TOM CRUISE!!!

(Sorry, I just had to say it again)

Anyway, back to the point.

Next, you might be thinking, ‘How can I afford to find an influencer with 1,000,000 followers?’

To which Einstein replies, influencers with larger audiences will charge more for recommendations, but it doesn’t mean they’re any better.

EINSTEIN MOMENT –The most important metric to look at when you’re searching for an influencer is their ENGAGEMENT RATE (likes, shares, comments, retweets etc.). This will tell us how TUNED IN their audience is.

An influencer might have boosted their numbers by any back-alley method. If this is the case, their audience will IGNORE every post they publish.

It’s better to have an influencer who reaches 1,000 loyal, qualified and receptive followers, than 1,000,000 who couldn’t give a damn.

Word of Mouth, On Steroids

Influencers create TRENDS in world industries. TRENDS = SALES.

Excited? You should be.

Influencer marketing allows us to reach customers via a third party. This means we are not DIRECTLY selling.

If you’re a regular reader of the Einstein blog, you’ll know one of our favourite sayings, PEOPLE LOVE TO BUY, BUT HATE TO BE SOLD TO.

Influencer marketing isn’t effective because it pushes for sales. Instead, it recommends, reviews and reaches a much larger audience than our own.

Followers trust these influencers like their friends, idols or neighbours.

It’s the new word-of-mouth, just pumped full of protein shake and anabolic steroids.

Got that tingly feeling? If you haven’t, this might raise a few goosebumps.

–84% of consumers WORLDWIDE are more likely to take action because of recommendations from trusted sources, than any form of advertising (Nielsen)

–72% of B2B buyers use social media to research purchases.

-Word of mouth is the cause of 20%-50% of purchasing decisions.

How Are We Gonna Hit That?

The AIM of influencer marketing is to identify the influencers with the most loyal and responsive audiences.

So, how are we gonna do that?

There’s a ton of different ways. Einstein’s going to give you our personal favourites, but if you aren’t convinced, simply search for: Find an influencer, you’ll see exactly how many options spring up.

Your Own Research- (FREE) If you’ve got some time on your hands, search for GROUPS in your niche/industry. Find the curators, or the members who post the most, and receive the most responses. Reach out to them.

Buzzsumo– (FREEMIUM) one of Einstein’s favourite toys. Not a day goes by that we don’t visit this awesome site. Make a search about your industry, and click on the Influencers tab at the top of the page. A list will appear with the biggest influencers in your sector. Check out their profiles, and see who fits your needs.

Rep– (FREE APP)- An awesome influencer marketing app you can use on the go. Simply place an ad for an influencer, and see who responds. When you know who’s keen, check out their profile, or use one of our other Influencer Marketing tools.

FollowerWonk– (FREEMIUM)- One of the heaviest hitters in the influencer niche. FollowerWonk only ranks by Twitter stats, but it’s an awesome in-depth tool nonetheless. (Einstein advices testing all social networks, not just Twitter)

Tribe influencer– (FREE APP) Similar to Rep, in that you can use it on-the-go. This app allows you to search Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the most relevant influencers. This APP is still growing, so don’t expect its list to be as comprehensive as others.

Klout– (PAID)– Perhaps the oldest and most respected influencer marketing tool in this list. You’ll have to pay for the privilege, but KLOUT will search all relevant social networks, and give you a large selection to choose from. If you’re serious about Influencer Marketing, pay for this service.

Are We On The Same Page Yet?

Does that little rundown make you any happier? Has your appetite been quenched?

Hopefully, you’ve understood that influencer marketing isn’t just for companies like Coca Cola and Nike.

It’s available to EVERYONE.

Paying one influencer a small fortune, isn’t always the best way to go. Test a few of the smaller influencers in your market, and go from there.

And if you stay tuned, you might just find an Einstein Instruction Kit about optimising your Influencer Marketing Campaign very soon.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Did you love this content? Would you like to know anything else about Influencer Marketing? Leave a comment, or send us a message and we’ll respond as soon as our Social Media Manager has finished shopping for a new hairband.

Originally published at www.einsteinmarketer.com on March 5, 2018.