How influencer marketing makes a brand more effective

In recent years, influencer marketing has successfully caused a radical shift in the marketing industry by emerging as a promising investment segment for brands to explore new-age promotional strategies. Apart from the traditional forms of marketing such as advertising and PR, influencer marketing has become one of the key pillars to planning an effective brand campaign across various sectors.

As per leading influencer marketing firm Linqia’s report, 92 percent amongst the 86 percent marketers who used influencer marketing in 2017 found it effective. Also, as cited by the India Influence Report 2018 – a survey conducted by Zefmo, an influencer marketing platform – nearly 92 percent of marketers will move towards influencer marketing campaigns in the future.

The most effective form of communication that really spurs a consumer to act is word-of-mouth recommendations by someone he/she strongly connects with, and this is where influencer marketing has a distinct edge. Influencer marketing can alternatively be termed as the social word-of-mouth communication strategy which identifies with the appropriate brand advocates to carry out appropriate campaigns. According to the Zefmo survey, consumers are more inclined towards basing their purchase decisions on influencer recommendations because of authenticity and affinity.

Digitization today has enabled brands to identify and reach the right target audience. Today, brands have the liberty to leverage a wide range of social media tools in order to promote their campaigns efficiently. Influencer marketing specializes in helping these brands carefully identify appropriate influencers who understand the brand’s messaging and are aligned with the campaign’s ideologies. It further assists a brand in carrying out campaigns on select social media platforms which aim at boosting their visibility. Let us take a look at the reasons why influencer marketing makes a brand campaign more effective:

Reaches the right audience

Influencer marketing is a great way to reach the right audience with higher precision than other mediums. All influencers are proficient or experts in a certain field. For example, there are lifestyle bloggers, travel enthusiasts/vloggers, technology reviewers, culinary artists, etc., and brands can choose to target them accordingly. Identifying and associating with the ‘right’ influencers on whether their USP is in-line with the campaign objectives will assure targeted brand exposure and a more effective campaign.

Customized content promotions

An engaging platform with creative content keeps the followers interested in their influencers. Today, influencers have evolved in terms of both content and style to generate/create differentiated content for their blogs and other social media platforms. Affiliating with such brand advocates who create quality-driven content will assure impactful campaign communication for a brand. Identifying the platform where the influencer is widely followed and leveraging it with a 360-degree approach will assure the follower’s engagement with the brand.

Cross-category/cross-platform promotions

Influencer marketing also offers cross-category promotions which enable the brand to target a wider market. For example, tech brands are associating with lifestyle bloggers to reach out to a diverse audience. Brands are also using multiple platforms to create resonance with their target group. For example, the recent Paytm Mall campaign to promote a new category of large appliances was carried out across several social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to reach out to the target audience most effectively.

Cost-effective

Influencer marketing is a cost-effective form of marketing as compared to advertising in terms of investment and added advantages such as:

• Multiple content exposure: is mostly shared across multiple social media platforms
• Targeted approach: reaches the right audience
• Easy accessibility: information can be easily accessed through phones on social media platforms
• Live content time: content remains online and can be accessible anytime in the future

In conclusion, influencer marketing provides brands with an efficient and focused approach to reach their target audience through multiple social media platforms. Effective and business-driven influencer marketing strategy can influence opinions, increase brand loyalty, and generate sales. Overall, influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing forms of marketing in the current industry and will continue to expand further as it has redefined marketing strategies by introducing advanced consumer-friendly measures.

Sanjay Vasudeva is Founder and CEO of BuzzOne, an influencer marketing platform.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)