Top 5 Ways to Use Influencers as Part of Your Marketing Strategy

More and more brands are using various marketing techniques to compete in the unparalleled digital marketplace. Now, you may have heard the term “influencer marketing” spread like wildfire – but what does it actually mean?

It’s quite simple really, it is one of the most successful marketing techniques for brands. Influencer marketing involves reaching out and connecting with well-known individuals to organically and directly promote a product or service.

In the increasingly expanding digital world, the term ‘influencer’ has become part of a much broader meaning. Today, it can be anything from an individual, a celebrity or even whole groups, and they take many forms from bloggers to vloggers and social media influencers.

Why use Influencer Marketing?

The key benefit of using influencer marketing may seem quite obvious, consumers are more likely to trust information from a third party than from a brand itself. To put it in more simple terms, if someone tells you how good they are at singing, quite rightly, you are going to be a little skeptical, right? But what if someone else approaches you to tell you that the person is, in fact, the best singer they have ever heard? Then you will be a lot more inclined to believe this, would you not?

So, how can you use influencer marketing in the right way to benefit your brand’s marketing strategy?

1.      Have a Clear Goal

Do you just want to boost brand awareness, or encourage some particular action? You should have a very clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve and how you want to benefit from using influencer marketing, which will help to inform all aspects of your influencer strategy.

2.     Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience can be a real battle. You need to get inside their heads and try to understand what they want but knowing what elements to concentrate on can be hard. Be sure that your brand has a clear understanding of who your audience is and what defines them.

Then comes the tricky part, find out where they hang out online, what platforms they are using, what content they are digesting and engaging with, and also what influencers they are following. If you can perfect this then you have the makings of a successful influencer campaign.

3.     Find the Perfect Fit

Now that you have a detailed picture of your audience, the key to the success of using influencer marketing is finding the perfect influencer to fit for your brand.

It’s not all about size. It is more important to use influencers that uphold similar values and characteristics of your brand to make sure their follower base matches your audience, which will allow your message to have maximum effect. That’s why at CollectivEdge we’re suckers for a good love story. We pair up bloggers, vloggers and social media influencers with brands, using a meticulous selection process to ensure it’s a match made in heaven. Find out more here.

4.    Collaborate & Keep Collaborating

Collaborating with an influencer is not just a one-time fix. It provides the opportunity to build a relationship that can benefit the both of you. Content is much more likely to be received effectively by your audience if you continue to collaborate with the same influencers who champion your brand. Continual collaboration will help to develop the influencer as strong brand ambassadors, who will represent your brand repeatedly with authenticity by advocating your business and targeting your audience with their own voice and style.

5.     Reuse and Repurpose Influencer Content

So, you have sent an influencer a product to review or have sponsored a post which they have shared with their followers. Now what do you do? Just tick the box off your to-do list and move onto the next piece of content? In short, no you shouldn’t. You have done a great job to reach your audience but the full-potential is far from achieved. Be sure to reuse and repurpose this content to maximise its potential and success by communicating it to your audience in different ways. Of course, make sure you obtain permission or rights to the content from the influencer before you use their content in this way.

To learn more about working with influencers and how influencer marketing can be used as a central part of your brand’s strategy, then email us at hello@collectivedge.com

Do you have any useful tips on how to use influencer marketing as part of your digital marketing strategy? Leave your thoughts and comments below.