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Growth with Influencer Marketing.

Q1. What is Influencer Marketing?

Ans: Influencer Marketing is a way to promote and sell products and services through social media influencers. They are people who are active on social media and have many dedicated followers who trust their opinions and recommendations. Influencers are like brand spokespersons, and via sponsored posts, they inspire their followers to try out some products.

Instead of marketing directly to consumers, brands collaborate with influencers to conduct campaigns. Followers of have a high engagement rate and are more likely to check out products that the influencers endorse.

Q2. Who are social influencers and what is an influencer campaign?

Ans: If you are on social media, you will notice that there are certain persons on the platform who have a large number of followers. Even you might be a follower or know someone who is one. Social media influencers are people who exercise a significant amount of influence on social media or marketing platforms. They are particularly well known in the beauty and lifestyle sectors.

Influencers represent aspirations for their followers. If they post about a product or a service provider whose work has helped them achieve something, or enhanced their lives in some way, their followers are likely to check the same out and even spend money on the same. Influencers post branded content on their profiles, or promote certain brands or products, and thanks to the number of people who follow them, the brands gain access to a larger audience.

A social media influencer campaign is like a publicity or marketing campaign, but it takes a different approach. Social influencers act as celebrity endorsers for products on social media. Via branded content, sponsored posts and blogs, an influencer campaign promotes a brand product in a way that reaches their respective followers, and lays down the grounds for direct engagement with the target audience.

Top influencers on social media come with a dedicated and sizeable follower-base, so when companies use influencer marketing campaigns, they already have a ready (and vast) audience to talk to. Studies show that with genuine and engaged content, social media influencer marketing campaigns are highly effective and drive good sales numbers.

Q3. Why are social media influencers marketing campaigns important?

Ans: It is a well known fact that celebrity endorsements really enhance a brand’s profile and help them reach their revenue goals. However, conventional celebrity endorsement deals are expensive and way beyond the means of small businesses. With younger people now being more tuned on to the internet and social media and moving away from television, it is only prudent that brands engage with them on their preferred media platforms. The new, urban youth also prefer to interact with brands directly and expect instant response- something which is only possible on social media.

Studies show that unlike celebrity fandoms, social media influencers have followers who are highly engaged and regularly check out what the former post about. A popular influencer is a perfect conduit who connects brands with a wider audience without the brand having to search out for its target audience. All they need is to find influencers who fit their product profile and design a campaign that promotes their product in the best possible way.

Q4. How does Influencer Marketing works?

Ans: Influencer marketing happens via collaboration between brands and social media influencer. Every brand has a target audience. To conduct an influencer marketing campaign, they must first locate an influencer who is likely to appeal to their target audience, and their personality gels well with how the brand tries to position itself.

An influencer marketing campaign then involves the influencer endorsing or recommending the brand or products to his or her followers through blog posts, sponsored posts or social recommendations on various platforms.

Influencers may not be big celebrities, but their followers are loyal and are more likely to try out products they recommend. Hence, companies have a better chance of reaching their marketing and revenue goals with influencer marketing, and it is more cost-effective.

However, they should be careful that the influencer has real followers (not fake ones) and she posts authentic and engaging content regularly. Influencer marketing is effective among youth, and especially useful for brands in beauty, fashion, lifestyle, travel, décor and food sector.

Q5. How to be a social media influencer?

Ans: If you have an active and popular social media presence, you can be an influencer too. It starts with finding your niche and putting your personality across social media in an engaging way. Influencers should have real followers and post authentic content regularly and should distribute their content across social media platforms and grow their network.

Q6. What is micro influencer marketing?

Ans: Micro influencers are those who have about 100 or so followers on social media. Their followers are extremely loyal and have a higher engagement rate. Micro influencers are very useful in pushing niche products and are popular with small businesses. They are growing in popularity, and are useful in pushing customised or limited edition products.

Q7. Why Influencer Marketing is the next big thing?

Ans: Influencer Marketing is here to stay. Here are some things that explain why:

Conventional marketing is expensive for small businesses
The youth are consuming media differently and moving away from traditional platforms
Social shopping is popular among the youth, and they are more likely to go by recommendations from people or personalities they trust.

Influencers come with their inbuilt fanbase, so you don’t have to go search for an audience
Influencers have followers who are highly engaged and authentic and are more likely to check out things they recommend
Social influencers can easily show how the products are helpful by posting videos that show how they can be used
Niche products can be effectively marketed through influencers who appeal to their target audiences and whose brands reflect the same values as that of the niche brands.

Influencers are good at networking, thus widening the reach of your brand.
Influencers enjoy more credibility than big-name celebrities, as they are deemed more ‘real’ and give the impression that they use the products they endorse and vouch for the same

Influencers are aware of social media trends and can help position your brand in a fresh and relevant way, and also increase your reach
Conducting influencer campaigns are more cost-effective and less labour-intensive than celebrity endorsements