- Customers will always trust people over brands.
And that couldn't be more accurate today.
As 63% of consumers trust an influencer's
opinion of a product, over what a brand says about it.
Influencers are a key part of the sales cycle
on social media today, due to the trust
they've earned from consumers, and the response
they're able to illicit from their massive following.
An influencer is an individual that's built
a loyal audience they can communicate with
on social media, a podcast, an email newsletter,
blog or elsewhere.
While influencers exist in every industry
and discuss a range of topics, from cars,
to makeup, to food, what's similar about them all,
is their ability to persuade their audience to take action.
From selling their own merchandise,
encouraging signups for a petition,
or pushing product on behalf of a company sponsoring them,
influencers have the unique ability to make an impact,
and that's why companies want to partner with them.
To break through the noise on social media
and reach customers that trust the opinions
of these influencers.
For businesses, there's a variety of ways
to partner with influencers regardless of their budget,
and resources to increase brand awareness,
drive engagement and earn sales.
Here's a few to consider.
The most popular type of partnership is paying
an influencer to promote a companies products
or services directly, usually by featuring
their offerings in a sponsored post.
A post is considered sponsored, when an influencer
is paid to share it to promote a business,
which should be disclosed somewhere in the advertisement.
Another approach to partnering,
is sending free products to an influencer
for them to consider reviewing, to highlight
it's pros and cons for their audience.
This is a widely used tactics by makeup companies,
who frequently send their newest collections
to beauty influencers active on YouTube and Instagram.
A less common type of influencer partnership
but typically highly profitable, is creating
a co-branded product with an influencer,
and sharing the resulting sales.
Warby Parker, a popular eyewear brand,
often partners with influencers of different sizes
who reach a range of audiences,
to launch limited edition glasses
and sunglasses collections.
To decide which of these partnerships
is right for your organization,
it is important to clarify what you're trying to promote
and set clear goals to guide the structure
of your campaigns.
Now it's your turn.
To seek out influencers with credibility,
and through a genuine partnership,
earn the trust of their audience.