How marketers can successfully leverage social media influencers in their campaigns – Nielsen | International Association of Digital Marketing Professionals (IADMP)

By Adam

With entrepreneurs planning to extend their social media spend greater than every other channel, influencer advertising and marketing is a ripe alternative for B2C manufacturers to extra successfully join with customers whereas growing engagement charges throughout platforms. A rising want for interpersonal connections with the manufacturers customers interact with implies that audiences are more and more receptive to influencer campaigns. This validates the model being promoted within the eyes of the influencer’s followers.

Many entrepreneurs are already seizing the engagement alternative social media influencer influencer advertising and marketing presents. In 2020, practically 75% of U.S. entrepreneurs leveraged influencer advertising and marketing–up from 55% in 2019. Nonetheless, earlier than launching an influencer marketing campaign, manufacturers must first develop a sound technique for the marketing campaign to drive the strongest affect and optimize their advertising and marketing spend. Right here’s how entrepreneurs can finest leverage social media influencers of their campaigns.

Establish influencers that match the model’s persona and function

When entrepreneurs enlist an influencer to extend model consciousness and increase a model’s credibility, it’s essential these campaigns really feel genuine to audiences. Fifty-nine p.c of customers think about influencers who don’t appear genuine to be “annoying.” Worse than falling flat, campaigns with the fallacious influencer can actively repel potential consumers from the model the influencer is selling.

Authenticity begins with entrepreneurs figuring out an influencer whose personal viewers aligns with the model’s, which can convey a better stage of receptiveness from viewers. Equally, an A-list superstar isn’t at all times a match just because they’ve a big following. SME Scarborough discovered that solely 19% of Individuals make product purchases based mostly on superstar endorsements. Extra typically, customers need to hear from relatable voices, with 42% of Individuals searching for the recommendation of others for buy choices. Shoe model Aldo efficiently famous this client choice when it enlisted influencers who aligned with the model’s persona to advertise its #StepIntoLove social media marketing campaign. Focused at Gen Z buyers, the marketing campaign inspired viewers to create and share movies of themselves dancing together with the marketing campaign hashtag for a $5,000 prize. The marketing campaign generated 5B+ views and raised Aldo’s model consciousness by 2.5%, in keeping with SME InfluenceScope information.

Step one in figuring out an influencer who audiences will understand as genuine is taking a look at potential influencers’ content material. If the services or products the influencer already enjoys utilizing aligns with what the model provides, the influencer’s viewers will discover it extra pure to see the product promotion of their feed and subsequently usually tend to interact with it. Entrepreneurs must also think about how followers work together with the influencer’s content material (e.g., how honest are followers’ feedback?) to see how engaged their viewers is and if the influencer is subsequently well worth the spend.