Digital marketing has become the foremost element of business and has also played an important role in shaping our society. Given the fact that the number of people using technology on a regular basis is growing rapidly, it’s no surprise to see more and more people interacting with ads. The question we have to ask ourselves at this point is how does digital marketing affect consumer behaviour? To figure that out, let’s take a closer look at what digital marketing really is and why it’s becoming increasingly popular among both consumers and businesses alike?
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Is it really growing faster than TV ads?
According to AdWeek, more money is being spent on digital advertising than on television. For many small businesses, digital channels are great places to start when trying to reach their target markets. But with more and more companies using social media and websites as a platform for reaching out to consumers, you might be wondering if it’s worth your time and money to make your own marketing plan for social media or just go with other people’s strategies that seem to be working.
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You will also have a clearer idea of how much time you will be able to invest in managing multiple accounts instead of just one account. Social Media marketing is relatively low cost compared with TV ads, but it can be an effective way of reaching potential customers and engaging them in conversation about your products or services.
What is Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on using key social media influencers to sell products and services. These online celebrities, such as bloggers, models and vloggers, are able to impact a brand’s image through recommendations or advertisements. Their followers are likely to trust their opinions more than they would those of brands themselves.
For example, if an Instagram star with 10 million followers posts a photo wearing a new pair of jeans from your company, her fans will be inclined to purchase them too. The result is increased sales for your business and increased visibility among your target audience.
A study by Microsoft found that 92% of people say they trust peer recommendations over branded content when making purchasing decisions. In fact, 89% say word-of-mouth has influenced their buying decisions somehow and 78% say it happens at least once per month!
Why should we use Influencer Marketing?
This question can be answered with a simple example. A brand had its toothpaste product exposed on a popular television show. Since then, sales of that toothpaste have increased by more than 20%!
However, what’s even more interesting is that it was not only people who watched that particular show but also others who were remotely connected to it through friends and relatives who started buying that product. Thus, influencer marketing is an effective tool to promote products and services globally.
Today influencer marketing has become extremely important for businesses as they focus on promoting their brand and creating an online community over social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, which have millions of users across the globe.
Tips for Influencer Marketing
To find relevant influencers:
- Search for hashtags related to your business area.
- Make a list of people in that category.
- Look up their profile information and email them asking if they would be interested in talking about your topic; most will say yes.
- Ask each person you reach out to introduce you to a few of their connections, who can then also share content with their followers and further boost your reach.
This is an effective way of building a relationship with influential people, who are often busy enough as it is without having to read about new topics every day.
The Challenges in Influencer Marketing
Just because someone has a big following doesn’t mean that they are an effective influencer for your brand. In fact, if you want to avoid wasting money on influencers who aren’t right for your brand, you must be selective in choosing one and ensure that they are not just popular but are also credible. The challenge here is how do you find an influencer who will resonate with your audience and speak positively about your brand?
Here’s how:
- Start by doing some research online.
- Find out which bloggers have written about your topics and identify ones that seem a good fit for your campaign.
- Look at their followers and other statistics related to their blogs.
Are influencers as powerful as they seem to be?
As most of us have probably heard by now, influencers on social media have a massive impact on what products we buy. We see many of our favourite celebrities promoting their favourite beauty products and can’t help but to feel drawn in by their recommendations. However, just because they are well-known and respected individuals in society doesn’t mean that these influencers are always influencing in a positive way.
The definition of an influencer varies widely from person to person. Generally speaking, an influencer is a person who has built up credibility with their target audience, and companies will often pay money so that these influential people will promote products for them. While some might argue that marketing through influencers is effective and increases brand awareness, others claim that spending money on influencers simply isn’t worth it since consumers may not trust advertisements made by famous people endorsing certain brands.
Do you agree with both sides, or do you think there needs to be some middle ground when it comes to using influential figures in advertising? You may also want to talk about how effective online advertisements (such as ads shown through Facebook) can be nowadays due to many other online distractions.
Lessons learnt from the brands that have failed with influencer marketing
The idea behind influencer marketing is pretty simple: you let your customer do all of your marketing for you. By tapping into customer expertise, rather than relying on advertising and PR to create buzz about a product or service, brands hope to cut through today’s deluge of online content and reach consumers more authentically.
But where there are gains to be made by going around traditional channels of communication, there are potential pitfalls as well; many companies are starting to learn that now. If they had to do it over again, here’s what they’d change.
Conclusion
Over recent years, consumers have become more aware of their purchasing decisions, and are spending less time being influenced by advertising. A growing number of consumers are actively working to minimise their exposure to marketing messages to remain in control of their own experiences and purchases. Instead, consumers who look for brands with a purpose will likely be more receptive to campaigns that feel genuine. Therefore, digital marketing should strive for transparency with consumers; campaigns should portray honesty over manipulative advertising. Consumers’ choice has expanded, and they want content that caters directly to them. If you give them what they want – useful information and insight – your brand is more likely to succeed across all platforms in future years!
