Humans have used the old ‘word of mouth’ marketing concept for millennia, and it continues to be a vital part of marketing in today’s ever-changing world of business. Thanks to the internet and social networks, the ‘word of mouth’ model has made a significant leap in recent years. You can now reach millions of potential customers in a single social media post with the help of influencer marketing – a tool that has come to be valued in marketing strategies. It relies on the power of an endorsement from well-respected sources to provide credibility to a brand.
Whichever product or service you are selling, using influencer marketing to let potential customers know is usually effective because it usually offers a first-hand perspective of use. It could be as simple as a photo on Facebook or Instagram or a video that demonstrates, for instance, how easy it is to play your favorite mobile casino games on an online casino mobile app. And by the way, word-of-mouth marketing doesn’t end with social media platforms alone. It can also be something like getting information about the latest Vegas casino online in an authoritative forum from a fellow casino gaming enthusiast.
What Do the Numbers Say?
92% of consumers trust recommendations from peers over advertising, and in fact, the idea of online reviews was influenced by this psychology of consumers. Influencers with large media followings have created loyal communities around their niches, and now, 49% of customers rely on influencer recommendations before they purchase a product or service. If you are looking to put your product in front of the right client base via influencer marketing, you are on the right path.
However, to optimally use this robust marketing tool to your business’s advantage, you need to know a few things. Here’s a quick guide:
1. Vet Your Influencers
A cult-like following may look like an excellent qualification to engage an influencer to endorse your product, but that’s not the most important thing. You want volume in sales, not just volume in the number of eyes that get to see your product. Sometimes, even micro-influencers with less than 100,000 followers have a higher engagement than more prominent names.
This is why you can start by focusing on influencers in your niche as your entry point. Although, depending on the influencer, you may find one that can still draw attention to your brand in a creative way regardless of niche. Also, find out if they have done this before. Those that have posted sponsored content before can easily be evaluated by past performance.
2.Build a Strong Digital Presence
When their interest is piqued by your product or service featuring in an influencer’s content, you need to be ready to wow them from your side of the deal. Be prepared for when the target audience decides to engage with your brand. Of course, influencers worth their salt will vet you as much as you vet them because they also have a brand to protect.
This is where your digital presence matters; your brand needs to be able to stand on its own outside of being endorsed by sources trusted by consumers. Ensure that your landing pages, social media sites and services are on fleek so that when the potential consumers make contact, your product is well worth the hype.
3. Allow the Influencer to Be Themselves
By building a loyal fan base, influencers usually establish trust and attention from their fans. This is the key to how your product will be viewed; since the influencer is more familiar with their audience, they have the inside knowledge as to how they will draw them out. That’s why you should not try to control the delivery of the message since it should come as naturally as possible. Any giveaway that this is an ad may cause the audience to disengage and feel cheated. Instead, allow the influencer to take liberties with owning and creatively presenting the product or service, and you will see results.
Influencers have been around even before the age of the internet, but in today’s global village, you can harness their ever-growing power and drive up sales in your business. Surveys have even shown that as of 2020, 71% of businesses have reported that the quality of clients from influencer platforms is much better than from any other platform. Influencer marketing has turned social media into a marketplace where consumers instantly want or need something just because they saw their favorite YouTuber talking about it. Taking time to learn the patterns in the industry carefully will immensely help your strategy.