Sit up, take notice and get connected, because Influencer Marketing is here to stay
Influencer Marketing is one of the most powerful ways to share your brand’s message, by using people who your audience already trust: individuals with immense personal reach and reader engagement. They make your brand the talking point of their conversations. It’s engaging. It’s credible. And it’s real.
People trust people.
When Aunt Zelda recommends the bistro on 7th Avenue, you know it’s worth checking out. When your best friend raves about a book she read and loved, you know it’ll grab you too. This is the power of personal persuasion and it can be harnessed by savvy brands.
Influencers can be incorporated into marketing strategies and play a pivotal role in how the brand is shaped and portrayed on social media. They can run an effective word-of-mouth campaign which starts conversations and, if done well, gets people talking about the brand across multiple platforms and markets.
So why use it?
Well, it’s not a growing trend just because it sounds nice. A McKinsey study found that word-of-mouth-inspired marketing delivers 37% greater customer retention rates and twice the sales when compared with paid advertising.
Furthermore, RhythmOne data shows that the average earned media value (EMV) of Influencer Marketing programmes in the United States were 1.4 times higher in the first half of 2015 than in 2014 altogether.
Add to this the fact that a Schlesinger Associates study found that 81% of marketers believe that influencer engagement is effective; that 92% of consumers say they trust earned media such as word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, and you’re onto a winner.
The flip side shows exactly why Influencer Marketing is growing in popularity at such a rapid rate. Brands are in desperate need of that next big breakthrough because consumers aren’t listening to the usual marketing channels anymore.
The Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 B2B and B2C Content Marketing Trend report revealed some sobering facts towards the end of last year. It found that although 78% of brands increased the content they produced, engagement with the brand dropped by 60%.
According to the report brand-generated content had the lowest engagement rates on social media. Improvements in ad-blocking technology, which consumers are readily adopting, are lowering brand reach as ads are stopped before they are even seen.
So, it’s pretty obvious why Influencer Marketing is enjoying such a strong and loyal following, while yielding impressive results in value and return on investment. And it’s not just for the chosen few or the lucky guy who happened to launch a campaign at just the right time (although that always works).
It’s ideal for any brand which is ready to engage with influencers using a clear brand strategy, an authentic voice and consistent messaging.
A robust Influencer Marketing strategy will know when to amplify your content, build credibility around your brand, reach new audiences, create and share relevant content and influence the path to purchase.
Now you just need to figure out which influencers are right for you and connect with them in the right ways.
Influencer Marketing is a global phenomenon that is continuously growing and firmly making its mark in the South African marketing and advertising landscape.
At Webfluential, our influencers cover 96% of the online audience in South Africa with the most popular categories for branded content comprising of entertainment, finance and business, and technology.
Our infographic below explains the above in more detail:
This blog post was originally written by Ruan Fourie.
We’ve launched a new technology to help influencers turn their passion into a business, while helping brands to easily get quotes and book jobs with Webfluential accredited influencers.
After running hundreds of campaigns and collaborating with thousands of influencers the time has come to shake up the Influencer Marketing industry with a new way of doing things. We believe that this is just the start, with these new tools we plan to learn more about how brands and influencers collaborate and continue to build on the technology we’re launching today.
The #BookedByWebfluential technology can be used by both influencers and marketers to ensure campaigns roll out smoothly and securely. To help you understand why we’ve built this technology, we have listed some of the benefits in the table below – to both influencers and marketers.
For every influencer
For every marketer
It’s free and simple to install With this easy-to-use WordPress plugin, you can take bookings anywhere, any time, from any brand
Get pricing in seconds No more waiting for rate cards, now you can cost your influencer campaign instantly
Show you mean business It’s the credibility you deserve. Brands gets a professional-looking quote from you instantly when they use your booking form
Know your influencers are credible The security of knowing your influencers are accredited by Webfluential; this means you’re guaranteed to reach the right audience
We’ll help you price your work
Set your own rates, or use pricing suggestions from Webfluential
You’ll always pay market-related prices We recommend rates to influencers based on their Webfluential scores, so you can be confident you’re paying the right price
Get paid, on time, no hassles
No more following up on invoices; all jobs booked through Webfluential come with a payment guarantee
Quality guaranteed Webfluential holds the funds until you’re happy your campaign has been delivered on time, and to brief
Better collaboration
Use the Chat Room feature to one-on-one with brands about creative elements, timings and other questions
Better collaboration Use the Chat Room feature to one-on-one with influencers about creative elements, timings and other questions
Reporting made easy You don’t have to spend time gathering stats and page views. Post-campaign reporting is automatic
Reporting made easy See your campaign’s reach and results with automated reports from your Webfluential influencers
Everything in one place Being an influencer has never been this easy – all your bookings, briefs, reports and payments are in one place
Everything in one place Running an influencer campaign has never been this easy – all your influencers, briefs, reports and deadlines are in one place
Collaboration made easy with #BookedByWebfluential
Webfluential wants to give every influencer in the world the tools to skyrocket. To get your booking form, apply to be an influencer on Webfluential.com today or login to your account now.
