What is Influencer Marketing?
With the rise of social media came the rise of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is the rapidly growing and powerful form of advertising & content marketing allowing companies to use relatable, real people to increase exposure, credibility, customer loyalty and sales. The goal is to line up a person of influence in a specific space to act as an endorsement for your product. The key to a successful partnership between brand and influencer is that both exist in the same sphere.
The main difference in influencer marketing and more traditional celebrity endorsements, is credibility. For example, NBA Superstar, Blake Griffin, has a partnership with South Korean car manufacturer, Kia. Known for his high-flying athleticism, Griffin even jumped over a Kia to win the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk contest. However, just because he endorses the brand, doesn’t qualify Griffin as an influencer. He isn’t known for expertise about automobiles, and since he makes $30 million per year, it’s not very believable that he regularly drives one of Kia’s affordable mid-size sedans. His celebrity status can increase awareness for Kia, but doesn’t add credibility to their messaging, which many companies desire.
Influencer marketing aims to create a partnership that ads relatability and credibility to the product and the company’s marketing efforts, instead of simply linking with a big name that can increase exposure. An award winning influencer campaign paired Nick Offerman, of Parks and Recreation fame with Lagavulin, a Scotch whisky brand that Offerman’s character, Ron Swanson, cherishes more than anything else.
The process of achieving this credibility is one reason many brands have not yet experimented with influencer marketing. To execute it properly, creative license and brand messaging needs to be turned over (at least in part) to the influencer. If their endorsements sound overly scripted and disingenuous, it won’t have it’s intended impact. Influencers spend years developing a devoted following and establishing a rapport with their fans, they understand how their followers can best be communicated with.
The main principle of influencer marketing is quality over quantity in terms of generating leads. Careful consideration should be used in selecting an influencer. If you trust the influencer to communicate your brand to their fans, their fans will have more trust in your brand.
To learn more, sign up for Nowspeed’s latest webinar: How To Master Influencer Marketing
