Here’s how influencer marketing helps amplify your brand

How does influencer marketing help your brand?

Influencer marketing helps your brand by using trusted online voices to reach the right audience fast, build credibility, and drive more sales than many traditional channels.

• It taps an influencer’s existing, engaged followers.
• It builds trust through genuine, relatable recommendations.
• It lifts brand awareness, website traffic, and conversions.

Today, most companies have moved online, so smaller businesses find it hard to get noticed. As a result, customers often distrust brands that only push self-promotion. Because of this, demand for fresh, creative marketing has grown.

That search for a new approach has led many businesses to influencer marketing. For example, plenty of brands now spend real time and money “trying to take advantage of [influencer marketing],” says Johan Jedaker, CEO of Bettersupport.io. Johan discussed outsourcing and the value of influencer marketing in the 429th episode of the Outsource Accelerator podcast.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of digital marketing. Here, well-known people, or influencers, help reach a larger audience to promote a brand’s products.

In the early days, promoting through digital platforms was not really an option, since Facebook and Twitter were just starting, and “10 years ago, it was more about direct sales,” the Bettersupport.io CEO said. “Influencers would hand out discount codes and so on to drive sales, but things have sort of turned now,” he added.

Influencers like celebrities, bloggers, and YouTube stars have a big social media reach. So when they promote a brand, they tap into their own followers and reach a wider, more engaged audience.

However, reach is not enough on its own. These people must also be trusted figures in a community. In addition, they should have real expertise or experience with what they promote. For example, say you hire a food vlogger to promote your restaurant. You could ask for a food critic certification, so the promotion comes from a true professional.

What is the value of influencer marketing?

The value of influencer marketing lies in its reach. In short, it gets your message to a big audience quickly. As a result, businesses often reach more people this way than through traditional marketing.

Influencers can also sway what their followers buy. Because fans relate to the people they follow, they listen to them. In turn, the brand and its customers can build a strong bond that keeps a loyal customer base.

Through influencer marketing, a brand “gets a lot of exposure on social media,” and “ultimately it leads to a higher conversion and more sales,” Johan said.

The core marketing idea has not changed: telling the right story to the right people. Still, the digital era has reshaped how that story spreads. So without a creative product launch, it can be hard to build brand awareness. As the CEO put it, when clients “run ads on Instagram, Facebook, and so on, they can instead use the content from influencers. [It] gives them a better result in the end.”

5 ways influencer marketing boosts your brand

Influencer marketing rests on trust, transparency, and honesty. According to MG Empower, 70% of customers consider influencers in their purchase decisions, with an even higher 83% considering sustainability. Here are five ways influencer marketing boosts your brand awareness.

1. Targets audience precisely

Your marketing team no longer has to guess how to reach its audience, since brand advocates do that work. As noted, you simply partner with the right influencer whose profile and content fit your company’s image. For many firms, this pairs well with outsourcing your social media.

2. Enhances credibility and trust

When an influencer gives a genuine review of your product, it lifts your brand’s reputation. As a result, new customers trust you faster. This is one of the strongest brand awareness strategies you can use.

3. Revamps content strategy

Influencers earn a living by making content people love. So working with them lets you rethink your methods and borrow their techniques for a more effective social media strategy.

4. Increases audience engagement

Johan said influencer marketing is “really about the exposure [of the] content that the influencers are generating.” He added that “there are many segments when it comes to influencers,” two of which are:

• Mega influencers – “those with 100,000 followers and above.”
• Micro influencers – “starts anywhere from 1,000 followers.”

The point is simple. Brands can hire influencers with many followers to their advantage. It is a win-win: the public figure can gain followers, and the business can make more sales.

5. Improves search engine rankings

Influencer marketing lifts brand recognition, which drives more traffic to your site. In addition, when your pages get shared, you can earn high-quality, reliable backlinks. So your search rankings can improve over time.

Why does influencer marketing continue to grow?

The rise of influencer marketing comes down to speed and reach. In short, it gets a brand in front of a big audience fast. By using an influencer’s persuasive power, companies build stronger ties with their target market. For scale, this often works best alongside full digital marketing services. Today, the global influencer marketing market is worth tens of billions of dollars, and it keeps growing fast.

Risks of influencer marketing

Business owners “don’t necessarily need physical products in order to run a successful influencer marketing program.” Marketers can do it with simple steps: “Find the right influencers, contact them, make collaborations, and then the influencers would push that information out,” Johan advised. A similar model powers affiliate marketing too.

However, there are a few risks to watch for:

• Budget and expertise – Johan pointed out two things, “it’s expensive to run this kind of program in-house,” and “other outsourcing companies would struggle [if] they don’t know the ins and outs of influencer marketing.”
• Fake followers – Some influencers can buy fake followers, which makes their fan base look bigger than it is.

Still, the Bettersupport.io CEO notes there are “tools that help to identify how genuine an influencer is.” A skilled content marketing partner can help you vet and manage these campaigns.

Enhance your campaign with influencer marketing

Overall, influencer marketing is a great way to boost your campaign. You just need the right strategy and a “dedicated influencer marketing team” to get started.

If you want to learn more, you can find Johan Jedaker on LinkedIn or email him at [email protected]. You can also visit Bettersupport.io‘s official website and listen to episode 429 of the OA podcast here.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a mega and a micro influencer?

A mega influencer has 100,000 followers or more. By contrast, a micro influencer can start at around 1,000 followers. Micro influencers often have smaller but more engaged and loyal audiences.

How much does influencer marketing cost?

It varies a lot by influencer size, platform, and campaign. For example, micro influencers can be low cost, while mega influencers charge much more. Running the whole program in-house can also get expensive, which is why many brands outsource it.

How do you spot fake followers?

Look for odd gaps between follower counts and engagement. For example, low likes and comments on a huge account are a red flag. In addition, several tools now measure how genuine an influencer’s audience is.

Can small businesses use influencer marketing?

Yes. In fact, small brands often do well with micro influencers. These partnerships cost less and reach a focused, trusting audience. So the return can be strong even on a tight budget.

Should you outsource influencer marketing?

Often, yes. A specialist team knows how to find, vet, and manage the right influencers. As a result, you avoid common mistakes and get better value from each campaign.