Using Influencers in Your Social Media is the “It” Thing to Do
October 5, 2018
Never before have there been such a high number of influencers available for hire. Gone are the days when Hollywood celebrities and platinum record musicians were the only marketing pawns advertisers had to build their brands. The age of YouTube and Instagram has created a whole new generation of famous influencers to use in your campaigns. With Christmas and other winter holidays fast approaching, there are already a series of online hosts being hired to push products, talk up services, and shout out to new brands on their channels.
Influencers are being used by even the biggest brands this year with Walmart celebrating its most recent campaign with popular bloggers to increase likeability. The new generation is an online generation, and sometimes the most effective approach to marketing is the most obvious one.
Getting online isn’t enough for businesses these days, they need to continuously make contributions which are deemed relevant and useful. Gone are the days when a business could create a webpage and social media page and be done with it. Now, businesses require a spokesperson, whether it be an online celebrity or somebody from within the company with time to spare.
Making Your Pitch Realistic
One of the problems online influencers face is making the “pitch” realistic. Being provided with samples and gifts from the brand in question makes their cooperation less authentic and genuine. Sometimes this makes the consumer suspicious about the intent of the influencer in question. Is the YouTube star promoting this brand of makeup because it’s the best on the market, or because they enjoy getting free lipstick in the mail? Women want to wear the best makeup money can buy, but they don’t want to be tricked into buying it.
This creates the conundrum of proposing to the consumer that your product is best, without the influencer coming right out and saying so. It requires an unbiased opinion, so brands have to be very careful how they tread. To create a believable campaign, it’s usually best to tell the influencer to provide an honest opinion, even if it’s negative. This makes your company and product more relatable, realistic, and believable.
Being Open Across the Internet
It isn’t enough these days to have a Facebook page for your business; you need to be active online across a variety of social media platforms. From Pinterest to Twitter, you never know where the next hot platform will be. Influencers can be found on any social media site, and you may not be able to partner with your top influencer, but this doesn’t mean you won’t get your message across.
Being part of this network of online celebrities gives new meaning to word of mouth. The bloggers and vloggers who represent your brand do so much more than just wear the shoes or drive the car; they turn it into something everyone should want to be doing.
What Makes an Influencer?
Unfortunately, there’s no real answer to this question other than that an influencer is whoever is popular right now among online consumers. Those who influence crowds to take interest in a particular brand, product or service, are considered influencers. Unlike Hollywood professionals who become famous because they play a popular role on TV or are considered a movie star, online influencers are often just regular Joes with podcasts, video feeds, or social media to share.
Influencers don’t need to be found outside of your company and marketed as a third party. You can bring on employees with web followings or help employees to build web followings so that you can benefit from their success.
Genuine Attitudes are Key
One of the problems you could encounter with an in-house influencer is the stigma that many influencers buy their followers. This problem became a well-known issue over Twitter as more and more users reached the maximum number if online followers. The social media giant has since begun putting a stop to the charade, cracking down on spam, the operation of multiple “pages” by one user, and false or negative information being shared.
This is an initiative being shared by Facebook as they also crack down on imposter accounts, spam, personal data leaks and more. So, keeping this in mind, the best way to get into the good graces of online followers is to be genuine and steer clear of anything that could be considered a marketing scam.
Closing Thoughts on Influencers
Whether you understand the basics of online influencers or not, it’s not difficult to become one. Building a following, sharing your information, and having your “shares” shared time and again by others are what seem to signify an influencer. You can build yourself a market simply by adding information users want to see, read, watch, and share with others.
As time goes on, the world of social media and internet influencers might lose its luster, but for now, it appears to be the latest in new marketing concepts. Those businesses who are able to interact with one of these bloggers, vloggers and the like, will find themselves with ads which truly speak to the public, because a member of the public is taking part in them.
For a closer look at influencers and how they rule social media and online marketing, take a gander at some of the latest YouTube videos, which depict real products from supporting companies being offered to vloggers for free in exchange for a review.