With the proliferation of social media apps such as Tiktok and Instagram, the growth of influencer marketing has increased exponentially. Social media users trust the influencers they follow, and working with social media influencers to promote your product can help encourage their fans to also put their trust in your product or business.
About 75% of Instagram users’ shopping habits are influenced by posts on the platform, and since the beginning of the pandemic, TikTok has seen a 553% increase in purchases made through sponsored videos on their application.
Additionally, the content produced by influencers for social media is typically “less professional” looking, but far more relaxed and engaging. It usually doesn’t feel like the influencer is selling you. And you don’t have to break the bank to work with them—many growing micro influencers will accept free promotional products and are happy to partner with brands they enjoy. This makes it easier for the audience to trust your brand since the products don’t feel like they’re being pushed at them through commercialized entertainment. With that in mind, here are five reasons your business should work with influencers this holiday.
High ROI
Producing and executing a successful marketing campaign can be costly, but by going with influencers for your holiday marketing, you’ll end up saving money while increasing your overall ROI. Despite sending influencers items from your business for them to use or display in videos, the cost of most of the production of the content typically falls on the influencer. The price per project typically depends on how many followers an influencer has.
For instance, an influencer with a following between 10 thousand and 70 thousand usually charges between 100 to 500 dollars per post. Comparing those numbers to the thousands spent on holiday ad campaigns, it’s hard to understand why companies wouldn’t at least investigate the idea of influencers for their holiday marketing.
Boost Your Audience Engagement
One of the best parts of working with influencers is your ability to leverage their following to reach audiences and demographics unattainable by traditional advertising campaigns. Working with influencers gives your business access to the community that follows them. By doing your research and choosing influencers that align with your brand and what your business is promoting, you can be assured the community the influencer shares the holiday content with will be intrigued.
People also rely on the opinions and experiences of others to make decisions about products or business endeavors. With the influencer already being a credible and trustworthy source for their followers, they’ll be more receptive towards holiday marketing and sponsored ads brought to them by said influencer, and more likely to interact with your business.
Build Brand Awareness and Advocacy
In an age where people turn to social media for news and recommendations of all sorts, it’s important to get an influencer on your team to help ensure you have a brand advocate. Being able to reach hyper-specific audiences is also a huge plus to having influencers working for your team. If your influencer successfully conveys the passion and vision behind your brand you can be sure that their followers will be more willing to give your product or business an honest shot.
Think about a brand like American Eagle, which was slowly losing its grip on teens and adolescents, the main demographic they appeal to. The company enticed and signed a contract with famous Tik-Tok star Addison Rae. Due to the collaboration and content that she produced, it’s estimated the influencer generated an extra $4 million for the company during their first six months together.
Develop Presence on Social Media
Marketing within the confines of social media has begun to explode thanks to the influencer market. For your business to remain competitive it’s important to look into ways to make your presence known on social media. By working with influencers, you can have them tag your business’s social media pages as well as upload the content produced by the influencer to your business’s pages. These tools are sure to increase the traffic to your social pages, and in turn to your business.
Gain Business Intelligence Through Holiday Influencer Campaigns
Investing in holiday campaigns brought to the public through social media influencers is a great way to gain business intelligence. The response to your influencer’s campaigns on behalf of your business can give you information about demographics you may have never thought of reaching before. Be sure to monitor how many hits your social media gets if you’re getting more out-of-state or international responses, and who is being attracted to your business or product through the influencer you work with. These measurements can help dictate the next direction your team goes to continue attracting new business.