The number of ways a small business can find success through digital marketing continues to grow as customers spend more of their time online or at-home. If your business isn’t taking advantage of all these different marketing channels, you’ll quickly fall behind your competition. 

One of the more popular online marketing strategies being utilized by small businesses today is influencer marketing. It involves using someone else’s platform, preferably someone related to your brand, to gain new clientele and maximize exposure. 

You might not believe it, but influencers hold a powerful voice in what customers are buying today — whether it be a product or service. 

Some studies suggest that nearly 60% of consumers are persuaded to make a purchase due to an influencer, while other studies point towards nearly 8x the return on investment with influencer marketing when compared to other marketing channels.

If this is true, why do so many small businesses neglect the power of influencer marketing? To be honest, the biggest reason is that they don’t understand what it is, how it helps, and more importantly how to utilize it. 

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Every small business has a target audience and they will be the customers you want to reach with your marketing. Where there’s a target audience, there are likely to be similarities that bring them closer together. 

Influencer marketing is a strategy that aims to find those similarities between your typical customers, partner up with a leading voice relating to those similarities, and then increasing exposure to like-minded individuals. 

Every time you see a commercial with a celebrity, someone on Instagram promoting a product, or someone shouting out a business during an interview, it’s a form of influencer marketing — a company using someone else’s platform to gain attention. Of course, the influencer is getting paid for it. 

So, why would a small business want to use influencer marketing? Simply put, it will help to build customer loyalty, increase traffic and conversion rates, shows credibility, and establishes yourself as a leader in your industry. 

Hiring an influencer gives you an edge over your competition, forcing them to find an influencer with more promise than the one you have. It’ll become a competition.

Ways to Utilize Influencer Marketing

There are a variety of different types of influencers and they will each serve a different purpose for your small business. The most popular types will include micro-influencers, celebrity influencers, blog influencers, social media influencers, and key opinion leaders. 

Let’s take a closer look at each one:

1. Micro-Influencers: Influencers with a lesser following, but a much more loyal fanbase that allows for a more personal connection. 
2. Celebrity Influencers: Influencers with a larger following and will bring about more exposure — not necessarily high conversion rates. 
3. Blog Influencers: Influencers that have a strong following through their blog.
4. Social Media Influencers: Influencers that have a strong following through social media. 
5. Key Opinion Leaders: Influencers that are experts in their field and have an opinion that comes with a large amount of credibility.

To learn more about how you can utilize influencers in your marketing strategy, contact Web Rocket Media today. We can help you find people that matter in your industry and connect you to a higher number of potential clients. 

References

Quora. “What Is Influencer Marketing And Where Is It Headed?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 Jan. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2020/01/22/what-is-influencer-marketing-and-where-is-it-headed/#57b4951e43ed.

Peek, Sean. “What to Do If Your Customers Don’t Pay.” Https://Www.uschamber.com/Co, 29 Jan. 2020, www.uschamber.com/co/run/finance/how-to-handle-customers-missing-payment.