Influencer marketing has become a hot topic trend among marketers because it is extremely effective. In fact, 94% of marketers who use influencer marketing says that it has helped boost their business, which is a pretty amazing statistic.

The basic idea is that you find people on social media who fit your sales demographic and who have an influence over their group of followers. You then work out an arrangement to have them promote your product in some way.

A machine learning company like Equiitext can set you up to get all the information you need about who your audience is and what influencers will work the best for your business. The people you choose should be influencers who would naturally be using your product or service in their everyday life, so it doesn’t seem as much of an ad as a real part of their lives. In turn, their followers become interested in your product. You can expect the following 4 things to happen when you engage in influencer marketing.

Exposure

The more a customer is exposed to your brand and product, the more likely they are to try it. When doing influence marketing, it is important that the person you pick fits your brand and is something they might actually use. The influencer should then promote that product multiple times as a part of their regular posting. The more a customer sees the product being used by a person they like, the more likely they are to use that product themselves.

It’s also important to consider that customers are more likely to buy stuff advertised through an influencer if they are getting a special discount at the time of purchase. An influencer who offers a special discount for being a follower will make people more interested and will increase brand exposure.

Engagement

Engaging your customers is a really great way to get them involved and get your product stuck in their brains. Using influencer marketing can really up engagement. People are much more likely to engage with people they follow on social media platforms than a business. Businesses often feel cold and like they are always just trying to sell you something. Influencers, on the other hand, feel like your friend and someone you might hang out with. That’s why it is much easier for influencers to engage customers and get them involved in a post. An influencer is already engaging with their followers on a regular basis asking them questions and getting them involved in everyday life. It makes sense that they’d be able to easily engage with your product as well.

#ad controversy

One of the biggest debates in the marketing world is whether or not influencers should tag their ads with the #ad. It is legally required for an influencer to disclose a relationship per the FTC guidelines, but they can do that in any way they like. They can simply mention they’ve partnered with your business or they can do something like tag with #ad. Many influencers choose to tag #ad their posts to keep the level of trust they have going with their followers. Instead of letting followers feel deceived with advertising, they want to make it clear that it is a partnership with a business.

The real question is what customers will prefer. Honestly, most customers prefer to know it’s an ad as well. That’s why one time worth of advertising doesn’t work super well. An influencer who is using your product in their everyday life, even if they tag it as an ad when they post for your business, will still get you new customers. The real key is that influencers need to show how the product or service works and why it would be beneficial to their followers. For example, they might do a hair tutorial showing exactly how to use a curling wand instead of just saying they use it and telling followers to try it.

Word of mouth advertising

The best advertising you have is through word of mouth. The more people you have talking about your product, the more likely you are to sell it. And if you can get influencers advertising a product, their followers may start advertising for you too. It’s an interesting trickle effect that we’ve seen with influencers where many of their followers are trying to become influencers on social media as well, so they promote products to their followers that they find and try, even if they aren’t actually in a relationship with the business or being asked to promote the product.

All of these things will happen when influencer marketing is working properly. Just remember to let your influencers advertise your company however they see fit, and make sure to focus more on their story instead of how great your product is. If they are trying to sell fitness clothes, have them share their story of how the clothes are working great for them instead of focusing on how the clothes are great for everyone in general. Remember influencers are successful because they are followed by people who like them and who are similar to them. What they are willing to advertise, followers are willing to give a try.