You may have heard the words influencer marketing but you might not be sure what it is. In short – its focusing your marketing efforts with a few specific people to share your brand story versus focusing on the whole target market.
If you’re a food brand – chances are your influencers are food bloggers. If you’re a travel brand, your influencers might be Instagram sensations and fashion influencers love YouTube.
Today, research is pointing to the fact that 86% of marketers have used some influencer marketing and nearly 50% of those same marketers have plan to increase their influencer marketing spends in the future.
But why is influencer marketing such a big deal?
First, traditional media is not where consumers are. Depending on your audience, traditional ad buys on radio, tv and print aren’t finding the eyes they used to find.
Secondly, digital media buys might have you blocked. Yes, it’s not just traditional media that’s losing audience. Even digital online ads are losing some traction. A recent study by Reuters found that about 25% of Americans use ad-blocking software and 44% of consumer age 18-24 are using ad blocking software as well.
By the numbers…it appears that we might be moving toward an ad-free world…the Hunger Games of marketing! OK, maybe not that dire, but a new landscape for sure. And the thing about influencer marketing is its authenticity…and the fact that its audience by choice.
Influencers are peers that work on a word-of-mouth basis wielding their key strokes. Unlike ads we don’t chose, influencers are others just like us who create content we decide we want to see. We seek out their content, we follow them on social and we trust their advice…even when we know they may be paid to talk about something. Because even when they are paid, we believe their voice and opinions to be authentic and true.
Why is this important? Because in a study by Nielsen, 92% of people reported that they trusted recommendations from individuals over brands. Makes sense right. We all know the power of word-of-mouth advertising and the trust and loyalty that is built from that kind of relationship.
But is influencer marketing just blogs? The answer is no. Social media is a tool of blogs, but in some cases, social media influencers don’t even have blogs. They rely on tools like video to create content that they share on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. In fact, social search is gaining traction on traditional web search for discovering new content and video is playing a huge part of that discovery. Shareaholic reports that 25% of all web traffic is now driven by Facebook.
And if you doubt the power of influencer marketing and social engagement, know that ODM Group reported that 74% of consumers use social media to make purchase decisions. If you ask me, my answer is what are you waiting for? If I was you, I’d want some word of mouth advertising and peer influencers singing my praises.
If you aren’t already using influencer marketing, it’s time to get in the game and get some peer power. But don’t fret over who to contact, what to pay and what to ask for. That’s where we can help. If you are ready to start using food influencers to share your story we’ve got you covered. Just drop us an email at Melinda@fulltiltmarketing.net
Written by Melinda Goodman
Managing Partner
Melinda@FullTiltMarketing.net
