Over the past years brands all over the world have used “celebrities” and lately “regular people with a large number of followers” to influence masses to purchase their product or follow their brand, some will do so for free stuff, while others charge a fee.
But what exactly is an influencer and what can they really do for you?
Influencers are typically people who are very active on social media, on multiple networks, with a large following, and they seem to get a ton of engagement. Sounds good so far, right?
Why join the trend when the old marketing techniques work?
Even if your current strategy is working, including authorities in your marketing mix pays off. You could stick to your brand’s social media channels, on the theory that you can address your audience just as well without an influencer, however, when a person with a large reach for your specific audience shows off your product on Instagram, her fans can’t get enough. But when they’re boosted on your official Instagram channel, the same post won’t generate nearly as much hype. There’s a reason that more than half of U.S. marketers reported that influencer marketing content outperforms brand-created content.
The not-so-great truth about “Influencers”
The most important reason why you should consider not using “influencers” in your promotional efforts is because they’re not actually influential. It’s believed to be a mirage created by the retweets and mentions, but these mostly come from other people just like them, who tend to stick together and repost the brands their friends follow.
This means that the message rarely gets out to the people who would actually be excited to try your product and you might miss the larger opportunities from targeting the audiences that want what you’re selling.
Self-described “influencers” are not necessarily connected to your message, feel any loyalty to you, or have any investment in your success. This could damage your brand if they promote a misrepresentative message, or worse yet, actively turn against your company.
Who SHOULD you be working with?
Rather than looking for an “influencer,” let’s look for authority.
An authority is someone who has a targeted audience that listens to what they have to say about a specific topic in a specific industry. They motivate people to take action, whether that is purchasing a product, signing up for an email list, or sharing a message with the right people.
It is important to keep in mind that just because someone doesn’t get a lot of links or retweets, doesn’t mean their audience won’t cling to their every word, the ability to inspire ACTION is what their influence is all about.
Also important to know is that in most cases Authorities are not looking to get paid, instead, they usually talk about the brands that they feel their community can really benefit from. True authorities are focused on what is going to give their audience, rather than themselves, the most value.
Here are a few things we believe you should look for in someone to “influence” your brand:
- They have a blog a clear topic or message.
- They have interactions with new people constantly
- They do NOT spam their audience with contests, but rather educate them on new products and their benefits.
- They have their own unique online voice.
- They have a focused interest in one or even a few topics.
At WeThink we know what to do next!
Let’s find out who you would target in order to grow your reach online. We can help you find people who would personally love your business AND (most importantly) who have audiences that would love your business too.
Como imagen podrías utilizar algo como esto, no se de donde podria sacar esas imagenes, esta es de GOOGLE IMAGES o si tienen algo predefinido de wethink.
