Social Media Influencer Marketing Strategy and Examples

by Ghia Marnewick
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Digital Marketing

In its simplest form, an influencer is someone who can influence others. In influencer marketing, brands pay the person to promote their products or services to their followers. The idea is to share authentic content based on real-life experiences that will appeal to the average person.

Therefore, a social media influencer is someone who expresses influence through social media. 

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This means that influencer marketing is the act of hiring an influencer to market your brand. 

Influencer marketing statistics show that almost three-quarters (72.5%) of US marketers will use some form of influencer marketing strategy this year – and that number is only growing over time. Not convinced that marketing with influencers can lead to real results? 

According to the leading digital agency Aumcore, research has found that  14% of 18-to-24-year-olds and 11% of millennials have made a recent purchase because a blogger or influencer recommended it. Meanwhile, Instagram is still the platform of choice for social influencers. According to eMarketer estimates, 76.6% of US consumers will continue to use Instagram for their influencer campaigns in 2023.

Reference: Bruce Mars via Upslash.

Reasons Why Influencer Marketing Will Continue to Grow
We spend a lot of our free time online on different social media platforms. We, without thinking, skim through the flow of news, even for a few moments between meals or work or anything random. 

In keeping with the same attitude, brands are eager to bring in people who are important to their products. If there's anything the pandemic has taught us, it's the power of social media. From the common man to the activist to the celebrity, everyone has used social media to help each other, be it for medicine, food, or hospital access.

Such is the power of influencer marketing, it is predicted that this industry will reach $15 billion by 2022. It is always changing and there is no saturation in it. Here are four reasons why influencer marketing will continue to grow, and which brands are taking advantage of it. 

1. More influencers means more content
As the industry continues to grow, more people are turning into brands and engaging in influencer marketing. With the increasing number of actors, the type of content is increasing, which helps to attract the audience to the niche product of the desired type.

2. The social media industry is demanding 
The growing demand from influencers for marketing drives the need for companies that can connect brands with them to promote their products in the right way. They have the experience, the tools, and the ability to reach out to those who do things and follow the business. It is also easier for activists to connect and work with brands.

3. Increase brand awareness 
Audiences quickly associate with famous faces and develop a sense of trust in them. When you promote a product or brand, the audience instantly trusts the brand, which helps increase sales. 

4. Influencer relationships turn into ambassadorial relationships 
When the brand sees a significant difference when placed in influencer marketing, they usually continue to onboard the influencer as their brand representative. This is a smart move because the target audience tries to connect the brand to the face, so instead of bringing the new person to go through the whole test again, making the representative is the choice.

Steps To Create an Effective Social Media Influencer Marketing Strategy 
Like any good business strategy, planning can ensure you are on track. You have to know exactly what you want to get out of influencer marketing and have a system to measure it so you can see your progress along the way.

1. Write down your goals and key performance indicators
Every good plan starts with a goal. When thinking about influencer marketing, you may have many goals for your campaign. Although perhaps the most obvious thing in marketing, working with influencers can do a lot more for your brand than just generating sales over time. Once you know what your goals are, it's time to identify key performance indicators or KPIs. These will be the metrics that you will track during your campaign and analyze after it ends to see how well your campaign performed.

2. Understand the influencer landscape
Before you start working with influencers, you'll want to take the time to understand the landscape. Know the different types of influencers - we've talked a lot about small influencers, but there are also big influencers and celebrities. In general, you'll want to avoid celebrities because their audience is so large that their engagement rates are low, but their engagement rates are often high. Make time to feel the effects and see how they promote form before trying to make everyone. This would always be guaranteed that you are telling something better so that you can get a greater sense of thoughts and feelings. 

3. Connect with feelings
Once you're sure you know what you're doing, it's time to connect with those who do. There are many ways to find influencers to work for your brand, but you'll want to start by reaching out to others in your industry. Not only will you find out who your competitors are working with, but you'll also see what influencers they're targeting. Then you can decide if you want to look for people with the same or different values. Depending on the platform you want to promote on, you can find tools that will help you identify people who are active in your niche.

Influencer Marketing Strategy Examples
1. Got milk? 
For anyone growing up in the early 2000s, "Got Milk?" advertising took the world by storm. TV commercials, billboards and posters abound, featuring the latest celebrities sporting milk mustaches. Although the campaign failed, it has recently returned with new celebrities and activists. In 2021, "Got Milk?" along with NFL star, Derrick Henry, took to Instagram to have fun for National Milk Day.

Reference: got milk? via Twitter.

2. Nike partners with promising athletes
Michelle Wie West made a name for herself when she became the youngest golfer to qualify for the LPGA Tour at just 15 years old. It didn't take long to get a partnership with Nike. She has had this partnership since 2005 and still shares Nike content regularly, like this December 2020 giveaway that formed part of their Instagram influencer marketing.

Reference: Michelle Wie West via Instagram.

3. Dunkin' Donuts and Charli D'Amelio
When TikTok started making waves, young Charli D'Amelio jumped on board and became famous for her dance videos. In 2020, she got into a partnership with Dunkin' Donuts. Charli often posts videos drinking "The Charli" signature drink and eating donuts.

Reference: Charli D'Amelio via Instagram.

4. The world's favorite vodka from Absolut
Absolut interacts with many of the world's most influential people across multiple social platforms. The campaign ran for more than eight months and was eventually named the Gold Winner for Best Food and Beverage Campaign at the 2020 Business Awards. The campaign used the #AbsolutPlanet hashtag to show how we can all be kind to the planet.

Reference: Absolut via Beverage Industry.

Conclusion         
Influencer marketing is here to stay, and it will grow even more in the coming years. E-commerce brands can benefit from collaborating with influencers, regardless of their goals. Influencers can help you grow your following, make sales, or just spread the word about your business. Either way, today is a good day to start developing your influencer marketing plan.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ghia Marnewick is a content writer for Aumcore, a digital marketing agency that specializes in Social media marketing and creative content marketing services. She is passionate about finding new ways of sharing information with the world.

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