What is Influencer Marketing and How Does it Work in 2023?

We have entered a social-first era. With consumers spending more and more of their spare time on social media, the way we communicate has changed. And as a result, the way we market has too.

Enter: influencer marketing.

What is influencer marketing? Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers—individuals with a large following on social media—to promote your brand or product.

Influencer marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach out to new customers and create a buzz around your product. But how does it work?

Influencer marketing: How it works

Even though influencer marketing has become a staple in many marketing strategies, many people still ponder how influencer marketing works. We can answer that. How influencer marketing works in 2022 is by enlisting influencers to mention and promote your product, services or brand. 

How influencer marketing works: Influencers

Within influencer marketing, influencers are essentially freelance creatives who have access to thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands or millions) of engaged consumers. Influencers have worked hard to build their audiences, through consistent engagement and by providing valuable content on a regular basis. 

While influencers were once only followed for their aesthetic content and aspirational lifestyles, in 2022, influencers are considered trusted and respected sources of information and recommendations. Influencers are wholly trusted by their audiences, making them incredibly powerful influences over purchasing decisions. 

How influencer marketing works: Agencies 

Influencer marketing is a time consuming (but effective) strategy. To save you time and money, you can work with an influencer marketing agency. How influencer marketing agencies work is by taking on any and all influencer marketing responsibilities. From ideation, creatives, influencer vetting, contract negotiation, briefing and reporting, influencer marketing agencies take all of this on for you, allowing you to continue with other business projects. 

How influencer marketing works: Strategy

There are various strategies you can implement within influencer marketing. As a result of so many social platforms offering direct access to audiences through influencers, the sky really is your limit. You can use influencers one a one-off basis or forge a long-term partnership with them or use them in marketing campaigns as brand ambassadors. 

In terms of content, influencers can create content for their own feeds or your brand’s feed. This can be through static posts, videos, TikToks, giveaways and competitions or even hosting a shoppable livestream. 

How influencer marketing works: The Benefits 

When done correctly, the benefits of influencer marketing can be astronomical. 

One of the main benefits of influencer marketing is increased reach and brand awareness. Influencers have access to a huge audience base of people that are actively listening and engaged. Using influencers allows you to tap into this audience base to increase your reach and make people aware of what you offer. 

Influencer marketing also offers a huge ROI—11X higher than traditional marketing methods to be precise. 

Consumers nowadays are wary of branded content. Using influencer marketing builds credibility and trust. As influencers already have a trusting relationship with their audiences, when they mention your brand, their audiences will trust your brand more by default. 

Influencers are grouped by their follower sizes, and each group offers their own benefits. Nano and micro influencers are the smallest groups in terms of reach, but they are the best when considering engagement rate. Using these influencers, you can target niche audiences that are hyper-engaged to what these influencers are saying. Smaller influencers generally provide access to particularly hard to reach audiences. 

FAQs

How are influencers used in marketing?

Influencers can be used in different ways within influencer marketing. How they are used depends entirely on your goals and agreed strategy. They can be used to increase reach, raise awareness, improve credibility or to drive traffic, sales or downloads. 

How does the influencer work?

How influencer marketing works is that the brand confirms the brief, goals and deliverables (including content and messaging) required from the influencer. Once these are decided, the influencer will be briefed on the creative ideas and what is required. Then, the influencer will create their own content inspired by the brief. 

Is influencer marketing direct marketing?

Yes. Influencer marketing speaks directly to consumers through social media. 

Our Influencer marketing agency and Social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

If you want to receive our industry insights, visit our Influencer Marketing & Social Media blog.

@ Socially Powerful

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