One of the most effective marketing modalities nowadays is the execution of digital marketing campaigns through social media content and platforms. The latter provide very effective ways for companies to connect with their audience, build brand awareness and increase sales. Social media marketing is performed in many ways including Blogging, Podcasting, and Video marketing (e.g., via YouTube). Social media platforms can be seen as channels used to convey marketing messages to different audiences. This is because each platform has its own unique features that make it more or less suitable for different types of content or business needs.
Social Media Marketing Strategies: The Basics
Modern enterprises define and implement social media marketing strategies. The creation of a proper strategy involves the specification of the target audience and the identification of the main marketing goals of the strategy. It also requires the creation of a content strategy and the close monitoring of the strategy’s performance. The latter involves the tasks of measuring and analyzing user engagement. Moreover, social media marketing requires the identification of trends and the creation of quality content. Quality content is probably the most important element when it comes to social media marketing. Specifically, companies need to make sure that they are providing their audience with something they can take away from their experience with their brand and use in their lives. Nowadays, the creation of visual content is an integral element of quality content creation. Visuals help draw attention towards what’s being said or written on social media pages by providing additional context for what might otherwise seem like an abstract concept. Furthermore, visuals help to break up text so that readers aren’t overwhelmed by too much information at once. This makes it easier for them to browse the content without getting bored.
Regardless of the type of content that they develop and post on social media platforms, companies had better follow some best practices for effective online marketing. For instance, they must develop a consistent voice based on well-structured messages that serve a clear marketing goal. It is also very important to respond consistently to customer feedback. Most importantly, companies must stay up to date with the latest trends in social media marketing, including what’s working for other brands and why it should also work for them. In this context, companies must also ride the wave of latest social media trends such as influencer marketing.
Understanding the Rationale and Potential Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that utilizes influential people to promote brands, products, and services. It’s also known as ‘influencer advertising’ or ‘word-of-mouth marketing.’ Influencers are individuals who have established credibility with their followers (i.e., their ‘fans’) because of their knowledge or expertise in a particular area. For example, social media influencers may be bloggers or social media personalities with large followings on their YouTube, Instagram Websites, Twitter and other platforms where they regularly share content related to their interests. Influencers can be found in many different niches and industries, from fashion to technology and sports. In general, there are two prominent types of social media influencers:
- B-list celebrities i.e., people who have been famous for a long time (e.g., Kim Kardashian) or those who were recently famous (e.g., Kylie Jenner). They have millions of followers due to their family name or reality TV show fame.
- Industry experts i.e., individuals who work within an industry (e.g., doctors) but don’t necessarily hold any titles like ‘doctor’ or ‘surgeon.’ They might just be someone with experience working in hospitals as nurses/medical assistants instead of being considered doctors themselves, yet still have enough knowledge about medical practices that they can share useful advice.
In the social media era, influencers are therefore the new celebrities. Thus, influencer marketing is a new strategy that leverages these popular personalities to promote brands, generate leads and boost sales. Specifically, influencer marketing works by leveraging the trust that consumers place in these experts’ opinions when it comes to make purchasing decisions. In an era where there is a lot of distrust on direct marketing actions of the various brands, the influencer marketing approach can be very effective at driving sales conversions. This is also the reason why influencer marketing is employed by many prominent brands like Nike, Starbucks and General Electric that have successfully employed this strategy in their marketing campaigns.
Influencer marketing comes with distinct benefits for companies that incorporate influencers in their social media strategies. These benefits include:
- Increased brand awareness: With the right influencers on your side, you can reach millions of people who might not otherwise know about your brand or products. This helps increase sales and establish trust in your brand’s name.
- Improved reputation: When someone trusts an influencer to give them advice on something they’re interested in, they’ll also begin to trust that person’s opinions on other topics as well. This means that if an influencer recommends one of your products or services (or even just mentions them), it will have a positive impact on how others perceive both parties involved i.e., your product and your company.
Most importantly, influencer marketing empowers various forms of in-bound marketing. Companies that employ influencers are no longer tied to direct marketing strategies that are sometimes obtrusive and lack trust in the eyes of potential customers. Rather, they have the benefit of motivating the potential customer to reach out to the company’s web site in order to learn more about a product or service.
Overall, social media is nowadays one of the most powerful marketing tools. Its power lies in the ability to spread marketing messages fast and consistently across very large audiences. This results in increased cost-effectiveness and optimal value for money for your marketing budget. Influencer marketing is one of the most effective online marketing techniques that companies can use as part of their social media strategies. Influencers can really help a company to get its message out there. Nevertheless, influencer marketing is no free lunch. Hence, companies must regularly monitor and assess its effectiveness, while at the same time comparing it to the performance of other marketing approaches. This is one of the best ways to optimally allocate your marketing budget across different marketing channels and opportunities.
