How Influencers Are Influencing You

Social Media Influencers began to saturate the market in 2017 and can be found in your inbox, on your social channels and even in your newsfeeds. We’ve all seen them but some people are not quite sure who they really are, what they do, how they do it, or even how WE can hop on to this trend for our businesses.

Let’s begin with who they are and why they became important with a simple analogy. For starters, your Mom always said if your friends, jumped off a bridge, would you do it too.

In my generation, the answer would have been no, but if you browse through youtube, you can see a plethora of young people doing something called base jumping. Then their friends all jump after them, all while filming with their go pro. So now the answer is almost assuredly, hey, why not?!

Now scroll through your feed and look up the “kiki challenge”. One person jumped out of their car to dance to a newly popular song, and before you knew it, grandma and her poodle Skittles were making videos and dancing in traffic.

Why did people do this when their dance skills were obviously in poor training…influencers.

The same can be applied with your business. One person says something is amazing, and their 12,000 followers are more inclined to like, share, and even agree in the comments section while maybe tagging a friend or two.

So there you have it. Influencer marketing is where the influencer and the brand meet in the middle. It’s the collaboration between the two in order to put your product or service in front of a larger audience. Without it, it can take a lot longer to get where you need to be and have the following you need to have in order to grow.

Over 68% of consumers say they trust online opinions from other consumers and influencers. That’s well over half and as a marketer or business owner, that’s a number to sit up and pay attention to.

So now, you obviously see that influencer marketing works, so let’s dive a little deeper. Who are these influencers and how do you find the right one for your products or services? Influencers can be almost anyone and can be found almost anywhere on any platform. They can be as famous as JJ Watt & the Kardashians or an average everyday Joe Instagrammer who gained influence with a wealth of knowledge or tips.

Since the field is wide open to find them, you need to select the right influencer for you and your budget. If I had a sports product, JJ Watt would be first on my list to promote it. When he tells me how much it will cost me, I might start searching again for Joe Instagrammer to see what he charges.

So what’s the next step and how do you get started? The process is simple but isn’t always easy:

Step 1. They key is, know your target audience. When you know your audience, you can target your influencers as well.

Step 2. Know your budget and spend accordingly.

Step 3. Develop a strategy that can maximize your dollar for your profit. Otherwise, you are simply guessing, spending and hoping for a follower increase as well as sales.

Step 4. Track Your Metrics. Once you’ve established a relationship with an influencer, you can use software (TapInfluence/Upinfluence) or apps to see if what you are doing is working.

Now you should be well on your way to gaining influencers, gaining followers and seeing a profit increase in your business. The trends of 2019 will be here in the blink of an eye, so if other businesses have been jumping in since 2017, will you jump too?