Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph home-delivered DVDs for a nominal subscription. Little did they realise that their simple idea would turn into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Netflix’s market capitalisation today stands at around 116.06 billion USD (Source: NASDAQ). This is what change does to you. The marketing industry is also experiencing a significant transformation with influencer marketing – modern-era advertising, which is fast becoming a fundamental component for most brands (more so FMCGs!) worldwide. Indirectly, influencers have empowered marketers, helping them connect with myriad customers while creating a new celebrity echelon. They are also supporting more prominent industries, such as sports and filmmaking. When used along with other digital marketing strategies such as SEO, influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for businesses who wish to create a personalised reach.
According to Statista, global influencer marketing is valued at a record 16.4 billion dollars – more than double since 2019.
What is influencer marketing? As mentioned before, influencer marketing entails using an online influencer (which could be a celebrity, too!) to promote a brand’s products or services. Some influencer collaborations are not really apparent. They might only want to augment brand recognition rather than blunt visibility.
PewDiePie, the YouTube celebrity, is an early example of an influencer. He collaborated with the makers of the movie As Above/So Below, set in Paris, in the underground catacombs. It was ideal fodder for the 111 million members following PewDiePie, and the movie’s trailer earned twice as many views. It was a win-win situation for everyone. While this is one such example, celebrities can team up with companies to propagate anything – it could be a 10-minute video or an ad on television. However, one difference still remains. Influencers can be anywhere and anyone. Their influential ability comes from the number of followers they have. Influencers thus could be someone common, a photographer with an Instagram account or a blogger with a Twitter account. They could have millions of followers, and there are some nano-influencers who have anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 followers.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing: Considered one of the most efficient ways to improve your marketing strategy, save money and achieve your marketing goals, there are several advantages to influencer marketing.
Enhances Brand Awareness Influencer marketing works exceptionally well for brand awareness. Thought leaders tell their followers about your brand’s story, values and missions.
High-quality Lead Generation Most marketers believe that influencer marketing generates more high-quality leads than other channels. This is primarily because people are in awe of the products used by their favourite influencer celebrity. Even reviews and certain specific elements of content attract warm leads.Cost-Effective A well-planned approach to influencer marketing can produce greater results for lesser money. Parallelly, it also increases your online presence, boosts brand awareness and generates leads.
Conclusion:
There’s no doubt that influencer marketing is the best way to strengthen your web presence. But combined with SEO and digital marketing, it can provide better outcomes.
