The rise of influencing personalities on Social Media
otherwise known as ‘Influencers’ has led to the rise of Influencer Marketing.
Influencer Marketing has grown rapidly and involves big
brands working alongside prominent Social Media personalities (mainly on
Instagram and Youtube) to help promote their products and/or services with some
huge brands paying millions per post.
You might be asking
yourself, what does this have to do with the garment decoration industry?
Influencer Marketing is slowly filtering down into the high
street and may soon be cluttering up your Social Media feeds, so it may be
something your business needs to consider in the near future.
To help get you started here are a few simple tips to
consider if you are going to undertake Influencer Marketing:
Do your research and checks: Carry out your due diligence when
researching influencers, research their personal brand, persona and personality
and see if its value align alongside yours. Research fees do not bow to paying
over the odds just because someone has a huge number of followers – there’s
always knowingly or unknowingly fake followers inflating their crowd.
It is out of your hands: The second you get involved with an
influencer; things are essentially being taken out of your control. Regardless
of what you pay you have no control over what they think. Credible influencers
want to provide their customers an authentic experience, work alongside them
and deliver a quality product and customer experience.
Be patient: The results from using Influencer Marketing is very
rarely instant. Trust must be built between both yourself and the influencer
but also between that person and its audience. It is more so a brand awareness
building campaign rather than a direct sales campaign.
Build relationships: You are more than likely to achieve success
using this type of Marketing when a lasting relationship is created. Working alongside
someone long term is likely to build a trusting working relationship and help
you tap into an influencers influence. Manage the costs by starting with small
personalities who may be of value and establish a manageable cost-effective
working relationship.
Think outside sponsored: Influencer Marketing is not all about
sponsored posts and plugging your business and its product. It gives you the
chance to collaborate and curate some content and tailor it as they understand
their audience better than anyone. It may be competitions, them designing their
own promotional products or anything but it will help you establish a deeper
more meaningful long-term relationship.
