Influencer Marketing

by admin | Mar 21, 2019 | SocialEyes

Influencer Marketing – lots of people are talking about this social media/marketing trend and concept! Is it beneficial? Can it drive results? Will it replace content marketing? Will it replace social media marketing in its entirety? Absolutely not. The truth of the matter is that influencer marketing is dependant on social media marketing and cannot exist without it! 

What exactly is Influencer Marketing?

Let’s break it down. As we know, marketing is actionable items used to promote or sell a product or service. Influence is the capability to have a direct effect on something or someone. When we put it together, influencer marketing is practically the promotion of a product/service through individuals who are influential – those who have the capacity to directly impact or effect others. 

Influencer marketing is essentially the same as attracting ambassadors to market your products or services to their networks in hopes to drive business. The strategy has been around for a while, however, we are seeing a big shift in how we are thinking about the concept. Think back to Tony the Tiger selling Frosted Flakes. Tony the Tiger was essentially the “influencer” that drove sales. The same can be said for Santa Claus – an influencer that changed the game for Coca Cola. Fast forward to today’s day and age, we have the Kardashian clan representing brands like Calvin Klein or The Rock representing Under Armour. On a smaller scale, there are micro-influencers – those who have large local followers in smaller jurisdictions. 

How can you take advantage of this blossoming career and marketing channel? By reaching out to influencers with your products or services. However, etiquette matters. Here are some do’s and don’ts of contacting an influencer. 

Do: Have a Full Concept First

Would you show up to a business meeting unprepared? No. Treat your initial contact with an influencer like an important business meeting. You should have your marketing idea fully thought-through. Your goals and expectations should be clear. Present it in a way that is transparent and concise. 

Do: Build a Relationship with Them

Although influencer marketing is now a part of the business, most influencers never went to business school. They value authentic connections with brands before making a deal. Before ever pitching your idea, build a rapport. Comment on their posts; start a conversation. Show that you understand their personal brand and what their audience wants. Be human first, marketer second. 

Do: Offer Something in Return

Influencers make a living (part time or full) by promoting brands. It’s expected that they will receive some form of payment in return for their promotion. Bigger influencers with highly engaged followers will likely expect payment in cash. But, smaller influencers may be okay with free product or cross-promotion. Never expect free promotion. 

Don’t: Get Blinded by Their Numbers

It can be tempting to reach out to influencers with millions of followers. That means they have millions of loyal subscribers who will buy what they say, right? Not always. We already know that many accounts on social media are actually bots and unused accounts. Instead, focus on influencers with high engagement rates. They may only have 10 000 followers, but almost all of those followers care about the influencer’s opinion. 

Don’t: Be Too Strict with Your Expectations

Influencers are generally creative people; they curate their images, captions, and personal brand. Allow some room for creativity and flexibility in your marketing plan. You’re choosing an influencer based on their sense of style, confidence, and well, influence. If they want to change up the wording of your copy to better suit their followers, be open to it. They know their audience better than anyone. 

Don’t: Only Contact Them on Social Media

Popular influencers have direct message inboxes full of subscriber questions, comments, and requests. While it’s good to send a message this way, it’s best to follow it up with an email. Most influencers will have a business email or management contact for you to reach out to. Use this method of contact, not only their direct messages. 

Influencer marketing is the way of the future. More and more businesses and professionals are utilizing the power of influencer marketing. If you need help reaching out to influencers and coming up with a clear marketing strategy, contact us today!

Why Every Business Needs a Social Media Advertising Strategy

by admin | Mar 12, 2019 | SocialEyes

When it comes to running your business, decisions are carefully planned and executed (or at least they should be) to make sure goals are achieved. Research and experience show that developing a streamlined strategy for social media advertising consistently proves to be effective in optimizing reach, exposure and aids in lead generation, regardless of what industry you’re in.

Focusing your advertising strategy towards a target audience is the first step in making sure that your business is being seen by the right people. There is truly nothing worse than putting effort and money into developing content that is not being seen by your target market. 

Here are some things to consider when developing a social media advertising strategy for your business:

1. Start with research

Before you can decide how to attract an audience, you need to know who that audience is. To start, determine who your ideal client is – what do they need to take their business from point A to point B? What services/products do they need to maximize their business? How can you help them achieve their goals? This is called target marketing and it will be the backbone of your advertising strategy. Once you know who your ideal clients are, you can begin strategizing the best possible way to market to them.

2. Develop a marketing budget

In today’s digitally-focused market, most advertising is done online and only gives back what you put in. While there are ways to promote your business or product without spending money, you will likely find that you might not get the results you want. By investing a portion of your operational budget in advertising, you’re literally buying space on your audience’s newsfeeds and can rest assured that your ads are reaching prospects.

3. Decide where to focus your advertising

With new social media platforms being developed constantly, it can be difficult to know which outlets are best suited for your clients and prospects. Based on your target market research, you can figure out where your audience spends most of their time and then focus there; however, sticking with household-name platforms is usually a safe bet. Once you decide on an outlet, or even if you’re using multiple, you need to learn how their algorithms work. For example, sponsored ads on Facebook operate differently from Instagram, which is different from Twitter, and so on. You should have a solid understanding of how any platform you’re using works so that you can develop the most strategic advertising campaigns for your business.

4. Tailor your advertisements to the platform

While all social media serves a similar purpose, no two platforms are exactly alike. This means that an advertisement designed for Facebook might struggle on Instagram unless it’s translated to that platforms’ requirements. Setting aside the time, resources, and budget to complete these alterations to ads is a crucial aspect of developing your strategy, so be sure to account for multiple rounds of content development while planning your marketing operations.

Keeping these factors in mind while creating an advertising strategy is crucial when developing marketing plans for your business. If you need any assistance with marketing or advertising strategy, contact us today and we can help ensure your content is reaching the right audience!