Influencer Marketing: The Power-up Your Business Needs to Reach the Next Level

Death of the old guard

Years ago, creative advertisements were the number one marketing strategy brands used to grow their business. Eye-catching images with a striking headline and copy were the name of the game if you wanted to sell. 

Businesses would spend millions (if not billions) every year to create different kinds of creative, funny, quirky, and unique advertisements on various platforms – TV, Radio, Print, and even digital in its early stages. 

But now, traditional advertising strategies are become obsolete by the day. Consumers stopped paying attention and trusting branded ads and content. 

Having virtually unlimited access to information, consumers are now wiser and more discerning with their purchase decisions. Gone are the days when brands could sway consumers to buy with flashy TV advertisements and discounts. 

In a study by Nielsen last 2019, over 90% of consumers trust earned media and influencers over traditional advertising. 

With this massive shift in consumer behavior, influencer marketing strategies have been booming – creating a new powerful channel for brands to engage and influence their audience. 

 

A new player has joined the game

The evolution of technology and the internet created what we now know as Web 2.0 – a movement known for democratizing content creation. 

Since almost anyone with an internet connection can upload their content on the internet for millions of people to see, many people ventured into becoming content creators on different platforms and mediums. These people documented themselves and the things they enjoyed – from cooking to fashion, gardening, and even gaming. 

The creator economy gave birth to a legion of internet stars on different platforms. You have traditional bloggers, vloggers, social media celebrities, and many more, gaining millions of fans by the minute. 

This paradigm shift changed the way people consumed media. People spend less time watching TV, reading newspapers and magazines, and listening to the radio. Instead, they are online –reading blogs, watching videos, and streaming music. 

Internet content creators started ruling the world. People began to trust them more than any other source – brands, news outlets, etc. These internet celebrities were now some of the world’s most trusted people, and brands needed to do something to capitalize on this wave. 

 

New hope for brands to grow

In this new media economy, brands started using the clout of internet celebrities as leverage to encourage people to buy. Attaching their brands to the growing popularity, strong engagement, and credibility of these influencers proved beneficial as they saw better returns on these campaigns. 

This new marketing strategy is what we now know as Influencer Marketing.

According to a study by Statista, influencer marketing is expected to be a $22 billion industry by 2025. This is because influencer marketing is an effective way for businesses to reach their target audience and drive sales. 

An example of a successful influencer marketing campaign is when Funko, a company that produces pop culture collectibles, partnered with popular Twitch streamer Ninja to promote their Fortnite-themed Funko Pop figures. Ninja, who has a large following of Fortnite players and fans, shared unboxing videos and photos of the figures on his social media accounts. He also featured them in several of his streams. Aside from using Ninja, they also partnered with different gaming influencers on YouTube and Twitch. 

This campaign generated a significant buzz and sales for Funko and helped increase brand awareness and credibility among Ninja’s followers.

In a nutshell, Influencer Marketing is when you make your brand more popular and trustworthy by using influential and trustworthy ambassadors as spokespeople. 

 

Level up your business with Influencer marketing 

Influencer marketing can help your business in more ways than just increasing reach. Including influencer marketing in your strategies is the upgrade you need to compete with your competitors and win over more customers. Below, we’ll show you the different impacts of influencer marketing on your business. 

Influencer marketing increases your brand visibility

Influencers have thousands of followers across different platforms. Some even have millions and more. This number of eyeballs is perfect if you want to introduce your brand to more people. Another great thing about using influencers to increase your brand’s visibility is the lower financial investment you make since influencers don’t charge as much as network companies to show your brand to their viewers. 

Moreover, besides having tons of followers on different platforms, influencers are also usually known as figureheads in a specific niche. For instance, there are influencers known as beauty and fashion icons, while others are in the performance and athletics space. Since they serve a particular niche, it’s easier for your brand to target people interested in your products. 

Having an effective way to target people based on their interests can significantly reduce your marketing expenses and improve your results – ultimately enhancing your brand’s ROI. 

An example of a brand that utilized influencers to increase its visibility is the energy drink company G Fuel, which invested a sizeable sum in various gamers like PewdiePie, moistcr1tikal, and one_shot_gurl to promote different flavors. Not only did this influencer campaign reach millions of gamers, but this also steadily increased the online searches for G Fuel’s products – which meant people showed intention to purchase the product. 

Make your marketing message stick through influencer marketing

Most influencers have an engaged audience. This is because they create relatable and relevant content people want to watch. Plus, they can directly engage with their fans through social media and live-streaming platforms. 

Since influencers have an engaged audience, their audience tends to pay better attention to them when they are telling a story. That’s the kind of respect they get from engaging and building rapport with their community. 

This engagement helps brands communicate their marketing messages more effectively since consumers are less likely to tune out or skip the marketing message because it’s coming from a respected and liked source. Ultimately, this helps your brand communicate your value proposition to potential customers. It is making them understand what you can do for them—and increasing the chances of conversion. 

An example of this is a campaign by Ubisoft. The brand wanted to promote its new game, “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla,” and increase its pre-order numbers. To achieve this, they partnered with several well-known YouTubers and Twitch streamers who create gaming content.

The influencers were provided with early access to the game. They were asked to create sponsored content showcasing the new features and gameplay, such as the game’s brand-new storyline in ancient Viking times, the new combat mechanics, and the game’s open world. 

These influencers shared personal opinions and thoughts on the game in a relatable and convincing way. This type of content helped to generate excitement and anticipation among their followers who were interested in finding the next game to play.

In addition to the sponsored content, Ubisoft also used influencers to create a series of challenges and competitions that incentivized their followers to pre-order the game. These challenges were designed to present the game’s different aspects and mechanics, like stealth, combat, and exploration. 

Ultimately, this campaign highlighted the new features of the Assassin’s Creed game, which drove pre-orders for the game. 

Bringing in more conversions and sales

Influencer marketing can be an effective tool for brands to increase their sales and conversion rates. Partnering with influencers who have a large fanbase, brands can reach a highly targeted audience and influence them to take specific actions, such as buying a product.

One of the key benefits of influencer marketing is that it can drive purchase intent. Since influencers are trusted by their audience, their opinions and recommendations often carry weight when making a purchase decision. 

By working with influencers in creating high-quality user-generate content, you can leverage this trust to increase purchase intent among your target audience. This can be achieved through calls to action, discounts, or other incentives encouraging people to buy.

 

Influencer marketing can be what your business needs to increase its profitability and growth. Studies show that influencer campaigns can generate up to $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencers. Moreover, another study shows that influencer marketing campaigns can generate up to 11x more ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing. 

With these numbers in mind, it’s no wonder why many businesses are choosing to allocate more of their budget to these activities.