Influence marketing is right behind social media marketing when it comes to the most powerful marketing tools. This newest development in the market isn’t expected to disappear anytime soon and most brands have already started using it as an effective strategy. One of the reasons why this marketing is going above and beyond with customers is because people are no longer convinced by the traditional marketing techniques and need to get influenced by people who they trust, respect and understand. Stats tell us that 74% of purchases are a direct consequence of word-of-mouth recommendations and this is why it is a very effective way to drive sales.
However, because influence marketing is still new, there are several brands that fail to grasp its true essence and end up regretting their decision later. There are a lot of misconceptions that these brands go through and today, we are here to help you get rid of them. If you want influence marketing to be an efficient and effective promotional tool for your business or brand, make sure that you understand the strategies that make it so. Here are a few of the key misunderstandings about the strategies of influence marketing.
Using Strategies in the Wrong Channel
One of the biggest mistakes you could make for the success of your influence marketing is to work with the wrong influencer. When you start off with this marketing tool, you need to remember that the effectiveness is not identical across all channels and audience. For instance, if you are working to promote your beauty products, it would be a lot more ideal to do it through YouTube as compared to posting pictures on Facebook or Twitter. Once you have the right channel figured out, you’re already half way into succeeding with this new marketing tool.
Using Influencers That Don’t Work
When you talk about influence marketing, the first thing that comes to mind are celebrities or media personnel who have a large fan following. Bu this is a misconception that has led many brands to fail in their influence marketing. You must understand that influencers are experts in their field, understand a great deal about their subject and are not driven by advertising or other traditional marketing techniques. The most important difference between good influencers and media people or celebrities is that these influencers are focused on acquiring knowledge from their peers and sharing their information with others. There is a very natural way of marketing in their techniques and this is what will drive your audience towards your business or brand.
Not Understanding the Audience
In any type of marketing, your audience is your biggest supporter and your critic. If they want your product and like it, they will become your customer by buying it. However, in order to create and offer what the client needs, you must know them and their preferences. If you’re not yet aware of all that makes your customers tick, you must set your programs aside and start to focus on information regarding to their purchasing habits, demographic and psychographic information and the marketing persona that they’re looking for. Once you’re all backed up with this information that can be easily gathered through customer reviews, you’ll be able to influence in the right way.
Not Talking to Influencers Clearly
When you’re working with influencers, it is very important that you tell them about your expectations very clearly. When you first start talking to the influencer, you must clearly define your goals and objective for the specific campaign. You must also introduce these influencers to your other marketers so everyone is on the same page before you start with the actual marketing. Equip them with everything including the analytical information about your brands and audience and watch as they make the magic happen with your target audience. If you’re working with foreign influencers, you can use English tuition to communicate effectively.
Expecting Turnaround Time to Be Quick.
Finally, if you have just begun with influence marketing, it is not a good idea to expect results overnight. Though some very powerful influencers are able to bring in results quickly, the correct effectiveness of the influence marketing can only be judged after a specific amount of time has passed. It takes time to build trust and for that to happen, you must be patient and wait for the results. So don’t make the mistake of rushing things and thinking that the strategies aren’t working just because you couldn’t find the results within a few days or even weeks.
Before you start planning for this strategy, remember that this isn’t just a tactic which you should deploy once and get it over with. The process of influence marketing is effective but requires a long-term commitment from you and the influencer. So ask you influencer to become involved and make a contract with them so you can benefit from the fruits of your labor.