Let’s say you run a small business and you want to increase brand awareness and drive more sales, but you don’t have a huge marketing budget to work with. Influencer marketing could be the answer you’ve been looking for. Influencer marketing is when you partner with social media influencers—people with large followings who can promote your product or service to their audience.
The great thing about influencer marketing is that it can be very cost effective, especially compared to traditional advertising. When done right, influencer marketing allows you to get your product or service in front of highly targeted, engaged potential customers. Keep reading to learn more about the major benefits of influencer marketing for small businesses.
Increased Brand Awareness Through Influencer Marketing Partnerships
Partnering with influencers is one of the best ways for small businesses to increase brand awareness. By collaborating with influencers who already have an established and engaged following, you can get your brand and products in front of new potential customers.
Look for influencers whose followers match your target audience. Do some research to find influencers with an authentic connection to your brand. Reach out and build a genuine relationship – don’t just ask for a promotion right away! When the time is right, pitch a collab by suggesting products to review or a giveaway. Be willing to give more than you get.
Once you find the right influencer partners, get creative with your campaigns. Influencers can:
- Share posts promoting your product or service on their social media channels. This exposes you to new potential customers and gives you social proof.
- Create video reviews, unboxings or tutorials featuring your products. Videos are highly engaging and help to build trust.
- Host a giveaway or contest where their followers can win your products or a gift card. This spikes interest and engagement.
- Drive traffic to your website or online store through links in their posts, videos and profiles. This can give your sales a nice boost.
Higher Conversion Rates and Sales
Influencer marketing should be at the top of your small business marketing strategy. Why? Because influencers drive higher conversion rates and sales.
When an influencer recommends your product to their followers, those followers are much more likely to buy. Influencers have already built trust and credibility with their audience, so their recommendations carry more weight. Studies show influencer marketing content gets an average 8 times higher conversion rate than standard display ads.
- Influencers have a targeted following. Whether it’s makeup, tech products or dog toys, influencers attract followers interested in a particular niche. So, when they promote your product, you know you’re reaching an audience that will actually care about what you’re selling.
- Influencers drive real engagement. Their followers like, comment on and share the content they post. So, when they feature your product, their followers will actively engage with that content, further increasing your exposure and traffic. Engagement is a sign of influence and a predictor of sales.
- Influencers build hype. The excitement and buzz they create around a new product launch or sale can drive a wave of initial interest and sales. Their followers want to get in on the latest and greatest, so they’re quick to buy when an influencer promotes something new.
Access to Highly Engaged Audiences
Influencer marketing gives small businesses access to highly engaged audiences that already trust the influencer. Rather than having to build trust and engagement from scratch with your own following, you can tap into the influencer’s existing community.
Reach New Potential Customers
Influencers have spent time cultivating their audience and gaining their trust. When an influencer promotes your product, their followers are more likely to check it out. This exposes your brand to new potential customers and expands your reach.
Higher Conversion Rates
Because influencer followers already have a connection with the influencer, they are more receptive to the recommendations and promotions. This often translates into higher conversion rates compared to other marketing strategies. When an influencer sincerely shares about their experience with your product, their followers are more inclined to purchase.
Valuable Insights
Influencers can provide valuable insights into your target audience. They know what kinds of content and messaging their followers respond to best. Collaborate with them to produce promotions and ads that will most effectively resonate with their community. They can also share feedback on your product or service based on questions and comments from their followers.
Brand Awareness
Working with influencers increases brand awareness as they spread the word about your company to new potential customers. Some of their followers may not purchase right away but will become aware of your brand for future purchasing decisions. With multiple influencer collaborations over time, you can gain substantial brand visibility.
However, getting influencer marketing campaigns does not come cheap. It is quite expensive! That’s why we advise every small business owner to build their own following base that will be interested in their brand. Jaynike is your sure bet to get a real and organic following base on YouTube, Soundcloud, and Spotify that will be interested in your brand.
SEO Benefits of Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Partnering with influencer marketing campaigns have numerous SEO benefits. Let’s check them out!
Increase brand visibility
When you collaborate with influencers who have an established audience, it exposes your brand to new potential customers. Their followers may not have heard of your small business before, but after seeing the influencer promote you, they’ll become aware of what you offer. This increased visibility and brand awareness is invaluable for small businesses looking to expand their reach.
Gain social shares
Influencers have a dedicated following, so when they post about your product or service on social media, their fans often like, share and comment—which means more social media exposure for your brand. Those shares and interactions make you more discoverable across social platforms and help to build your credibility. The more people engage with influencer content featuring your business, the more trustworthy and popular your brand appears.
Improve search ranking
Having influencers frequently mention your business name, products, services and keywords on their blog and social media can give your SEO a boost. Their links and references to your website or product pages help search engines find you and index your content. The influencer’s followers may also search for the topics and keywords the influencer has used, leading them to discover your website or social media profiles. Over time, this can translate into higher search rankings for important terms, enabling new potential customers to find you organically.
Drive referral traffic
When influencers promote your business to their followers, it drives referral traffic to your website. Their audience members click links, visit your site to learn more and potentially shop or make a purchase. While influencer marketing is often viewed as a brand awareness strategy, it can also generate measurable traffic and conversions. You may notice spikes in website hits, new email subscribers or sales after an influencer highlights your product or service.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, the major benefits of influencer marketing for small businesses. While it may seem like an intimidating marketing strategy, when done right it can be very effective and affordable. Identify influencers in your industry, build authentic relationships, and work together to spread the word about your business to their engaged audiences. Not only can influencer marketing increase your brand exposure and drive more traffic to your site, but it can also boost your credibility and trust in the eyes of potential customers.
