How and why should a company utilize influencer marketing?

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing refers to a marketing strategy in which a company capitalizes on the popularity of content creators, such as social influencers, bloggers or bloggers, in its marketing. Influencer marketing is, for example, commercial collaborations published on social media, which arise from the cooperation agreed between the influencer and the company. In collaboration, the influencer promotes the company's products or services on their own channel, such as social media, videos, podcasts or blogs.

Influencer marketing is a particularly effective way of marketing because influencers have built a strong relationship and trust with their followers. Because of this, influencers are also able to influence the purchasing behavior of their followers by their own choices. When an influencer recommends your company's product or service, they can at best create an explosion of popularity around the product or service they are promoting!

Influencer marketing can include, for example, product trials, sweepstakes, or appearances at events. The most important thing is that the collaboration supports both your company and the influencer's brand and that it resonates with the target audience you are aiming for in a natural way.

Why use influencers in the marketing of a company?

Influencer marketing could be compared to traditional word-of-mouth; the same way that the opinions and experiences of friends and acquaintances guide our choices, influencer recommendations and reviews can significantly influence which products or services we choose. This is because influencers have often built a strong community and trust in their followers, which makes their testimonials reliable.

Influencer marketing can at best be more authentic and approachable than most common forms of advertising because it conveys the authenticity and honesty of the influencer. People often follow influencers who identify with or represent similar values with them; this makes influencer recommendations feel interesting and trustworthy.

5 reasons why your business benefits from influencer marketing

Outsourcing content creation through influencer marketing is an effective way to leverage the creativity of influencers and their following to strengthen your company's own brand.

Here are 5 reasons why you should use influencer marketing:

1. Influencer expertise: Influencers are often experienced content creators who master different formats and channels. They produce quality content that fits your business needs and target audience.
   
   
2. Reliability and follower engagement: Influencers can create strong views and opinions. Their values and recommendations resonate with their followers. When an influencer produces content for your business, it builds the trust of followers and generates interest in the brand.
   
   
3. Scalability: working with multiple influencers provides the opportunity to scale your content production and reach a wider audience across channels and platforms.
   
   
4. Time savings and resource optimization: by outsourcing content production to influencers, your company can save time and resources that would otherwise be spent on content planning and execution.
   
   
5. Creativity and innovation: they can bring new ideas and perspectives that will help your business stand out from the competition.

Is collaboration with influencers worthwhile?

You may have heard that influencer marketing is expensive and mainly for larger companies. In reality, this is not the case. Influencer marketing does not require massive advertising budgets, but when properly planned and targeted, it can deliver significant results with a small investment. In addition, influencer marketing can reach highly targeted audiences, further increasing the effectiveness of the ad. Influencer marketing can be an effective marketing tool for businesses of all sizes.

Influencer marketing is also extremely versatile. It offers a wide variety of ways in which your company's brand can be promoted. Here are a few examples of the possibilities of influencer marketing:

1. Different forms of content: influencer marketing allows you to use a wide range of content formats, including videos, images, blog posts, podcasts and live broadcasts.
   
   
2. Diverse channels: collaboration can take place across different channels such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, reaching different audiences on different platforms. When choosing an influencer, it's a good idea to consider which channel your target audience spends the most time on.
   
   
3. Activities and events: Influencer marketing is not limited to advertising, it can also include a range of activities such as participating in events, product and service development.
   
   
4. Long-term partnerships: Influencers can also act as long-term “brand ambassadors,” representing your company's values and products across multiple campaigns.
   
   
5. Targeted marketing: when choosing an influencer, you should take into consideration the influencer's audience and fit with your company's target audience. For example, a company selling beauty products is unlikely to benefit from an influencer account that produces content for thousands of followers interested in the construction industry.
   
   
6. Measurement and monitoring: like any other marketing activity, influencer marketing relies on monitoring and analyzing results. This provides your company with valuable data on how successful a single campaign is and how to improve collaboration.

A checklist for a successful collaboration and campaign:

Selecting the right influencer and defining the target group:

Choose an influencer that fits your brand values and image. It is important to consider which influencers appeal to your target audience. Identifying your target audience will ensure that your influencer marketing reaches the right audience who are most likely to be interested in what your company has to offer. It's also worth looking at past collaborations and what kind of content has resonated with followers. Make sure the content produced by the influencer is in line with your brand's message and goals. Good collaborations happen when the content created by the influencer supports your company's values and message. This promotes genuine and effective interaction, which in turn increases the chances of a successful campaign.

Labelling in commercial collaboration:

Consumers have the right to know when they are being commercially influenced. This is why collaboration must always be clearly labelled. Good guidance on this can be found on the website of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.  In influencer marketing, the company is responsible for the commercial co-operation in terms of consumer protection law. The company is responsible for its marketing, regardless of who carries it out. All commercial cooperation must be carried out in accordance with the law and ethical practices.

Communication and monitoring:

Agree with the influencer on active communication throughout the campaign. Regular communication helps ensure that both parties are on the same page and, if necessary, changes can be made to the campaign plan or content in real time. Monitoring also allows you to assess the effectiveness of the campaign and make any necessary changes for a better result.

Hiring:

The terms of the partnership should be agreed in a way that is as mutually satisfying as possible for both parties. This is likely to result in better quality content for your business, better campaign results and, ideally, a long-term partner that is in line with your brand.

Campaign analysis and development:

Continue to analyze and develop the campaign even after it has ended. Analyze the collected data, learn from successes and possible mistakes, and make necessary adjustments for future campaigns. Continuous learning and development is also the key to successful influencer marketing!

Are you excited about influencer marketing?

Are you interested in leveraging influencer marketing as part of your company's marketing strategy? If you need help or ideas on how to get started with influencer marketing, contact us!