From your favorite chef’s preferred skillet to your fitness guru’s latest workout gear, there’s a good chance you’ve been on the receiving side of influencer marketing and the power of a recommendation. Yelp and Google reviews are great, but how much more likely are you to trust a review by hamburgersrock395 than a review by someone whose taste you already admire and respect? Herein lies one of the top reasons why influencer marketing really works—an influencer’s opinion has an established platform, and their audience is ready and willing to take note.
The enormity of the internet is both its gift and its curse—especially when trying to find a modicum of reliability. People are overwhelmed and looking for a direction that resonates with them—depending on what they tend to like, and what/who they aspire to be. When a website geared towards audiophiles recommends a pair of headphones based on a hyper-technical description, the person that appeals to might not be the same as the person looking for a cute pair for an upcoming trip. Instead, they might look to see what their favorite entrepreneur who constantly travels recommends.
That’s why influencer recommendations are a powerful tool for getting the word out about your business or product. Certain influencers have a direct line to the audience you’re looking to target. An influencer builds a following based off of their personality, their interests, how they engage, and how trustworthy their suggestions are. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it takes a lot of work—another reason why this method of marketing is so valuable. The respect you gain from an audience might require years to develop, but an influencer has already developed that audience.
Once an influencer posts about your business or product, the value doesn’t end there. The savvy brand will reuse the User Generated Content that is created by the influencer. These people are creators—photographers, trendsetters, videographers, speakers, writers, and thought leaders, and more likely than not, their content is going to be highly engaging. So from re-posting their content on social media to including it in a testimonial page on a website or newsletter, it’s vital to not miss an opportunity to promote their content. According to one stat, “55% of consumers trust user-generated content over any other form of marketing, making it a surefire way to boost your sales and improve brand loyalty.”
A quick aside—reposting someone’s content is only valuable if you know how to adhere to etiquette, such as posting with correct attribution. Lucky for you we’ve already done the homework for you! Check out our blog about how to use UGC here.
The super savvy brand takes it a step further and takes advantage of the opportunity to get in front of a new audience by engaging directly with comments made on the influencers posts. Direct engagement with their followers on their posts will be far more successful than engaging without such a nice introduction. It’s like connecting with someone during a dinner party versus a cold call via email. It’s a real missed opportunity to leave that on the table!
In a recent campaign with local Santa Fe restaurant Paper Dosa, there were tons of comments about how much people love the restaurant and what it means to them. Without missing a beat, the team at Paper Dosa engaged with all of the comments, showing their gratitude and paving the way for more followers and ultimately customers!
Influencer recommendations create the opportunity to receive powerful, trusted proclamations about your business, to directly connect with potential customers within the influencer’s community, and to utilize an influencer’s content on your own account. Working with an influencer doesn’t have to and shouldn’t end at them becoming acquainted with you and your product, it should be seen as an ongoing relationship that they will want to genuinely recommend to their own audiences.
