Influencer marketing is an evolution of a timeless marketing tactic: The celebrity endorsement.
While media platforms have changed, much of the original core idea holds true. People tend to buy the things recommended by other people they like and follow.
Brands Can Benefit from Niche Influencers
An influencer may not command the same audience as a traditional celebrity in the modern world. While some influencers may sway audiences that number in the millions, others may have just a few hundred or a few thousand followers with a niche interest or hobby.
That’s a good thing—for brands, at least. Smaller influencers often have stronger relationships with their followers, and that brings better value to the brands they represent. Another advantage for brands is that influencers tend to focus on specific niches. For example, an influencer may be an expert gardener, a gym enthusiast, or even a retiree sharing their tips for living the best life possible. A big part of influencer marketing is that influencers’ audiences are both passionate about the niche and trust the influencer’s expertise.
Examples of Influencer Marketing in Action
That means that there’s likely a good fit with an influencer for most brands out there. With some creative thinking, legacy brands have leveraged influencers in new ways. For example, Fiji water partnered with Danielle Bernstein on Instagram to create a series of eight-minute workout videos. These appealed to the target audience of health-conscious customers who might enjoy Fiji and helped them out by providing free workouts.
Shoe brand Sperry took advantage of existing micro-influencers who were already featuring their products in their posts. By working with influencers who already like the brand and paying them to promote products they’d already featured, Sperry built up a lot of goodwill with the influencers’ communities and was able to find a very natural way to promote their brand.
Another example of successful influencer marketing: Learning From Boohoo – Influencer Marketing
Of course, you may not already have influencers talking about your business. It’s not always easy to find the right fit. But when you do, the growth in your audience can be explosive.