Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing

Influencer:

The individual whose effect on the purchase decision is in some way significant or authoritative (Cambridge English Dictionary)

How influencing works:

Influencers on social media, as vessels for advertising and marketing, have become a phenomenon that many brands have turned to. Influencer marketing benefits the brand by  exposing it to a large number of people in their target audience. This exposure is secured through compensation paid to the influencer. Successful influencer marketing often requires a great deal of coordination and planning between parties. A brand must identify and establish a relationship with an individual who matches their target audience. Depending on the arrangement, the influencer might also receive free products. The influencer must then post about the brand in a creative way for the purpose of engaging their followers. Influencers are effective because their followers look up to them are more likely to receptive to the products they recommend.

Types of influencers:

Mega-influencers:

Mega-influencers are individuals who have more than one million followers on their platform. These influencers are mainly celebrities, such as musicians, actors, athletes, etc. Mainstream brands often reach out to celebrities for advertising purposes, as bigger celebrities often have the greater ability to influence their fans and followings. Mega-influencers are able to reach a broad audience, which is why brands spend the extra money for their endorsements. Some of the most expensive celebrity influencers include Beyonce, Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Selena Gomez. Although celebrities are not the ideal influencer for every brand, research can help brands identify when a celebrity will work best for for them.

Khloe Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian’s primary social media platform is Instagram, where she has more than 76 million followers. Khloe has been an influencer for brands such as Amazon and Calvin Klein. It is rumored that Khloe makes around $250,000 per post.

Jonathan Morrison

Jonathan is an influencer in the tech and business world. Jonathan’s main platform is his Youtube channel where he has over 2 million followers. In many of his Youtube videos, he is giving paid reviews for gadgets and also giving away free products to viewers.

Carly Waddell

Carly first gained media attention by being a contestant on The Bachelor in 2015. Since then, she has reappeared on the show and gained many followers. Today, she is a social media influencer for health products, baby products, and everyday usage products.

Macro-influencers:

Macro-influencers are individuals who have between 10,000 and one million followers. These influencers mainly post about everyday lifestyle or business matters. Pet influencers, beauty influencers, food influencers, and travel influencers are just a few of the kinds of individuals who are considered to be macro-influencers.

Lindsay Arnold 

Lindsay Arnold is a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. Lindsay’s following includes a large number of younger females and she has partnerships with many food, health and travel companies.

Tuna 

In 2011, Tuna’s owners created an Instagram account for their dog, who became famous online. Tuna has over 80 thousand followers and has been featured by Cosmopolitan, The New York Times and many other sites. Tuna’s posts feature the partnerships with many pet-friendly hotels around the world.

Micro-influencers:

Micro-influencers are individuals who have fewer than 500,000 followers. These influencers are individuals who partake in an everyday work-life, who relate with their followers through real-life authenticity. These influencers can create a relationships and develop trust with their followers.

The Planet D  

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are a husband-and-wife travel influencing team. They have traveled to over 100 countries and have partnerships with American Express Canada, Intrepid Travel, and Expedia. Their main source of blogging is on their personal website and Facebook account.

Tina Jui

Tina Jui is a breakfast food blogger via Instagram, and her website known as The Work Top. Tina has over 50,000 followers and is an influencer for all things cooking. She makes sponsored posts for food brands, specific cookware items, and also does sponsored giveaways.

Why influencer marketing works:

Influencers create a personal level of trust between themselves and their followers through relating to them and having similar interests. Followers value an influencer’s opinion because they are ‘fans’ of the influencer, and often feel a personal connection to them or aspire to their lifestyle. Big brands have taken notice that having an influencer mention their brand can be one of the best ways to inspire consumer trust.  Some followers even rely on influencers to learn about new brands and products, which can make influencer marketing a cost-effective method of getting the word out under the right circumstances.

The Simple Guide To Business Promotion

Just the phrase “business promotion” can make people feel overwhelmed. Often times, it’s hard to even know where to start. That’s where we come in. For me, the easiest way to understand anything has always been to first break down the basic concepts. For business promotion, that means breaking down the 4 basic types of promotion. Identifying and understanding what they are and what their key differences are will create a strong foundation. After all, promotion should be much more than just information; it should result in revenue for your business. Understanding the different ways to promote your product or service can help you make the right choice for your business.

So, what are the 4 main types of promotion?

The four types of business promotion are marketing, PR, advertising, and branding. The end result? Brand loyalty.

  1. Marketing

Key Words: Drive, Push

*Driving your product or service in order to push people to buy.*

Marketing is a process by which a product or service is introduced and promoted to potential customers. In other words, marketing is when you drive the message or physical product to your consumers.

Marketing vs. Sales

Though similar in style. Marketing is not the same as sales. Though they share similar tactics, you must remember that they are two separate entities. By working in tandem with a strong sell, a sound marketing message will serve as your sales enabler. When marketing, you will promote the product while communicating and educating potential customers. Marketing thus becomes your brand ambassador in support of your sales team.

  1. Public Relations (P.R.)

Key Words: Relate, Earn

*Relating in such a way that you earn media coverage and promotion.*

Public relations (PR) is the way organisations, companies and individuals communicate and relate with the public. PR is all about building relationships to advance, promote, and benefit the reputation of you yourself and your business as a whole. The goal of PR is to communicate a positive message in order to gain support. It can lead to strong community presence, a growing customer base, lasting partnerships, and even financial support. Above all, P.R. builds the credibility of your organization.

  1. Advertising

Key Words: Display, Pull

*Displaying your message or product in such a way that you pull consumers in.*

Advertising is the process of capturing public attention through paid messages or information which helps promote or sell a product, service or brand. It is a process of mass promotion which involves audio or visual messaging. Advertising educates the public and attempts to persuade customers to buy and use your particular product or service. Advertising creates awareness and helps increase demand.

  1. Branding

Key Words: Knowledge, Association

Branding is the sum of your audience’s perception of who and what your company is, as well as your company’s customer service and your company’s reputation. Branding goes way beyond just a logo or graphic element.

Brand Loyalty (The Goal)

Key Words: Lifetime Results

Brand loyalty is the result of all your hard promotional work. Brand loyalty is a consumer’s emotionally-charged decision to continually purchase a specific brand. How does this happen? Brand loyalty happens when customers believe your brand will exceed all others. When this happens, he or she begins to identify with your brand on a personal level.

Bringing It All Together

Think of Nike.  Here’s what each type of business promotion looks like for them.

Marketing:

“Nike is the #1 selling athletic shoe in the United States.”

In this circumstance, by telling others how successful Nike is, you are driving them towards your brand and pushing them to try it themselves.

P.R.:

“Nike was named the official shoe brand of the NBA.”

By reporting that Nike has now been named the official shoe of the NBA, you are telling customers as well as potential partners and investors that your company walks the walk and doesn’t just talk the talk. What’s more, the sponsorship of the NBA makes Nike relatable to sports fans and athletes everywhere. This also gets you valuable media exposure.

Advertising:

“Find your stride with Nike. The next NBA star just might be you.”

By displaying such a clear and compelling message, Nike successfully pulls in consumers, both new and old.

Branding:

“Nike improves my performance on the court and makes me feel like I can do anything.”

If someone is wearing something with the Nike logo on it, its immediately seen and known. What’s more, thanks to successful marketing and PR campaigns, Nike has become associated with success and athleticism. Nike is thought of as “empowering” and has become known as the go-to brand for getting extra hops on the court.

Brand Loyalty:

“There’s no other brand for me than Nike.”

There are a lot of athletic shoe companies on the market, but as a result of outstanding promotional efforts, Nike creates lifetime fans who will wear nothing but products baring the Nike name.

So what does this mean for you?

This means promoting your business is vital for its success. Without promotion, there are core functions that your business can’t perform. By incorporating these basic methods, though, a chain reaction begins. Clients are suddenly informed and engaged. Services and products begin to sell and your business begins to grow. What’s more, your customers are sustained as relationships and trust are built. The bottom line? Without promotion, no one can know your business.  So be known! Reach your goals. And stand out from the rest. 

Social Media Marketing: Free Or Not Free?

Jemully Media - Is social media marketing free or not free
Social media is free. This is commonly accepted. I participate in several personal accounts with all the usual suspects: Facebook, Twitter (three different handles), LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest—plus a few other niche platforms—and I’ve yet to spend a cent on any of them. I also work with many clients to establish or nurture social media presences for their businesses. Establishing accounts for these businesses was also free in the fact that the social media platform did not charge a fee for the business to own an account. But this is where the free-ness of social media, and social media marketing, becomes a bit more complicated, and even a misnomer.

It turns out that having social media is not synonymous with doing social media well.

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6 Smart Tips for Brand Storytelling in Social Media

The art of storytelling in online marketing.

Social marketing through brand storytelling is about connection. So, you’re a business owner and you’ve got a killer product. Do people know about you? More so, do people believe in your brand?

On social media people share videos, details about their lives, recipes, and advice on anything from what removes carpet stains to which pediatrician has a good reputation. These snippets are pieces of our respective stories. And therefore, the most successful online marketing occurs through storytelling, which connects your audience and your brand.

Finding out what will motivate your audience to connect (and stay connected) to you requires some forethought and research. It takes more than merely posting frequently about your business.

 

“Too many brands continue to fail at convincingly placing what they have to offer inside the lives of the people they are trying to reach.” —Mark Di Somma, Branding Strategy Insider

 

But this is what brand storytelling does. So, how do you place your brand inside people’s lives?

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