Since commerce began, word of mouth has always been the best way to persuade people to choose a particular product or brand. When it comes to buying, there’s no stronger push than a recommendation or suggestion from someone we trust, admire or consider an expert.
In recent years, we can also find these people on Web 2.0, where they’ve become renowned figures in specific sectors, able to act as trusted recommenders for their followers through their own content.
These people, known as influencers, have created content around a topic attractive, creative and logical enough to earn the trust, interest and admiration of thousands of users. As a result, they’ve become perfect channels for recommending products and companies to large numbers of people with credibility and influence sometimes far greater than that of an acquaintance or relative.
No wonder, then, that when users reach huge numbers of followers and fans they become powerful, far-reaching megaphones for selling.
66% of online shoppers say they trust other users’ online opinions as much as those of a family member or friend. Global Trust in Advertising – Nielsen (2015).
The power of influencer marketing
As new communication and advertising models emerged, companies have had to adapt (or should) and steer their communication strategies toward the market trends that move users. That’s why the rise of influencers has created a new advertising channel that brings credibility, trust, visibility and a large number of impressions.
With an influencer marketing campaign, an ecommerce, brand or online business can improve its image, boost its visibility (online and offline), promote its products and quickly become associated with certain values. Not to mention other benefits, such as using a highly effective customer acquisition channel, generating sales as well as engagement (40% of influencer marketing is used to drive engagement), and achieving a higher return on investment than with traditional ads alone.
In Spain there are influencers with a staggering 24 million-plus followers, so it’s no surprise they’ve become perfect platforms for achieving wide reach right within your target audience.
It’s true that influencers of this caliber are out of reach for many small and mid-sized ecommerce businesses, but influencers with fewer followers, more niche topics, small but close-knit communities and loyal followers can be a great option to start attracting customers to an ecommerce store.
In reality, follower count can be an indicator, but not the main one. What helps you gauge an influencer’s power is their engagement, their relationship with followers and their visibility on other online platforms.
In recent years, influencers’ importance has grown by leaps and bounds; they’ve become true idols for users and a very valuable branding and communication tool for companies. But it’s not only companies that have realized how valuable these users are for their marketing and communication campaigns; the influencers have realized it too.
What’s more, influencers build relationships, so a cold transaction won’t work. It’s no longer enough to send product samples for them to mention in their posts: you can’t buy influencers with products or token sums of money. Now you need to invest in influencers and offer them something distinctive, creative and unique, such as experiences, trips or special moments, or pay large sums as if they were another member of your staff (or even more, depending on the influence and popularity of the influencer you choose).
How do I choose the right influencer for my ecommerce?
When choosing an influencer, don’t base it on whether that person buys your products, uses your services or follows your brand, because they probably don’t and won’t. Remember that the influencer doesn’t need to be your customer; they need to be the ideal channel to help multiply your impact by getting your products and content in front of thousands of people in your target audience.
But be careful: for your campaign to work, it’s crucial that the influencer has an affinity with the brand, meaning their values, messages, topics and posts align with yours and your customers’. That’s why identifying and getting to know influencers in your sector or niche is essential: it lets you reach your target audience directly.
Don’t make the mistake of relying on follower count alone. It’s the most eye-catching figure, but some of those followers could be (and often are) bots, fake or inactive accounts, so the influencer won’t reach as many users as you thought. Also remember that quality beats quantity and, depending on your strategy, campaign type and goals, an influencer with 9,000 or 10,000 followers can be more effective than one with 150,000.
When choosing between influencers, analyze the engagement on their posts: whether they interact with followers, whether those followers are genuinely active fans, or whether it’s all appearances and their posts get hardly any comments. Keep an eye on your competitors: you don’t want to share influencers with them! Followers won’t find your brand’s posts credible if that influencer has previously appeared with competitors’ products.
Finally, and though it may seem obvious, choose an influencer whose followers are in the country where you want to sell your products or build your brand. It won’t do much good to have an ecommerce that only sells in Spain and be well known in the US or Japan.
If you’re not deeply into the influencer world, don’t worry: app developers also recognized their importance for brand and corporate communication and advertising, and built specific tools to find influencers on social media. Examples include Followerwonk, Buzzsumo, Klear and Klout.
Careful! Before you start looking for influencers, be clear about your online marketing strategy and the role you want these users to play in your social media strategy.
Is an influencer marketing campaign right for your ecommerce?
In my view, it’s always advisable to link a brand to an influencer, a familiar face, an “idol,” because it humanizes the brand, ties it directly to certain values and a lifestyle and, most importantly, reaches the audience you really care about. Some of the benefits of linking a business with an influencer are precise audience targeting and high impact.
Result: you reach only the audience you care about, cutting costs and hitting the target first time. Influencer campaigns are a good strategy for acquiring new customers, something every ecommerce needs, and they help ensure you attract the right ones. That said, I don’t recommend handpicking an influencer without first studying the candidates, analyzing the sector and designing an online communication plan with clear goals and strategies.
I hope this post has made it clearer how to choose the right influencer and how to run an influencer marketing campaign. If you need more information or help promoting your ecommerce, contact us and we’ll put our digital marketing expertise to work to make your business the influencer of its sector.
Image source: Guruc.
