Does hearing or seeing a friend rave about a new restaurant make you want to try it?
Do you often find yourself looking up reviews on products before buying them? Does hearing or seeing a friend rave about a new restaurant make you want to try it? That’s the work of influencer marketing and it’s very effective in today’s advertising world. Why? We’re more willing to trust people that we know and look up to rather than an advertisement. Influencers’ opinions are seen as honest and genuine, which holds a greater weight in consumers’ eyes as they analyze a new product. To see how impactful influencer marketing can be, take a look at the following statistics in this week’s Industry Insider:
- 83% of consumers trust recommendations from peers over advertising
- 94% of companies who have used influencer marketing believe it is effective
- 48% who utilized influencers are planning to ramp up their budget for more influencer-focused campaigns this year
- Influencer marketing delivers an 11 x higher ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing
Further, celebrities with larger followings don’t always bring greater success. When brands use “micro-utilizers” or influencers with between 5,000 and 25,000 followers, engagement rates are actually higher. If you choose to partner with an influencer, make sure their brand aligns with your own – you wouldn’t want an endorsement to backfire and develop a negative perception of your brand.
The bottom line is that influencers can be a very valuable asset to one’s product or company if used correctly. And to do so, it’s important to select someone whose values match up with yours to ensure a positive perception of your brand.
