Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Influencer marketing seems to be all the rage in the world of advertising right now.  In 2022, the influencer marketing industry reached $16.4 billion.  The concept isn’t new.  You likely have memories of watching television commercials featuring celebrities to entice you to purchase cosmetics, jeans, soft drinks, cars, and more.  Influencer marketing takes that concept one step further by combining it with social media.  What is this new type of marketing, does influencer marketing work, and how can success tips be applied to all types of social media posts?

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing could be called “endorsement marketing.”  Businesses rely on well-known individuals to demonstrate or discuss their products, providing positive recommendations and encouraging sales.  Depending on the product, you may or may not consider the influencer a “celebrity” as the individual is well known to the consumer demographic and may not be recognized by a large segment of people.  For example, the Kardashian family, Drew Barrymore, and Tori Spelling are all influencers you might recognize.  But have you heard of Krista Hooper, Bonnie Taudbix or Katina Mountanos?

These three, among many others, achieved influencer status thanks to social media.  Before Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, celebrities usually came from the television, movie, or music industries.  Today, however, anyone with enough creativity, perseverance and technological agility can become famous on social media.  Those who amass millions of followers on social media rank as having influencer status.

Does Influencer Marketing Work?

The Harvard Business Review says “yes.”  They studied a very well-developed social media platform with heavy influencer marketing–the Chinese platform, Weibo.  On average, they discovered that a 1% increase in spending towards influencer marketing resulted in an increase in social media engagement by .46%.  That may not seem like much, but when people are viewing hundreds of posts each day, this increase in the number of viewers that engage (share, click, comment, etc.) with the post is valuable.

Some of the elements that led to greater success are valuable tips for social media posts regardless of whether or not they feature an influencer.  In fact, many of their takeaways are techniques for using social media effectively to market your brand and generate revenue.  Take a look at some of the tips they provided:

1. Posting frequency matters.  The most successful social media campaigns were with influencers who posted about five times per week.  When influencers post too little, they lose interest and visibility with their followers.  Posting too much is seen as annoying.  5 per week was perceived as just right.
2. Originality is important.  Influencers who created original material and authentic messages got more traction.  Using personal photos and a conversational voice that matches the audience connected much more strongly with followers.
3. People like positivity.  Social media scrollers tend to stop and read posts that feel positive.  They will share those that feel authentic and personal.
4. Links help boost engagement.  Including links to relevant information on the company’s website boosted engagement.  More engagement means more people see the post on their scroll.
5. The product fit the audience.  Social media platforms allow companies to purchase advertising and target specific demographics.  Just as its important to find an influencer with followers in the company’s demographic, it’s important to target other posts to the right audience, too.

Boost your social media presence with help from the experts at Paradux Media.

At Paradux Media Group, we help organizations make the best use of their marketing budgets–from developing effective marketing campaigns to implementing new communication tools like social media.  We help companies make smart decisions to get the results they want.  Contact us today and learn more about the benefits of joining our flock!