How to Use Instagram Influencer Marketing to Skyrocket your Brand?
Article By Imran Khuredi
Instagram Influencer Marketing:
Influencer marketing is definitely one of the most trending topics of the moment. In the years between the years 2016 to 2017, the search for the words ‘influencer marketing’ rose at least twofold. This is not a surprise given the number of times you have heard the term since last year. You might have used the term yourself a couple of times. But did you know that even the term ‘Instagram influencer’ has increased threefold in search during the same time? Surprised much? Let’s take a look at a few more facts and figures to substantiate the things already stated.
- Over 25 million business accounts exist on Instagram at present.
- Over 200 million people on Instagram come to at least one of the business accounts each day.
- A majority of the visits are from people who are not even followers to these accounts.
- The launch of the shopping feature on Instagram made some brands record at least a 44% increase in their web traffic.
Thus, the potential impact of Instagram on your business and marketing is clear as the day. Now bring in influencers into the mix, and the chances of success for your business rises even further. If you have still not engaged in Instagram influencer marketing, then now is the time to get on that bandwagon. The following pointers will make it easier for you to implement Instagram influencer marketing for your brand.
1. Provide Original Content At All Times:
The days are long gone when customers solely trusted the print and media ads to make purchase decisions. In the current age of social media, customers demand social proof that your product can actually do what you claim. This is exactly the reason why you need Instagram influencer marketing. People value the influencers because they have faith in their opinions and expertise.
Research has shown that about two-thirds of the content from fashion and beauty brands mention influencers. Fashion and beauty industries receive the most visits on Instagram. The study is the proof of how influencers form a major part of the Instagram strategies of the brand.
In 2017, the renowned beauty brand Estee Lauder came up with an influencer campaign on Instagram. They put together a team of sixty influencers. The objective of the campaign was boosting brand awareness as well as gauging customer’s perception. The brand let the influencers choose from a collection of thirty-seven products. The influencers got absolute control over the products they want to post about.
The campaign was a major success, and Estee Lauder reached over 3.3 million people. This was way over their target of reaching 1.5 million. The engagement rate reached 3.8% exceeding the goal of 3%
A key element in this Instagram campaign of Estee Lauder was the authenticity of it. There is no substitute for originality when it comes to Instagram marketing, as you can understand from this campaign. You have to conceptualize and strategize differently not to get lost in the crowd.Even if you try the same tactics, go about it differently. Remember that there are a hundred other brands selling the same products and using some other group of influencers. Your uniqueness will make sure that grab the necessary attention in this crowd.
2. Win Over With Aesthetic and Storytelling Content:
Instagram influencer marketing is one of the highly effective ways of reaching out to your target audience without spending on ads. Consider this scenario: what is the number of times you have checked an Instagram post with the word ‘sponsored’ attached to it? You do not generally skip even the sponsored ads on Instagram as you would do on other platforms.
This is where the value of influencers comes into play. The influencers are masters in the art of storytelling and creating content. The contents that influencers create are visually appealing and valuable to the followers. Contents like these will win more hearts than any other type of promotion you can think.
Take a leaf out of the book of fashion retailers like Revolve. They have used Instagram influencer marketing to gather a follower base of 2.2 million. Their aesthetic approach to influencer marketing consisted of taking the influencers around the world. They organized getaways for their influencers. The influencers updated fun stories with the hashtag #RevolveAroundTheWorld.
Reports further suggest that over seventy percent of the sales at Revolve are driven by the influencers. Revolve knows their goals when they engage in influencer marketing. Most of their customers are millennial and thus, the cool image of the brand appeals to them. The gifts and exotic experiences also strengthen their bond with influencers.
3. Rope in the Right Influencers:
You might think of getting some or other celebrity to endorse your brand on social media. But, you can save a lot of effort and money by simply choosing to opt for influencer PPC marketing. This is because the people on Instagram trust the recommendations, opinions, and judgments of the influencers over celebrities any day.
Budget is not a problem in influencer marketing if you know how to get the right influencers. Get the micro-influencers in your business niche, and you will still get the benefit of brand engagement. The ones will a smaller number of followers has a more personal relationship with them. Thus, the interests of their audience remain focused, and engagement rates are high.
With the micro influencers, you are seen and heard by a group of relevant people, i.e., your target audience. Thus, there is a high chance of the potential customers to turn into actual buyers of your brand.
A clever way of getting the right influencers is by going through the influencer marketing platforms. There are several such platforms like Grin. They let you filter the influencers by reach, the rate of engagement, and so on. Finding influencers for your niche becomes easier than ever this way.
4. Try out The Popular Unboxing Videos:
If you are on Instagram for quite some time, the chances are that you will need no explanation as to what is an unboxing video. Unboxing is all about influencers recording themselves as they unpack a new product and explores its features. They also put in a small tutorial on the usage of the product and give their views about it.
Unboxing videos are all about the feeling of anticipation among the viewers. They are widely known as one of the most popular of all Instagram videos. The viewer gets joy in the opening of the product because they feel as one with the influencer’s emotions. The excitement of the influencer gets shared by the viewer.
Most of the leading brands send packages to the targeted influencers for them to include it in the unboxing videos. You can try going by this strategy too and send in your bestsellers or new launches to the influencers. There is no denying the fact that it can get a little risky if the influencers do not like your product. But if you are sure about the product, then why not just do it? Besides, you need to take a leap of faith at times even in social media marketing!
5. Invite the Influencers to Major Brand Events:
The work of the influencers goes far beyond putting up sponsored posts and providing product endorsements. As a brand, you need to invite the influencers to your events. The influencers will talk about the events on social media and thus, garner the much-needed popularity for your brand. Inviting a number of influencers to one event is particularly valued by the brands.
The thing that comes into play in this regard is what the social media researchers call ‘majority illusion.’ A number of influencers talking about one event at one time end up strengthening the effect. Having a number of influencers at one event and getting everyone to talk about it makes your brand seem loved. The event looks much more popular than it actually is and the followers sit up to take note.
This factor explains why some brands get major growth in a short span of the festival season. The name of Revolve comes up one more time in this regard. The brand amassed a sale of 4.4 billion during Coachella in 2017. The brand has all the facets of Instagram within its grasp, and there is no stopping its rise and rise.
Conclusion:
Instagram is definitely one of the foremost platforms for content marketing. You get to leverage a platform with a wide reach and not appear pushy or spamming in doing that. However, you need to keep in mind that your association with the influencer must get stated clearly in the posts. This comes under FTC guidelines and failing to adhere by it makes it an illegalact.
Instagram is one of the most amazing platforms for influencer marketing, and there are multiple reasons why. All you need to do is go about the marketing in a methodical way. So, start working on it today and get heard and seen by your target audience.