There is a lot of debate surrounding influencer marketing. There are articles that foresee its death. That it has become saturated with minimal to zero ROI to a brand and increased expense. However, in some circles, influencer marketing is conceived as the 8th P of Marketing. This article explains what the 8th P is all about.
There is also a lot of bias towards paid promotions. Social Media platforms have allowed brands to promote their content directly to their desired audience. However, it all boils down to how you look at it.
- Audience
Whether you choose influencer marketing or paid promotion it all boils down to your target audience. Most social media platforms offer you detailed targeting options. This means you can vary dynamic demographics, tweaking your targeting so that your intended audience is reached. With influencer marketing, you have to get the demographics of the audience from the influencer. In this scenario, influencer marketing does not offer you much in terms of flexibility. However, this boils down to the next point – content.
- Content
This is generally what your audience will consume.
There’s two kinds of content one that comes directly from the brand and user generated content from the influencer. With user generated content, influencer marketing tends to be the most effective. By getting the right influencer, it is possible for a brand to have the influencer’s audience consume content related to the brand. When an influencer with the right audience acts an endorsement to the brand, more people are likely interact with the content.
Content that comes from the brand will do best promoted on social media platforms. This is stuff like a brands story or a television commercial. Generally, most social media users will ignore promoted posts. However, when such content comes from an influencer they tend to lose credibility which affects both the brand’s and the influencer’s clout. We have a dedicated digital marketing course that teaches you how to become an expert in 3 weeks.
- Objectives
Every social media campaign should objectives driven. Sometimes these objectives determine whether influencer marketing will work for a brand or a particular campaign. Influencer marketing solely relies on clout. Brands leverage on the trust influencers carry with their audience. For brands whose objective is to build this trust influencer marketing will be a great way to go.
However, some objectives are based on awareness. This could vary from video views to the number of clicks to a website. In such cases influencer marketing is not advised. The brand should use the proposed social media platforms. Here they can easily measure stats related to the objectives they have in mind.
In conclusion, there is no right or wrong way for a brand to promote their content. Brands should weigh their options looking at the three points above and find the perfect balance between.
