Brand Manager: 3 Ways to Make Influencer Marketing Work For You

As a content marketer interested in how influencer marketing works, I've found two articles on the topic that my fellow marketing professionals will find interesting. I've had my fair share of experience with influencer marketing as both the brand and as the influencer and these articles make a great case for the benefits of utilizing influencers.

Source: https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/comment/bloggers-or-floggers-social-media-moves-to-wise-up-on-influencers-1.720130

Article one, titled “Influencer Marketing: How To Make Human Connections Work For Your Brand," comes from Forbes CommunityVoice contributor and founder & CEO of Sway Group Danielle Wiley. Wiley starts with the facts: 82% of those in the U.S. trust recommendations from people they know, according to Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising report. So why do consumers trust the buying advice of influencers, who are often total strangers? Well, when influencers build genuine, human connections with their audiences, their audiences in turn come to respect and trust the influencer's opinion, as if they were a friend. Wiley argues that the reason influencer marketing can be so successful is because the personal connections that influencers can build on behalf of you will connect your brand with consumers in a way you can't do on your own.

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Article two, titled "Why Influencer Marketing is the Game Changer for Business," comes from Entrepreneur contributor Amber Dermoudy, senior social strategist, APAC, Spredfast. Dermoudy posits that the days of push marketing are over; consumers are too savvy. Now, consumers pay less attention to a brand unless it is being promoted by a trusted source or friend. In fact, 92 percent of consumers say they trust an influencer more than traditional advertisements. Dermoudy argues that influence social media stars already have over their audiences is a game changer for businesses.

Based on the above articles and my own experience using influencer marketing - as well as being a microinfluencer myself - I have developed three recommendations you should consider the next time you’re thinking about whether influencers can help your brand.

-       Get Personal – Creating familiarity with an audience is key to engaging in deeply personal, meaningful ways.

-       Be Authentic – Genuine stories and images are more interesting than brand imagery.

-       Use Influencers – Consumers today are smart and rely less on traditional marketing and more on their peers to make buying decisions.

Madison Blanchard is a senior at Northwestern University studying journalism with a focus on digital marketing. Follow her on Twitter | Connect with her on LinkedIn