Influencer Marketing is one of digital marketing’s widely used strategies alongside email marketing and performance marketing, still gaining popularity each day. Influencers and their active social media handles, become a means for companies to connect and engage with the masses, making it a more affordable, yet, effective way of tapping into the target audience with the right demographics. And while small businesses have been able to effectively reap its benefits, the giants of industries across various fields are acknowledging the power of this tactic.

From Estee Lauder’s collaboration with social media sensation, Kendall Jenner to cater trendy beauty products to the youth, to Daniel Wellington’s collaborations with micro influencers to market the subtlety and elegance of a luxury watch for daily use, companies, big or small, understand the need to include Influencer Marketing in their branding mix. Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons:

1. Greater Brand Equity

Because social media helps to be more closely connected with the target audience than other conventional platforms, brands have an opportunity to build equity through influencers. Through the right influencer, a brand can build awareness amongst followers and deliver the exact scope, intent and the how-to of a product or service. The platform also becomes a great way for companies to get feedback almost directly from current and potential customers. Based on responses, brands can evaluate and make necessary ameliorations that still stick to the brand ethos, yet cater better to the target audience.

2. Organic Reach and Engagement

One of the benefits of collaborating with influencers is the organic reach that the company attains through the former’s fan base and following. In fact, it is this base that creates a more readily approachable target audience for a company. Millions of social media users scroll through their favourite influencers’ pages every day. What better way than to leverage this to educate these followers about your brand?

More direct approaches are created through affiliate links and special promo or discount codes for influencers and their followers to purchase products.

Consumers are redirected to the official sites or social media pages of the brand, making room for the company to take up direct following and engagement opportunities with these customers.

3. Content Creation

Another benefit of associating with social media influencers is the access to their creativity. Content creation is norm in marketing industry and influencer marketing and working with micro and macro influencers helps brand tap into the creativity of the individuals who understand social media & audience engagement.

Moreover, established influencers are well-versed with their followers’ viewing or reading patterns and the format of content that interests them the most.

However, this is no way means that companies lose control over the content, but in fact means quite the opposite, where Influencers become the mediators through whom the content you wish to convey is put across in the most receptive, comprehensive and creative form, without any compromise on the brand value.

4. Authentic Reviews

Unlike commercials by models, actors and other glitterati of the glamour world, brand endorsements by influencers are much more relatable. While cinematic ads on the silver screen stir desire amongst viewers to purchase a “flawless” product, it still seems like a distant and dramatized dream for most consumers. On the other hand, followers rely on the word of their favourite influencers for an unbiased and trustworthy review, which better influences their purchase decisions.

In fact, Influencer Marketing is no different from effective word-of-mouth. A positive testimonial from an influencer is bound to garner more support and fandom for the company, from the follower base. Moreover, Influencer Marketing’s characteristic of engagement, allows followers to connect with their favourite influencers directly to inquire about or share information and clarify any inhibitions.

5. Increased Sales

Influencer Marketing is not simply efficient because of the significant reach, but is in fact known to create great ROI, even 11 times more than billboard advertisements and other digital strategies at less than half the investment, according to studies. This is simply because influencers put up content about tried and tested products, which catches the attention of followers, converting them into direct consumers and buyers from the company’s website or landing pages itself.

Measuring ROI is not as simple as relating to directly attributed sales but can still be done by setting the right KPIs for the campaign. And let’s face it, companies have a business to run and revenue to make. So why not employ a valuable strategy such as this?

These are only a few among many other reasons why Influencer Marketing has created successful campaigns for companies over the last few years. Whether you run a small business or are part of an established bigger brand, Influencer Marketing is a key part of any company’s branding mix and is here to stay for a long time.