If you’ve been reading these newsletters or any of my posts on social media, you know I’m big on giving your business a face. You want to show there’s someone at the company passionate about your products and services—and the people who use them.
But what if you simply don’t have the staff to create content inside your company? Or maybe your reach isn’t all you’d like it to be? Meanwhile, there are content creators in your industry with huge audiences and you want a piece of it.
Let’s talk influencers. Sit back and enjoy some pros and cons of using influencer marketing to promote your company.
Pros
Influencers can add that sizzle you desire. Let’s sprinkle in some positives.
Boosted SEO
Just because you have a website doesn’t mean you have traffic. Influencers already have traffic and if they use links to drive their audience to your website or profiles, it will give you a boost.
With more people visiting your site thanks to the influencer’s links, your SEO rankings could improve and get you more traffic beyond the influencer campaign.
Increased Reach & Exposure
This one is a no-brainer. They have the reach and an engaged audience, which are two different things and you should be aware of that.
When researching influencers in your industry, look for the right numbers. They can tell you how many followers they have but you should care more about how many people are engaging with their posts. Don’t fall for the vanity metrics.
Find the influencers in your industry with an engaged audience that aligns with your target customer and they can be the boost you’ve been looking for.
Targeted Marketing
Tied to the engagement part, I’d recommend using micro-influencers rather than going after the biggest influencers you can afford. Use everything you know about your target customer to pinpoint the right influencers and deliver your message to a targeted group for a better chance to convert.
Real-time Feedback
There is no such thing as a perfect product launch. The key is getting your product out and then listening to your early customers to make the necessary tweaks to make things better.
An influencer campaign puts your product in front of an engaged audience ready to provide feedback. You have to learn to set any trolling aside and identify the ones providing thoughtful comments. Then use those comments to improve the next wave of your product.
Creative Collaboration
The key to success with content is consistency and developing quality content for a long period of time gets difficult. Bringing an outside person freshens things up and influencers are already in a creative mindset.
With you knowing your company, your influencer knowing their audience, and the two of you understanding your industry, fresh new content can be the outcome that your own profiles needed.
Cons
For every respectful, creative influencer who boosts your business, there’s another demanding free meals and making J.Lo look humble by comparison.
Measuring ROI
Because using influencers leaves your content in profiles that don’t belong to you, you don’t get to see all the metrics you do on your own content. If you’re not careful, you’ll have to take the influencer’s word that the campaign was a success.
Thankfully, some preparation on your part can help here. You can add UTM codes to the end of your landing page URL and give that link to your influencer.
Even better, make a landing page specific for your influencer campaign. You can tailor the message of the page to the influencer’s audience.
With either of these options in place, you’ll know exactly which visits to your website came as a direct result of the influencer campaign.
Dependence on Influencer’s Reputation
You have full control of the brand you build for your company. By turning to influencers, you’re now tying your brand to theirs and giving up some control.
If your influencer publishes your video on Tuesday, their video on Wednesday could potentially include content and views against your own.
Any negative behavior or controversy involving the influencer can reflect poorly on your business.
Brand Dilution
Some influencers are selective in what they promote. They either set a limit of brands to promote or they only promote products they are using on a daily basis.
Others, are a bit more liberal. Influencers who promote too many brands or products can dilute your brand. Your message may get lost among the various endorsements, reducing the impact of your campaign.
Dependency on Social Media Algorithms
You do your research and identify the right influencers with the right audience. You work with them to create some original and engaging content and put it out into the world.
And then Instagram updates their algorithm and your campaign falls flat. You lose money, lose faith in your influencers, and vow to never turn to influencers again.
The truth is, even when you do everything right, social media is still out of your control and you have to accept the algorithm can affect your campaign.
Loss of Authenticity
People don’t like ads. That’s the truth. As a content marketer, I die on the hill that authentic content eventually finds its audience.
People don’t find ads authentic. That’s part of the reason influencers gained popularity originally. Instead of taking advice from an ad, people felt like they were taking advice from people who actually used the products.
But as influencer marketing has grown, people have begun to turn on it for much the same reason. This is again why you must be sure to align yourself with the right influencer and not ones your target customer finds inauthentic.
Do Your Homework
Influencer marketing works, i’ve seen it do wonders. A company I worked with had pretty much no digital presence and became a social media favorite in the span of a year thanks to influencers talking about their music accessories each time they picked up their guitar or went to record a new song.
The key to a successful influencer campaign, like any other marketing campaign, is in the research. Know your target customer, find the right influencer, and make the right content.
If you need help telling your business story and developing digital content for your business, I’m here and ready to help. All you have to do is contact me today to set up an introductory call.