Influencer marketing is on the rise – and it’s not hard to see why. A whopping 64% of 16-24 year olds said they have been influenced by recommendations from a celebrity or influencer. That figure is a healthy 43% for 25-34 year olds too.
Put simply, a growing proportion of consumers are receptive to influencer campaigns. That’s a massive opportunity for eCommerce brands. In this article, we’ll run through the basics of how influencer marketing works to boost your retail brand’s success.
Introducing the different types of influencers
If you’re new to the world of social media influencers, you might assume that we’re talking about the Kim Kardashians and Cristiano Ronaldos of the world. However, there is actually a lot more variety in the types of influencers to choose from. Broadly speaking, influencers can be broken down into:
- Mega influencers – Those with over a million followers
- Macro influencers – With between 100,000 and a million followers
- Micro influencers – Between 10,000 and 100,000 followers
- Nano influencers – Yes, even someone with fewer than 10,000 followers can be an influencer!
As you might expect, mega influencers command fees that put them out of reach for most brands – due to their massive audiences. It’s not just a case of bigger is better though. A micro influencer can be ideal if their target audience is similar to that of your brand. For example, a Galway GAA player might not have hundreds of thousands of followers – but they’re a great fit for a sports brand targeting Irish customers.
As you move further down the list, you’ll find a lot more choices for influencer partnerships, too. Most influencers fall into the micro and nano categories, with fewer followers but potentially more genuine connections with their followers.
Finding the right fit for influencer campaigns
Here are some factors to consider when finding the right influencers for your campaign:
Interests and audience
Niche influencers can be a big hit if your customer base matches their audience—for example, a popular upcycling account for a furniture paint brand. More broadly, relevant influencers can be found based on their audience interests. Someone from a reality TV show like Love Island might not be a beauty influencer per se, but you might correctly assume that their audience is into cosmetics.
Social media channels
Most social media platforms lean towards particular demographics, such as TikTok for younger users versus Facebook for older customers. Finding the best influencers for your preferred social channel or channels is important.
Brand values
It’s also important to consider your values too. Influencer relationships contribute to your brand image, whether you like it or not – and potential customers can be more thorough than you think.
A sustainable fashion brand should only partner with eco-conscious influencers, for example. Not only that, it’s worth doing some background checks to ensure they’ve not done anything in the past that undermines your marketing campaigns.
Designing an influencer marketing strategy
Different influencers
A successful influencer program isn’t just about finding the right influencer. Using multiple influencers can supercharge your brand awareness and help you reach different target audiences. That could include several TikTok influencers to target a younger audience or powerful influencers from different social channels.
Content types
There are lots of different types of content for your influencer strategy. These include:
- Branded content – This is where celebrity influencers create and share an advert for your brand on their own social pages.
- Free products – Sending freebies and samples to influencers may encourage them to endorse your product, although top influencers will often require payment too.
- Influencer-generated content – This is similar to user-generated content, whereby an influencer acts as a content creator. The influencer content can then be shared on your pages.
- Giveaways – This refers to an eCommerce influencer running a giveaway for your products. It will typically involve people following your page to enter the competition.
- Event coverage – In some cases, eCommerce influencers can also cover brand events, such as product launches creating awareness of your brand and products.
Setting your goals
You’ll want to set some digital marketing goals to monitor the success of your influencer marketing efforts. That could be as simple as influencer rates for click-throughs or sales. However, many brands also monitor the size of their customer base or customer loyalty with repeat orders over time.
Setting your budget
Last but not least is your budget. This will impact purchase decisions for influencer marketing work, so it’s a vital part of any marketing plan.
A few tips for influencer marketing campaigns
- Reaching out – You may be able to contact an eCommerce influencer via direct messages on social apps. However, some will operate via agencies. You can usually find that information in their social media bio.
- Creating briefs – Early on, you may need to specify the content format and what to include. However, this depends on the level of trust. As you form long-term relationships, you may give influencers more creative freedom.
- Promoting content – Most social media sites and apps have the option to promote content by paying. This allows you to maximise visibility, ideally for your most successful posts. As above, it depends on your budget.
- Monitoring your influencer marketing campaign – You can use Google Analytics to see how many web sessions are coming from different apps and sites, while social listening tools allow you to assess brand awareness and reception.
Coping with spikes in sales volumes (CTA)
Brands should also be ready for the increase in sales that influencer marketing can generate. Unlike the natural peaks and troughs throughout the year, an influencer marketing program can result in unprecedented spikes in sales volume. If you’re not prepared to cope with that extra demand, it can result in delays and dissatisfaction, which could undermine some of the positive effects of influencer marketing.
Having a scalable fulfillment partner allows you to overcome these potential issues. Autofulfil can manage the entire process for fulfillment, from storing extra inventory to picking, packing, and shipping your orders to customers. Get a quote today to find out more and ensure you’re ready to reap the rewards of your influencer campaign.
