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Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created and posted everyday on the web. Great content goes unread everyday on the internet. The biggest question that every digital marketer has in mind is how to stand out amongst the sheer volume of information vying for the attention of a specific audience. The information overload has also driven consumers to filter their umpteen choices to a few who are most trusted, credible and meaningful.
In the world of digital media, your brand is driven by the sum of all social interactions about your company. Blogs and social media can be used to garner attention, build engagement and reach new prospects. More companies, whether B2B or B2C, start-up or enterprise, have integrated content marketing and social media into their overall marketing strategy and dedicate a part of their budgets for resources like monitoring tools and community managers. Their goal is to take advantage of the incredible opportunities available in the online space like leads, sales generation and real-time customers.
It has been established that blogging is a powerful and influential tool that empowers marketers to attract, engage and motivate action. More and more consumers are exploring new blogs to seek reviews and advice on product information and blogs rank favourably with consumers for trust, popularity and influence. Studies have shown that readers turn to blogs to make a sound decision before purchasing products like electronic gadgets, apparel and footwear and more as well as deciding on possible travel destinations or to go to a particular restaurant for dining. According to Technocrati's findings, blogs are now the third most influential digital resource (31 per cent) when making overall purchases, behind retail sites (56 per cent) and brand sites (34 per cent).
Marketers have long known about the commercial value of peer influence and customer recommendations. With consumers signing up to social networks in droves and making themselves more public, brands have begun to engage with them on these platforms to convince them to talk to their peers about their products. At the same time, social media marketers are beginning to see that value does not lie in quantity alone. It is, in fact, hugely dependent on the quality of the community, and the individuals within it. There is a vast difference between simply anybody talking about your offering, and the right kind of person talking about it. You want people with the right contextual influence and a good degree of reach/authority to speak about your brand. This has led to the emergence of a new era in digital marketing called Influence Marketing. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers, and orients marketing activities around these influencers.
When it comes to digital marketing, we all know content is king and social media is the kingmaker. Creating engaging content is no longer enough - the success of any digital marketing campaign also depends now on ensuring that your content reaches your target audience with a voice of authority and recommendation in the digital space. A study by Meteor Solutions says 30 per cent or more of a website's actions are determined by social media influencers. These influencers, who are thought leaders and industry experts, can have significant impact on a brand's reputation and even affect bottom line sales.
More than anything, marketers want to engage meaningfully with consumers and a smart marketer who knows the power of influencer marketing will be investing considerable time in finding these brand advocates, engaging with them and establishing a strong brand-influencer relationship.
You would ask why social media influencers are so important to a brand. It is because influential people inspire trust.
Consumers heavily rely on word-of-mouth recommendations and do not always believe everything a brand says hence the influencers have an important role to play. Nielsen found that 92 per cent of consumers trust recommendations from "known people" while only 70 per cent trust any other form of referral or online review, which includes celebrity endorsements and paid-for quotes from random "happy customers".
Identifying the influencers can sometimes be challenging, but for most marketers, the greater challenge lies in engaging with and retaining these key consumers. I would say, the key to a long term brand-customer relationship lies in understanding what drives these influencers and trying to get on their radar before you can get them on your side. Studies have shown that influencers are not determined by the multitude of followers they have; they usually have a dedicated audience who follow these experts because of similar interests and because they are credible in their fields. While some influencers are famous in their respective industry circles, there are others, who although lesser known, are just as powerful among their followers. So, marketers need to keep in mind that instead of targeting a few top influencers, it would be wise to connect with a greater number of second-tier bloggers for better reach.
As a brand, you need a well thought-out engagement plan to achieve what you wish from this relationship. As a marketer, listen to what your influencer has to say and start a conversation by commenting on their blog posts, retweeting interesting content, and joining in their conversations on social media channels. The secret to a successful brand-influencer relationship begins with saying a 'thank you' when they share your content or mention your brand on a networking channel. This is strengthened further by treating them to special offers on the brand's yet-to-be-launched products made available to a select few thus increasing their "authority" status in their sphere of influence. According to a study, 58 per cent influencers said that it was important to them to be viewed as good brand advocates, while 49 per cent felt that brands should recognise their efforts.
While the reason why brands connect with influencers is for promoting their products, it is a good idea to let them establish a relationship with your brand first.
Seeraj Katoch
COO, Tangerine Digital
COO, Tangerine Digital
