As said by Jeff Bullas, “consumers want to hear from people that they idolize and respect. They trust these recommendations more than from advertising brands.” These people are basically known as the ‘influencers’. Influencer marketing is no longer just about celebrities. The only way to become a real influencer is being authentic and trustworthy. Partner with people who can promote your brand the right way because people trust other people.
Since influencer marketing has become an important strategy in today’s world of business, there are a lot of speculations and ventures as the world is full of misleading information. Here are some myths discussed about influencer marketing:
- Influencer marketing is always immediate
The above is a myth because influencer marketing is not an impulse-buy.
People watch and remember things, which they may not head to grab spontaneously but would have thoughts of it coming frequently. This means it has occupied a space in their minds which proves to be profitable for your future sales. That’s why you should plan memorable campaigns which would leave an impact on your consumers.
- The best way to find influencers is by scrolling through Instagram/Facebook
Although you can discover a lot of influencers through Instagram and Facebook. But scrolling through them is definitely not the best way! Even just looking at them won’t help in your brand promotions. Finding many, then choosing the right one and then contacting them; are not done in the blink of an eye. It all requires smartness and time. To get an influencer for yourselves you have to influence the influencer. Social media platforms help a lot but in promoting the campaign & not in finding people.
- Popularity and numbers are everything
If you think like that, it’s a bad choice!
Having a great number of audiences is important but bigger doesn’t always mean better. Just because an influencer has a large number of followers that doesn’t mean that the audience is well established. Most of them may never have engaged with the person. Your audience/consumers need to be loyal viewers that yield interaction with the person for inquiries and consultations. Understand that it is quality over quantity!
- It is only useful for high tech and newer companies
It is absolutely not about old or new, or the high level technology in companies. Influencer marketing would enhance the thinking approach towards the campaigns. It could alter ‘boring’ traditions to ‘attractive’ ones. Even the long term establishment of your company doesn’t matter here. It helps any kind of brands or products or companies to uplift their marks. So it is useful for beginners, experienced, running under loss and even for the companies that tops the chart.
- Brands don’t have time to develop influencer relationships
Rather, having a great relationship between influencer and the brand is necessary. Brands would do all the needful to make the campaign successful, so not giving time is not a problem. Instead If the influencer is partially engaged from the beginning towards the campaign, he/she would indulge themselves and create the same intentions in making the campaign a success. Let them join in to know the company secrets. Make them a part of the team. Their good relationship with the team would make it all better.
- Influencer marketing is not for every industry
There are two modes of commercial transactions: B2B i.e. business to business marketing & B2C i.e. business to consumer marketing. Since b2b is Marketing through one business to another business they do not pay heed to social media platforms as much other than LinkedIn and Twitter. While b2c is directly marketing with consumers and therefore social media is a concerned approach for brand campaigns as the consumers require all the knowledge regarding the product they are watching that’s why Instagram and Facebook are much involved in influencer marketing. So, the key is to find the right mode of transaction for yourself.
- It’s too expensive
Influencer marketing is not costly until the factors are! The more expensive the product, the more the campaign costs. Secondly, the influencer’s fan base would make it more cost effective. There are basically three types of influencers to reach: micro influencers (low cost), macro influencer (medium cost) and celebrity influencers (highly costing). In fact, the platform you choose for publication would also become a factor that would make it expensive (Facebook and Instagram are majorly used and budget friendly while YouTube would take it higher). So better is to choose everything wisely!
- Negative reviews will hurt your sales seriously
With every product sale you are giving your consumers the right to feedback. Now since feedback don’t fall under your promotion campaign, they can be negative. They may not hurt the sales if the negative remarks are minor in comparison to the positive reviews. But every experienced man knows that critics and negative remarks have always inspired us for new opportunities and to ensure betterment in the respective areas. Improving should be a choice always. So even if that hurts your sale, rectify the issues in your next project.
Final thoughts
Since above stated myths are on the basis of my personal experience, still while you partner with any of the available influence marketer you must keep the above mentioned misconceptions in mind, I hope these will find a helpful way for your brand to produce more efficient and incredible marketing strategy that could benefit you in the long run.