Many don’t realize just how human influencers are. They’re not simply social “beasts” spreading like wildfire, although it’s easy to see them as such. But they’re more than that. The fact is, if you’re in the thick of your business, competitive, ambitious, authoritative, and you know what you’re talking about in the field you’re in, chances are….
You’re an influencer, too! And that’s a good thing.
But you and your business don’t just get there by osmosis. Other influencers would have a hand in getting your brand to where it is now. Think of it as a community of believers. Thought leaders. Decision makers. Supporters. It’s like family.
And with family like this, you’ll expect one (or more) of these types of influencers to go all in for your business (which means one day you’ll do the same for a lucky startup looking to change the world!):
#1: The cost-effectiveness of the “micro-influencer”
It’s a common myth that influencer marketing has to always go big. It doesn’t. The stats are in, and it’s a fact that influencer campaigns often can be quite cost effective, running 30% cheaper than the more traditional forms of marketing for your business. And you don’t have to much the needle that much either.
just one influencer on board — and the influencer certainly doesn’t have to be a big name or anything — send a shipment of your product out for a couple Lincolns, and just one sale from it will break you even. Two or three? You’ll actually start a profit, and in a slow burn you’ll gain traction. You might find just one month of mini-influencer marketing can lead to more than $2K in sales per day. Think of it as ramped-up digital word of mouth.
#2: Even better is the classic “expert” influencer
That being said, you might not want to get just any so-called “popular” influencer on social media. You might bank big if you get an influencer that happens to be an expert in the very vertical you sell. Then what happens? You’re growing your brand on authority, getting that better chance of overcoming typical sales objections.
It’s like you’re an attorney, and you’re trying to prove a point. You put an expert witness on the stand. Chances are pretty good that expert witness will say things of much higher impact than any other witness. Take that same model and implement it in your content strategy, run a podcast, host some webinars, and even have the expert influencer be a guest on other platforms. It’s a game changer.
#3: Lastly, the “brand ambassador” brings it home
Historically, brand ambassadors were always the ones going out of their way to be in the trenches, parading the fields as they wave your product in the air. Yes, influencers do that as well, but for an influencer to be a “brand ambassador” of that caliber, the influencer simply needs to love the product so much that they’ll generally post about your stuff all on their own.
It’s basically free marketing. Generally speaking.
They do it, however, for the visibility, the likes, the engagement, the discourse, so in reality the benefit for the influencer’s still there. But the long-term benefit? Your business reaps all the benefit with a super-long shelf life of quality content marketing.
And paying it all forward makes all the difference
As I said, you already might be one of these influencers. But understand this: everyone needs development on how to be the very best kind of influencer possible. Because at the end of the day, networking and partnerships thrives on it, so as you work on your business, launching your own influencer marketing campaigns, you need all the assistance and resources you can get.
Sign up for Microspire and get access to an entire network, an entire community! Right here! Whether you’re a micro, expert, or brand influencer? It doesn’t matter. You’ll succeed. Businesses will succeed. And, of course, your business will, too.
