The world of social media marketing is ever expanding. More companies than ever are utilizing different social media platforms to advertise and get their brand in front of users that might not normally have exposure to the company. One sub-category of social media marketing has proven to be extremely successful; work with influencers. In 2016, influencers brought in an estimated $1.7 billion. Flash forward to 2022, and influencers brought in around $16.4 billion. Because of the success that this new industry has had, especially in recent years, businesses are beginning to rely more heavily on influencer work. So, why exactly are influencers performing so well for businesses? 

Compared to traditional advertisements, work with influencers allows consumers to have more of a human connection when being exposed to a product. Whether working with a macro or nano influencer, there’s no denying that influencer marketing is going to be a popular strategythis year. Some of the biggest benefits that influencers can provide a brand are expanding their audience, a high level of authenticity, and improving a brand’s search rocket optimization. It’s important to understand each of these benefits, and how they can help your business achieve its goals. 

With 4.76 billion people on social media across all platforms, it’s impossible for brands to reach each and every user. With influencers, brands are given the chance to become visible to consumers who might not otherwise notice them. TikTok, for example, is a platform that has been growing rapidly over the last few years and features a wide range of influencers who are able to reach very niche audiences. No matter the size of the influencer, they have a personal connection with their audience. Whether it be the fashion community, BookTok, or the Moms of TikTok, communities thrive off of influencers and the content they create. More than just being content creators, influencers have almost become leaders of their communities; users develop trusting relationships with these influencers especially when it comes to recommendations. Statistics show that only 38% of users trust brand-produced content, but 61% trust influencer recommendations. Working with these community leaders is a sure way to reach those niche audiences that pair well with your brand, and give them a reason to trust you. 

Perceived authenticity, or lack thereof, is a large part of what makes up consumers’ opinions of brands, and also the influencers that endorse them. Once influencers have a large audience, they typically have well established trust with their fan base, which can only help strengthen their authenticity. Because of this, followers of influencers are often able to tell when their review of a product or brand is not genuine; this typically backfires on both the influencer and the brand. However, when an influencer posts an honest and accurate review of a product they genuinely enjoy, it’s extremely beneficial for both the brand and influencer. This is why it’s so important for brands to carefully select the influencers that they want to partner with. Yes, a brand wants to expose their product to an audience they typically aren’t able to, but it’s even more important to select an audience that will be receptive to the product. This relationship is mutually beneficial for all parties involved, and can really help establish your brand’s credibility within the community that it lives in, giving you a leg up on the competition. 

One of the lesser known ways that working with influencers can help your brand is by improving your SEO. While there are a few different ways they can do this, backlinks are perhaps one of the easiest. Whether they mention your website in a blog or on social media posts, having high-quality links can increase traffic to your website, and ultimately improve your SEO. Users engaging with your social content is another easy way to improve your SEO. If an influencer were to share content from you or your brand and have their followers engage with it, Google would be signaled that your content is high quality. This then tells them that your content is worth giving a high ranking to, and you increase your SEO. This is another reason why it’s important to find influencers that work well with your brand; you want their followers to not only notice you, but enjoy your content so much so that they become a loyal fan. 

Knowing how influencers can help you is beneficial for your business, but it can be tricky navigating the specifics. Here at 1893, we have an active roster of local influencers that your brand can partner with. For more information, check out our website here!