Let’s face it: people trust what other people (as opposed to corporations or advertising) have to say. This is why influencer marketing has become such a powerful and effective marketing strategy. Influencer marketing has become one of the most effective techniques for attracting customers.
Today’s consumers are not the same as consumers of the past. They don’t listen to everything they hear on television or the radio. They listen to influencers they follow on social media and the internet. These would be experts in their fields or celebrities they wish to immolate.
“As the world has shifted to social media, consumers look at fellow consumers to inform their purchasing decisions. Instead of looking at companies, as they did in the past, they now look at each other and at their favorite personalities.” AdWeek
WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?
Influencer marketing is marketing that uses key content creators to drive authentic conversation and engagement around a brand’s products and message. Influencer marketing involves marketing products and services to those who have a sway over the things other people buy.
WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING?
Influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing marketing channels today. Consumer behavior is shifting away from television and mainstream celebrities — toward social media channels and influencers driving content within those channels. Consumers don’t like to be advertised to and marketing messages have less credibility every day.
When done right, influencer marketing is a multiplier: It leverages the reach, credibility and salesmanship of a community of influencers to advocate your product to consumers, and it results in awareness, improved perception and action.
Below is an example of how our client using the ShowroomSoftware platform reaped the benefits of influencer marketing.
REAL-WORLD CLIENT SUCCESS: WITFORD LOS ANGELES
Emily Henderson is a Designer, HGTV Design Star winner, and known interior design influencer. Emily has 190,000 Pinterest followers, 729,000 Instagram followers, and 67,500 Twitter followers.
After a blog post from Emily Henderson, a single product from the Witford Los Angeles digital catalog received 2,362 views in 1 day. Of those users, a whopping 99% were new users to the site.
The recent StyleByEmilyHenderson blog presenting Scandinavian inspired design featured a Witford catalog sectional from Lee Industries:
The image above linked to the Witford Los Angeles catalog Lee Industries sectional:
AS YOU CAN SEE BELOW, THAT SINGLE REFERENCE ON THIS INFLUENTIAL DESIGNER BLOG WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A 1,789% INCREASE IN VISITORS TO THE WITFORD LOS ANGELES ONLINE SHOWROOM IN ONE DAY!
Social media influencers can lend luxury brands a voice of authenticity and has the potential to drive consumer behavior. In many ways, influencer marketing addresses several challenges that luxury brands are now facing online. Current trends reflect this, with 73% of global high-end brands engaging in influencer marketing in 2017.
Brands are seeing strong returns from tapping into audiences with influencers. Influencer marketing generates authenticity, is cost-effective, and builds brand presence in the long term.