Why Is Influencer Marketing Important to Creators & Brands?

Before the advent of Instagram influencers, we bet you never thought you’d give in to peer pressure. You would claim you make all your decisions based on your deductive reasoning. Well, the benefits of influencer marketing are clear. Social media influencers are accountable for many brand sales these days. So, why is influencer marketing important? 

Whether you are a brand or a content creator, you can profit from the structure. There is potential there for someone on either side of the coin. You could want to monetize an existing hobby or use a creator to enhance your public relations. There are so many possibilities.

This is a relatively new type of digital marketing, and it’s constantly evolving. We’ve shared what we predict it will look like soon. But before we get there, we will talk about its current impact. Keep reading because we break it all down!

What Is Influencer Marketing? Let’s Break Down This Popular Practice

We are sure that you are familiar with this concept. However, what is influencer marketing? You may have already gathered that it is a type of marketing that uses an influencer. Brands contract with content creators with clout and authority in their field. These influencers may have large followings of people who value their recommendations. 

Ideally, these influencers produce content somewhat connected to the product a brand wishes to promote. Brands request that these influencers create media content promoting their products. This could include photos, reels, story posts, or a combination of them all. The aim is to use their access to your target audience to drum up sales.

This isn’t supposed to be the same as a celebrity endorsement if you’re drawing that comparison. While this may have changed in recent years, an influencer typically had some proximity to their followers. They were initially very relatable. With this, they were able to inspire their followers to make certain sales.

Why Is Influencer Marketing Important for Making Sales?

Let’s cut to the chase. You want to make sales. You have your products ready, but advertising them is proving to be a problem. The way that our parents and grandparents advertised products doesn’t yield the results you want. You want to walk into this decade with a fighting chance. 

That is why influencer marketing is important. It’s the form of marketing appropriate in the modern age. Your competitors are doing it, and they are seeing the results that you would like to see. Why not give it a chance as well? If you’re not sure, we can give you 3 reasons you should consider this method. 

1. Influencers Increase Credibility

We are all adults here. We know that commercials are just people acting. They smile and laugh and pretend to be happy about a product they have never tried. This way of marketing is extinct, and we can all see through it. We need a little more convincing to spend hard-earned money on something unthinkingly. Who can we believe? 

A safe bet is the influencer you know and trust. When your target audience sees that an influencer they trust uses your product, they feel comfortable. The influencer has already built up a rapport with that audience, and selling a product won’t be hard.

2. Influencers Have Access to Your Target Audience

Part of the battle of making a sale is making people aware that your product exists. How does your ideal customer even find out that you have this product? One good way is through a social media influencer. 

Who are you trying to reach? Is it people who are fans of health and fitness? They may follow that fitness influencer and trust his recommendations. Maybe you’re after stay-at-home mothers. 

There is an entire sector on the internet where middle-aged women thrive. They regularly give homemaking and childcare tips to followers. It would be ideal for them to promote a brilliant new product to their followers.

If you were to create an Instagram ad, you’d have to choose your target audience using several categories. When you use social media influencers, you already have this specialized access.

3. Influencers Inspire Purchases

Maybe people are just very impressionable. Maybe they put a lot of trust in strangers on the internet. Either way, this is good news for your business. If your influencer creates compelling content, they could sway a consumer better than any commercial could.

This Is Why Influencer Marketing Is Important for Branding

If you run a company or have created your brand, you want to invest in proper marketing. Choosing the type of marketing that works best for your brand is critical. There are certain key points that you’ll have to pay attention to when choosing a marketing scheme. 

Influencer marketing tends to hit it out of the park when it comes to these factors. Let’s talk about why influencer marketing is important for branding.

1. They Can Boost Brand Awareness

You don’t lack sales because you don’t have a good product. You lack sales because people aren’t aware of your product. How do you get your product on people’s radar? 

You might have to meet these people where they already are. With about half a billion accounts to date, people seem to be on Instagram. Reaching them on this app would make sense. 

Of course, you can use Instagram ads. They just won’t get you the returns that an Instagram influencer can. So many people find out about great products through word-of-mouth. An influencer is just another month to get the job done.

2. It Allows for Better Budgeting

Using an influencer may sound expensive. You see influencers living very ostentatious lives, and you think that you have to pay them an arm and a leg. This isn’t the case at all. There are several levels of Instagram influencers. You don’t have to jump to look for one with the biggest platform. 

You could find a small influencer with a trusted community of followers. This will already save you some money. But what’s even better than that is that these small influencers tend to have a higher engagement rate. With a smaller following, they can manage to respond to messages, like comments, and answer queries. 

They can foster a friend-like relationship with followers, which only strengthens their credibility. An influencer could be a great monetary decision.

3. It Offers a Good Return on Investment (ROI)

If you believe in nothing else, believe the numbers. Numbers don’t lie. Influencers make sense in dollars and cents. According to online studies, online brands generate $6.50 per $1 they spend on influencer marketing. 

Of course, your numbers can vary based on the influencer you choose to use. An influencer who is more connected with their target audience can produce better numbers. The ones that can produce great content can drive sales.

We Predict These Influencer Marketing Trends

Instagram hasn’t been static for a while. A few years ago, the concept of an Instagram story didn’t exist. Before reels took over Instagram, posting photos was the accepted norm. Who’s to say what next year holds? 

We said we were growth experts. We never said we were psychic. Still, we can make some educated assessments about the future of digital marketing. Take a look at some of the Influencer marketing trends we think you should note.

Representation Will Matter Even More

The world is so diverse. People of all ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds use social media platforms. They are all worthy of your attention. They work hard for their income and want to spend it on products that work. Also, people like to see themselves in ads. They like to be able to insert themselves into promotional content. 

They like to see someone that looks like them using your products before they buy it. Representation will matter even more in the future. Investing in diverse influencers is a good idea. Some influencers simply have different experiences with your products. That doesn’t mean that they don’t enjoy your products. They simply have a unique experience that a specific type of user can relate to. 

People of color, for example, have unique experiences with skincare. People of a certain age respond to products differently. You don’t want to miss out on a sector of your target audience because you didn’t choose the right influencer.

Influencers Will Settle Into a Niche

Being an influencer who does a little bit of everything is not a problem. However, specializing in a field could make a brand even more competitive. Influencers choose a niche area to increase their chances of being the authority in a particular field. 

As a brand owner, you should make note of the level of prowess an influencer has in that field. If they are highly compelling, they should have a good engagement rate to match. If their brand aligns with yours, it could be an investment worth making.

People Will Value Authenticity More

Influencers are everywhere. People are influencing in fields that you wouldn’t even think of. As we become used to the idea of an influencer, people begin to catch on. The average IG user can see that influencers collect a check to promote products. This is slowly whittling away at the credibility that influencers once had. 

To adequately respond to this, the industry will have to produce more authentic content. Brands will have to demand more convincing material. Influencers will have to stick to brands that they can actually recommend in good faith.

The prospect of making money as an Instagram influencer has never been more obvious. Brands are adjusting to the new regime in terms of marketing. This allows the young creator to monetize their craft or hobby. While having a huge following isn’t necessary, it helps with social proof.

Connecting with as many members of the target audience as possible is important. That’s how you heighten the chances of increasing your engagement rate. 

If you don’t know how to reach these members, you’ll need a growth program like Plixi. Our tools can connect you with followers who care about the content you create. They will engage earnestly and even purchase items you promote. So, you know the answer to why influencer marketing is important to brands and you. 

Give yourself the best chance at success with our propriety AI targeting algorithm. Our in-house platform of Instagram influencers won’t lead you astray. Start gaining Instagram followers today!