Influencer marketing is not a new trend, but until recently, this domain was dominated by celebrities and very few bloggers. Recently, influencer marketing in India has seen a surge and not just dedicated bloggers, but also content writing companies are stepping onto the bandwagon.
If you are thinking of taking your brand forward using influencer marketing tactics, here is a guide for you to help you navigate this complex marketing strategy.
What Is Meant By Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a kind of social media marketing that makes use of product mentions and endorsements from influencers. Influencers are referred to individuals who have a massive social following and are seen as experts in their niche.
The reason why this form of marketing works is because of the exceptionally high level of trust that influencers have built with their followers. Recommendations from influencers are seen as social proof to potential customers.
What Is The Present Scenario Of Influencer Marketing?
A few years ago, influencer marketing was not so competitive as today. Back in 2014, making an impact and turning heads on Instagram was easy. The concept was new and people were still trying to wrap their heads around this new form of marketing. If someone had a distinctive appeal or got featured on Instagram’s featured page, the chances of becoming an influencer increased instantly. From there, they had to acquire a few brand partnerships and once they had enough, they could turn influencer marketing into a full-time career. The scenario was the same with almost all social media platforms.
The present landscape of influencer marketing is competitive and you will find influencers promoting their niche. From food bloggers to fashion bloggers and more, the number of influencers is only increasing. The only thing constant in today’s world is change. Therefore, to capture the essence of influencer marketing, constantly coming up with new, creative ideas to engage with the audience is crucial. The content has to be fresh and must appeal to the demographics that one is targeting.
What Is The Value Of Influencer Marketing?
Everyone is aware of Instagram influencer marketing, but Instagram is not the only platform. There are various other platforms that can be used for influencer marketing. For instance, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and most recently, TikTok. All of these different networks have their unique set of influencers with various demographics.
A lot of people compare influencer marketing to word-of-mouth advertising, which is being done digitally. As you know, people believe other people more than they believe what is shown in the paid advertisements. This is why influencer marketing works and brings amazing results because influencers are men and women who are potential customers of a brand.
So, if you are thinking of boosting your content marketing in India by integrating it with influencer marketing tactics, here is how you can create a winning, results-driven strategy.
Steps To Creating Your Strategy For Influencer Marketing In India-
Find Social Media Influencers
Research is inevitably the first step to any strategy and the same goes for this. Select a network that you wish to focus on. You can expand to other networks later, but it is always good to start with one. Ideally, the network you choose should be one where your brand already enjoys a good presence. Also, keep in mind that the demographics vary from network to network.
Moreover, it will be wise for you to track the activities of your shortlisted influencers to see if they post things that are similar to your brand, product or services. If they have previously worked with brands similar to yours, they might be able to help give shape to the ideas that you have. Also, keep an eye on their engagement ratio, comments and such other aspects to rule out fraudulent accounts.
If you are not sure where to begin with, you can partner with a professional content marketing company. The industry you belong to plays a crucial role when you are thinking of implementing an influencer marketing tactic. For instance, fashion and beauty brands thrive on YouTube and Instagram.
During this phase, ascertain the type of influencers you want on your team. Do you want celebrities with massive followings or micro-influencers who have less than 2000 followers? Or do you want someone with 5000 to 10000 followers? Make your choice wisely as your budget and success depend on it.
Decide On The Budget And Craft A Management Strategy
Before you start with influencer marketing in India, you need to set a budget. Make sure to factor in the time for conception, execution and review of your strategy. Unlike automated ad strategies, influencer marketing depends on real people and people make mistakes. The influencer you have chosen might have other projects that he or she is balancing, and falling behind commitments or making errors are commonplace.
You need to prepare yourself to be hands-on to make sure that the influencer understands the way you work and cultivates those ethics.
If you are a big brand and need a pool of influencers, you can seek help from a professional content marketing agency. They will do all the research and manage the coordination on your behalf.
Decide On The Message And Your Goals
Boosting brand awareness and enhancing sales are two of the most common reasons why people implement influencer marketing strategies. However, you are not expected to stick to just these two goals. You can identify and determine the specific needs of your brands and start crafting your strategy from there. After all, the more unique you can be, the more chances you will get to stand out with your influencer marketing techniques.
Some of the other goals that you can achieve with this type of marketing include increasing your customer base in a much younger demographic than who are you catering to at present, expanding into a completely new user group with a brand new product or wanting to share your brand values with your potential customers.
Whatever your goals and the message that you wish to send out, remember that influencer marketing is a targeted form of marketing. Influencers have the ability to engage and connect with very specific audiences. Instead of you having to go out there and look for people who would be interested in your brand, influencers will take your brand to people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer them.
Connect With Influencers
Once you have decided on your goals and found influencers, the next logical step is to get in touch with them. It is easy to connect with micro-influencers. You can simply send them a private message on the platform that they are active on. However, contacting the more established ones can be a bit tricky. You have to find their contact information from their profiles and set up a meeting. Highly experienced influencers also have websites of their own where you need to fill up the contact form and wait for them to revert.
Keep Reviewing Your Strategy
Crafting and executing a strategy regarding influencer or content marketing in India is an ongoing process. Since the market trends and user behavior keep evolving, it is vital that you keep reviewing and changing your strategy. Make sure to measure the progress of the tactics and track results.
Influencers are here to stay and they have dramatically transformed the marketing world. In a very short time, influencer marketing has changed the way it looked and operated, and in another 5 years, it is going to be different than what it is today. This guide is going to help you get started with this form of marketing, but it would be wise to always stay prepared for change.
How Can You Track Your Campaign?
There are a few ways by which you can determine and measure the success of your campaign. You can go ahead and create a specific hashtag to track the work that your influencers are doing. The hashtag will make it easy for you to find mentions of your brand across various social media platforms. For other ways to track the success of your campaign, you need to leverage the resources and tools of a professional content marketing firm in India.
Even though there are unique considerations to working with social media influencers, setting up an influencer campaign is almost as same as any marketing campaign. You need to do your research, set a budget, know your goals, find and contact your influencers, track the results of your campaign and constantly review it.
However, keep in mind that success varies with brands and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You have to keep experimenting and creating to find what works best for your brand. Joining hands with a reputed and experienced content writing company in India might propel you in the right direction. Such a company will have the resources, contacts and an expert team to help you get everything right from the very start.
