Nowadays, influencer marketing seems to be the go-to strategy for marketers. In fact, the influencer marketing industry has soared to $13.8 billion in 2021. So if you own a Shopify store and haven’t partnered with influencers, it’s high time to plan around incorporating it with your marketing strategy.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing entails a collaboration between a business and an influencer, also known as a content creator. It’s social media marketing that heavily relies on the influence of these creators on their audience. It did not start out like a well-oiled marketing machine. Influencer marketing was initially utilized in brand awareness campaigns and strategies. And then, it boomed — from being a 9.7 billion dollar industry in 2020, it is expected to reach 15 billion dollars in 2022. This exponential growth is enough evidence of its effectiveness. And true enough, 9 out of 10 marketers believe that influencer marketing works. Gen Z consumers prefer a diverse and less polished way of marketing.
How do you get started on influencer marketing?
You can definitely tap into influencer marketing at a low cost as an entrepreneur. Having a Shopify business already means you have an online presence. Now, all you have to do is connect your social media with influencers. Here’s a guide.
Know your marketing goal
Before going out there and looking for influencers to partner with, ensure your goals are clear and well-documented. What do you want to achieve? What are your metrics? When you set up clear goals, you can also have clear benchmarks. And they help you measure whether you are on the right track or need to go back to the drawing board and re-align.
Know your target audience
This needs to be established before looking for an influencer that aligns with your target audience. For example, who is your target persona? Is it female or male? What are their interests, hobbies, and consumer behavior? Do they follow specific influencers, to begin with? Mapping out a behavior pattern can help you understand your audience’s purchasing habits and determine which influencers to tap. You can use customer surveys to gather this information.
Search and reach out to influencers
A google search may be a shot in the dark. Chances are, you’re going to get an overwhelming volume of results. To narrow down your choices of influencers, you can find out which ones are already talking about you. Then, you can search relevant tags, mentions, and keywords on social media. You can start by following relevant accounts on Instagram and follow similar ones per Instagram suggestions. Afterward, you can curate a list of appropriate accounts or influencers that you can reach out to. When reaching out to influencers, ensure you are ready with your proposal, which includes the scope, budget, and guidelines for the influencer partnership.
How can influencers help scale your sales?
The number of influencer marketing-related companies and businesses grew by 26% in 2021. This number alone shows many benefits of using influencer marketing in your Shopify business.
Reaching niche audience groups
Influencers vary in their target audience, preferred platform, and audience size. But what’s great about an influencer’s reach is that it’s built around shared interests. Most of the influencer’s audience is interested in their niche. Now, niche influencers, also known as micro-influencers, may have fewer followers than others. However, effective influencers with a clear niche tend to have more engaged followers. This means more interaction with potential customers and potentially more significant ROI.
Building trust
We trust a person’s recommendations if we’ve already established that we respect and trust that person’s judgment. Influencers have this effect on a larger scale. An influencer is the broker of their followers’ trust in your company. For example, suppose you have influencers promoting your product or service. In that case, you are also increasing the chance of gaining their audience’s trust.
Enriching your content
It’s not easy to develop fresh and engaging content regularly. Influencers can help fill in these marketing gaps. For example, suppose you have an agreement with an influencer to co-create content. In that case, you may have tapped into a source of quality and engaging content relevant to your target audience.
Influencing and driving purchasing decisions
A survey found that 5 out of 10 consumers purchased a product based on the recommendations of an influencer they follow. Because followers respect and trust their favorite consumer’s preferences, they tend to perceive the companies they recommend more positively, driving them to patronize their products.
Bottomline
The question now is, does influencer marketing really drive and scale sales? The answer is yes. Various research studies suggest that for every dollar a marketer spends on influencer marketing, the company earns about $18. Therefore, influencers can indeed help your Shopify business generate more sales. And this is enough reason for you to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.