All of us are aware of the magical effects of social media on our lives. Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger have become integral parts of our lives.
There is no single day in our life that we can imagine without the use of social media. That’s the biggest reason that marketing has found new directions via social media.
You might be thinking about the impact of these social media apps. The truth is that we are shaping our lives the way our favorite celebrities or influencers do.
We try to follow their lifestyles, their dressing sense, etc. But how do we do that? According to research:
Nearly 71% of businesses use Instagram in the United States of America.
Most of us use Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and now Instagram probably is the second most used app. Observing the daily users of these social media apps, many brands and companies have decided to carry out their marketing campaigns through the assistance of these apps. They hire trustworthy or most followed influencers for endorsement of their products and services. Another study revealed that:
Almost 73% of people working in the business community showed their desire to boost their expenses for social media marketing.
If you are new to the business world, or just going to set up your business, make sure that social media marketing will be the best option. Building a brand has never been easy for anyone. You just need a start. Then go for the most suitable platform for your influencer marketing.
The concept of Influencer marketing
Before jumping to the next section, you need to know what exactly is influencer marketing?
Many companies make use of social media platforms in order to promote their products. They do so by working along with some influencers. This influencer can either be a celebrity or some person who has a maximum number of followers on social media.
Instagram influencers have been on trending nowadays. You might have noticed that some influencers share a post while promoting some products. They also mention hashtags and the name of the brand they are working with. In return, the influencers are being paid by the respective brand. There are chances of the increase of customers in this way. A study revealed that:
There are 74% of customers there who go for several options while purchasing some product online. They also go for the influencers when they are opting to buy a product.
Marketing through Instagram
We all love to share our pictures on Instagram. This social media app has tremendous visual features. Then why not utilize this platform for your marketing purposes. Recent studies show that:
Instagram has become the second most used social media platform after Facebook. Instagram users use this app for an average of 53 minutes a day.
Once you have decided that you will go with Instagram marketing, then make up a strategy that you will be using. A strategy will help you to keep looking forward. It also helps you to remain focused on your work. Your marketing strategy will pave way for what type of content you have to share with your customers.
Setting up a marketing strategy
You will need the following things in order to set up your marketing tactic for our business.
- Why you are here on Instagram?
This question must be answered before you have started your journey. Many people love to follow their favorite influencers on Instagram. They will definitely agree with the choice of products their favorite influencer is sharing in his/her post. It is obvious that you can sell the maximum number of your products to your target audience through collaboration with some influencers.
- Should have knowledge about your target audience
Before starting your marketing campaign on Instagram, you should be aware of your target audience. What are their interests? What do they expect from your brand? Do they actually want to purchase your products or not?
All these questions should be in your mind. Instagram is greatly helpful in this regard. It helps you to find out your target audience.
- Conducting a competitive analysis
An analysis will greatly help you to figure out current trends on Instagram. By visiting accounts of several influencers, you will get to know about hashtags frequently used. How many posts do they post in a week? What content do they use in their captions? You will surely get to know how you can start your marketing.
The Pros and Cons of Influencer marketing for Instagram
Let’s first have a look at the pros of influencer marketing:
Pros:
- Reaching the Ideal Customers
Influencer marketing can do wonders. If you have collaborated with the relevant influencer for your brand, surely you will be able to connect with your ideal customers. An influencer acts as a bridge between a brand and its customers.
With the help of influencer marketing, you can better engage with your customers. You can convey your message to the target audience. If you want to announce some sales or discount offers, the influencer can easily do this job. You can distribute the coupon codes through your influencer. But the thing is that you must reach out to the most suitable influencer for your brand.
- Expanding your brand reach
Building a brand is not as easy as it may seem. Marketing on Instagram has given birth to new trends. Having thousands of followers, influencers have a great impact on people. According to research:
A survey was conducted which involved 22,000 women. The results showed that 45% of women wish to buy the product as recommended by an influencer.
Customers give importance to the opinion of an influencer. They ask questions to the influencer and trust them. And the influencer answers like a friend giving some suggestions. This builds a more friend-like relationship between the customer and influencer. Surely you can expand your brand reach in this way.
- Enhancing customer trust
It is a fact that when an influencer endorses some brand or promotes their products, surely his/her followers will trust the influencer. An influencer suggests such products which he or she has already used to build trust.
A good influencer will never go for just money. They share quality content. Likewise, every business requires to build trust in its customers. And this can be done through the help of an influencer. Just try to figure out the accurate person for the endorsement of your products.
- Rapid Business growth
Through influencer marketing, you can easily grow your business. Influencers do marketing in a beautiful way. The content they share in their posts creates a great effect on the followers. You don’t have to provide them with the content. The influencer produces the captions by themselves.
In addition, influencer marketing saves your time and money. It is less expensive. A good influencer knows best how to promote a product. The content shared by an influencer seems to be more captivating than the one shared by some particular brand.
Cons:
Influencer marketing can have various disadvantages as well. You must be aware of these cons before going to work with an influencer.
- Influencer fatigue
This concept came just a few years ago. With the increase in the number of influencers, the content shared by most influencers can make people feel boring. Research showed that:
In the year 2018, almost 47% of social media users got fed up with repetitive influencer content.
It is not feasible to find out the right influencer for your brand. You have to search out for the right person. This is a time-consuming task. If you collaborate with the wrong person, you may have to face drastic results for your brand.
- Working with influencers in the wrong niche
Working with an influencer in the wrong niche will do more harm than good. If you have collaborated with some influencer who doesn’t know about the niche you have been working, then the results will be chronic.
If you have selected the wrong person, your advertisement campaign will be ruined. Your time, money, and energy all will be wasted. So before going forward, check thoroughly whether you are going in the right direction or not before it’s too late.
- High Cost
With the awareness of influencer marketing, the pays of influencers have also increased. If you have decided to deal with an influencer, then make sure that you have a budget to afford the influencer. Many companies and brands have decided to grow their budgets for influencer marketing.
What if an influencer demands more money than your budget? And let’s suppose if you give them the money they had asked for, but the output is not good. If the influencer is not promoting your product in the right way, you may get a loss in your business.
- Fake Influencers
You can increase brand awareness and can build trust in your customers through influencer marketing. Influencers have a great impact on their followers. And Instagram influencers have a special effect on people.
Influencers act as role models for their followers. But there are a number of fake influencers too. According to research:
Almost 31% of customers purchase a product after looking at it in an influencer’s post.
You have to be aware of the term fake influencer. A fake influencer has a fake number of accounts and followers. Although the post is in the same way as a real influencer the number of followers they have on Instagram is not authentic. Such influencers may demand a lot of money from you. So don’t be fooled by such people.
References:
- https://shanebarker.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/
- https://thesmallbusinessblog.net/the-pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing-on-instagram/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_7zBqB8WtIozC1aWKnul8OjYQh9ZvWWK4tG2M5PjqhQY-1635228444-0-gqNtZGzNApCjcnBszQi9
- https://grin.co/blog/pros-and-cons-of-influencer-marketing/
- https://sproutsocial.com/insights/fake-influencers/
- https://www.hubspot.com/instagram-marketing
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