Five benefits social media influencers bring to SMEs

May 10th, 2017 – There is a common misconception that to market your brand you need to have a big budget. Gone are those days when we were restricted to traditional outlets like TV, radio, and print to promote our business. For SMEs, it is now easier to go to market using the different options and platforms available online.
As our generation continues to shift to social media, consumers are constantly looking at favourite personalities to inform their purchasing decisions. There is no denying the growing success of social media influencer marketing, which is stated to be the next big thing in advertising. For the visionary marketer, the rise in social media influencers opens up a new channel for brands to amplify their message. Targeting the right influencers can help reach new audiences as well as lend credibility to the brand via different platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and their personal blog. Here are five tips on how SMEs can benefit from influencers.

• Credibility – Building credibility can be challenge for many start-up brands. Being backed up by the right personality who exemplifies your brand can give your business that push and support in the industry. Having the right voice to review your brand can increase your brand’s integrity.
• Awareness – It is important to consider what kind of awareness you are looking for when identifying the influencer. Influencer marketing is an effective way to reach a wider audience by utilising an influencer’s (extensive) social reach to promote a product, without being directly involved in its promotion.

• Recommendations – In general, influencers inspire their followers; they want to dress like them, behave like them, and achieve the right goals like them. Finding the right influencer that inspires your target audience is hence key to market your business.

• Cost effective – Using an influencer to market your brand might sometimes be expensive, but is often more cost effective than billboards or traditional advertising.

• Efficiency – If you partner with the right person with the right momentum and energy behind your brand, they will influence your followers. This can often be more efficient than traditional advertising as it is easier to measure ROI through social media analytics.

Small businesses should take advantage of influencer marketing. By executing an influencer marketing strategy that meets customers’ expectations, can provide lasting results that will eventually increase your bottom line. Research also indicates that influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing online customer acquisition channel with proven results.
Even though influencer marketing is one of the hottest online marketing trends right now, it is highly advised you do your research, ensure your efforts are lined up with your overall marketing strategy, and test and track your results to improve performance, to best utilise this marketing super-tool.

Written by Arabian Business.com

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