More than 2 million people call themselves an ‘influencer marketing manager’ on LinkedIn. If you search for ‘influencer marketing agency’ on Google,
According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, 63% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget this year. Influencer and digital marketing make sense if you are a business trying to reach out to your audience.
Unless a company is stuck in the Dark Ages, they are either performing influencer marketing internally or working with an agency.
Cassie Yu is an expert in social media and is renowned globally as a social media merchandising expert.
As Revolve’s Brand Ambassador, she created a globally successful brand ambassador program for the on-trend fashion platform Revolve. In four months, she recruited more than 15,000 brand ambassadors worldwide and increased the revenue by 10 times with its brand ambassador program.
Here is her take on the most important takeaways to maximize the benefit of leveraging social media influencers.
“By using social media, businesses can instantly reach consumers worldwide, increasing awareness, conversions, and engagement.
“To take advantage of the rapidly changing landscape, companies must understand how these systems work, so they stay calm by the vast amount of online content.
“The use of social media is essential if you wish to increase the exposure and recognition of your brand. The platform has a low barrier to entry and low distribution costs, so a new business can quickly begin promoting its products and services.
“As people engage with their favorite brands, they get rewarded. In addition to commissions, the program offers exclusive incentives, like early access to new brands.
“In time, these individuals, who are your influencers, will be able to develop their followings to the point where they will be able to promote other brands as well.
“This model gives retailers a powerful platform for amplifying brands and influencers. Then it can combine data with expert marketing and production.
“The future of social media influencing content will employ a live streaming model. This is already prevalent in China and works with a lot of success.
“Brand influencers will stream for hours and sell packages enabling them to promote products to millions of people. Then as they gain success, they become a brand themselves. I think it will take off here in the US very soon.”
“In addition, it is important to remember that a significant amount of time and effort goes into posts. There is an incredible amount of awareness about the landscape at the moment. There is more to being authentic than switching on a camera.
“If you want your influencer marketing to work, they must know your brand and be authentic and credible. And you have to think carefully about your content and what they share.”
