Influence is an integral part of our human life. Remember, as a child when you wanted a toy, you would first try to convince your mother of its importance and if you failed, you would probably approach your father. When your father agreed with you, he would go ahead to convince your mother and the toy would finally be yours! Here your father influenced your mother’s initial decision which in turn favored you. Marketers have been using influencer marketing for a while now, but it has come to light only now when the social media channels are flourishing with impactful personalities in the society.

Who are influencers?

They are common people who possess the power to influence a particular category of people to purchase a specific product or follow a trend. Social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are their hubs and tools to fame.

Influencers are not to be confused with celebrity endorsements.

For instance, Gia’s Instagram handles buzzes with latest trends in the fashion and beauty world. She has a huge following of 1.3k followers because her content and interests are reaching out to people and they like what Gia posts. Her followers want to know what Gia is doing, where is she going and so on. This makes Gia a prominent influencer for these 1.3k followers.

In the above instance, Gia is neither a celebrity nor an influencer with a purpose. She just posts her ideas which her followers like and hence her community of followers go on increasing.

What is influencer marketing?

Today as the world is becoming a lot more social, marketers want to reach out to their audiences in the best possible channel, time and place. A recent report points out to phenomena that over 1,800 million people are actively using social media at present. Marketers want to target these people, millennials mostly, who are their consumers by utilizing influencer marketing.

Marketers usually tie-up with social media influencers for a particular project or time span (depending on the prominence of the connectivity and impression amongst their followers) to promote their brand and products.

How to choose a perfect influencer?

Here, the fate of your brand will largely depend on the personality associated with it. It is not necessary to opt for an influencer with high popularity. Instead scout for the gen-next leaders for, their loyalty will be all yours. Hence, it is advisable to choose an someone who has:

  • Rich content: Content is king! People become influencers when others sniff originality and quality in the content being laid in front of them. What one says and does has a huge impact on others. The one who talks and walks what your brand strongly stands for is the true one!

  • High Reach: If the content is not read means it is not consumed well! It is necessary to understand what kind of connection and status your influencer has in the target community. It’s not always that they will take your brand places, but it is your responsibility to help influencers widen their network as well.

  • Relationship: Are you able to relate the influencer to your brand well? What kind of relationship you want to build with your audiences? Is the influencer engaging enough with his/her followers or likers?

Tools for marketing

There are a few ways which can help you to search for quality influencers online. These tools include Cision, Buzzsumo and Onalytica.

Since our minds are tamed subconsciously to external influences, influencer marketing is a no new technique. It’s a matter of fact that this form of marketing is much successful than the usual advertisements and other forms of marketing simply because of its impact and influence on your target audiences.

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