Marketing Expert Jesse Willms Explains Why Businesses are Leaning to Influencers for Product Promotion
If you’re active on social media, watch YouTube videos, or receive targeted ads online, you’ve probably seen ‘influencer marketing’. Merging old and new marketing tools, influencer marketing uses the concept of celebrity endorsement and places it into a modern content-driven context. As a digital marketing expert who runs multiple vehicle history websites, Jesse Willms is here to explain the current role that influencers play in product promotion, including how they can build trust, improve brand awareness, and reach your target audience.
The Rise of Influencer Marketing
Jesse Willms defines influencer marketing as a type of marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers (individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche). One of the reasons that this, or any other branding works for that matter, is trust. Trust is the primary tenant of any relationship, so it is especially important to establish between your business and customers. Whether it is based on customer service, quality, or consistency, consumers want to know what to expect when they invest in a product or service. Trust is slowly developed over time and can easily be broken. Working with influencers, who have already developed a relationship of trust with their audience, is a simple way to strengthen trust with minimal effort. According to a study by Collective Bias, 30% of consumers are likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity blogger.
Building an organic audience online takes time, patience, and a lot of work. If you’re looking for an easy way to drive digital traffic from social media to your website, influencer marketing can do just that. Depending on who you work with, they can have anywhere from 2000 to 2 million followers to market your product or service to. The hard work that has already been put in by the influencer provides your business with the opportunity to sell your product or service using their platform. If you’re looking to use influencer marketing in your marketing strategy, Jesse Willms has a few key tips to ensure your success.
Tips for Working with Influencers
First, start small. Working with influencers relies on working on case-by-case basis — every influencer is different. However, developing a system for contact, connection, and payment with ‘micro-influencers’ is a great way to get started. Jesse Willms explains that just like any other business transaction, influencer marketing has to be equally beneficial. Make sure that the influencer you want to work with aligns with your business values, has experience promoting products, and does a good job representing other brands. You can ask them about their insights, audience, and other key metrics to see if it is a good fit. You can provide them with a ‘code’ or affiliate links to track how many conversions were made from their promotion. It is also important to remember that you may need to let go of creative control, as many influencers want to ensure that anything they promote aligns with their current brand and persona.
Lastly, Jesse Willms points out that influencer marketing is not about quick results. Cultivating something as important as trust will take time. The real value is demonstrating your authority, credibility, and leadership within your industry. The influencer marketing industry was estimated to be worth $15 billion by 2022, and that number is only growing. Invest time and resources into influencer marketing and you might just develop meaningful partnerships that allow you both to increase your bottom line.
