Businesses have a tendency to make many of the same mistakes when collaborating with popular social influencers, errors that prevent them from getting the results they crave

Influencer marketing has been around for as long as marketing itself. Only in the modern age, the term influencer marketing is invariably used to describe the sort that occurs on social media, with Instagram tending to be the platform of choice. Chances are you’re already familiar with the concept of influencer marketing and, since you’ve found your way onto this blog, I’d wager that you’re not exactly thrilled with the results. Don’t worry: you’re definitely not alone. Businesses have a tendency to make many of the same mistakes when collaborating with popular social influencers, errors that prevent them from getting the results they crave. Whether these missteps are a result of an ineffectual recruitment process or the actual campaigns is another question – but we’ll…

74% of customers trust social networks to guide purchasing decisions. In 2021, when trust is at peak importance, is your influencer marketing strategy delivering the results you need?

Yet again social media is shaking up your marketing mix for 2021. The latest research shows 86% of marketers used influencer marketing in the last 12 months. But with the changing habits and ever-evolving platform diversification we've seen this year in particular, it's more important than ever to consider your influencer marketing strategy.

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Want to plan your influencer marketing strategy for more customer conversions? Segmenting influencers into different types will help you prioritize types of influencers to monitor and interact with. It should be a core approach to support your content marketing, SEO and social media marketing. [si_learning_path_module_shortcode_block id=144502] If you're new to influencer segmentation, take a look at the below practical infographic from Traackr: The Many Faces of Influence -…

The right influencer can help you get a lot of exposure for your business, so what do you need to consider when working with influencers?

You’ve got your small business chugging along nicely, but you want more. You’ve decided that it’s time to take things up a notch or two. You’ve got good traction on social media, and are getting decent traffic to your site. Clearly, your marketing efforts are paying off.  How do you scale them up and extend your reach even further? Have you considered pairing up with an influencer? The right influencer can help you get a lot of exposure for your business. In this post, we’ll look at how you can make the process as cost-effective as possible.

What do influencers do?

Influencers have a reasonably extensive fanbase and regularly communicate with their followers. This can be done through blog posts, social media posts, and videos, to name a few. Their…

Don’t go quiet with your comms, but do avoid tone-deaf marketing

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the whole world to a standstill, reshaping the way we must approach almost all aspects of life. With health and safety being the priority, businesses must find their own way to approach the pandemic and rework their strategies to ensure they can continue to operate effectively. While many elements of our life are only changed on a temporary basis, we do not know for how long this will continue, and which elements may never return to how they were before. The virtual world has become more important than ever before and the ability to connect with our family, friends and colleagues on a remote basis is crucial for any semblance of normality, our wellbeing and to maintain any business activity at all. However, while many things are at a standstill, one area which is absolutely in…

Want to run successful influencer marketing campaigns? This post will show you how micro-influencers can help you meet your business goals.

Let’s talk about the infamous Fyre Festival. It has been two years since Fyre Media Inc. launched this music festival to promote its app for booking music talent. It collaborated with influencers like Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski to advertise it as a glamorous party on a deserted island. When the festival turned out to be the biggest event failure of the century, many blamed the influencers associated with it. The New York Times even chronicled it in its article that spoke about the possible fall of influencers. [si_guide_block id="27934" title="Access our guide – Influencer outreach guide for marketing professionals" description="This extensive guide will give you all the knowledge and tools you need to source, interact with, and engage influencers to boost the reach of your business."] This influencer marketing…

View the best example influencer marketing campaigns

Influencer marketing is one of the biggest buzzwords of the decade in digital marketing. It can work for most any type of business, but retail businesses arguably see the biggest potential – it’s pretty much word of mouth on steroids. In this blog post, I’m going to show you how to use social influencers to promote your retail business. [si_blog_banner_cta]

Social influencers types: how to find the right social influencers to collaborate with

There are many different types of social influencers and they can be categorized in a number of ways. For example, one popular form of categorizing influences is by their audience’s size: Micro-influencers: influencers with smaller audiences, usually under 100k followers on social media. They are cheaper to get, but that’s not the biggest advantage; rather, it’s the fact that you’ll reach a much more target audience. On the downside, they have a smaller audience so you won’t…

Recent news stories have shown influencers in a bad light, which could impact their effectiveness when it comes to brand partnerships

You can’t scroll through Instagram nowadays without seeing a perfectly posed photo posted by an “influencer” either selling something or themselves. This hugely popular form of marketing has really taken off, creating a new breed of celebrity and opening up now opportunities for marketers. However, you have to question whether influencers take things a little bit too far and whether they are actually influential in the first place. It’s all well and good working with a brand that you believe in and want to recommend to followers, but the influencer world now seems to be more about freebies than authentic recommendations. [si_guide_block id="82119" title="Download our Free Resource – 10 common social media marketing mistakes" description="Avoid the pitfalls that limit engagement with your target audience. As with any marketing or e-commerce activity, you…

51% of marketers believe that influencer marketing helps with quality customer acquisition but how else could it benefit your digital marketing strategy?

While many social media users and consumers are growing tired of influencers, they are still an incredibly effective marketing tactic for brands. In an increasingly digital world that has seen people become immune to more traditional forms of advertising, influencers do exactly what they say on the tin – they influence purchase behaviour. Influencers are trusted to give honest reviews, recommendations and tips to their followers, which means they can make a difference to which product or brands consumers ultimately buy from. The ultimate form of social proof, influencers have a degree of credibility in their niches, which makes them a go-to source for information. Beyond this, influencers do something that many brands still struggle to do – they build relationships with their customers. A large part…

Despite media criticism about the proliferation of 'fake news', some marketers see nothing wrong with using it to score flashy results for clients

SearchLeeds always brings a raft of quality talks from British agencies offering their opinions on hot-button issues and advice on alternative approaches you can try out for everything from SEO to PPC, CRO, and other triple-initialled areas of digital marketing. However, one talk caught my eye for the wrong reasons. Oliver Brett from Screaming Frog delivered a talk titled ‘How to make fake news for links’, the description of which asks: “Tired of infographics? Got a bunch of clients nobody’s ever heard of? Got no budget, but need top-level links? Why not orchestrate your own hilarious viral news stories for great exposure?” [si_guide_block id="85104" title="Download our Free Resource – Top 10 common content marketing mistakes" description="Our free content marketing mistakes guide…

Chart of the Week: 71% of consumers in the UK and US will unfollow an influencer if it was revealed that they had bought followers, showing how easy it is to lose trust in the industry.

Influencers can help to make or break a brand. When you work well with influencers, they can raise brand awareness, get more people engaging with your company and increase conversion. However, if your campaign isn’t handled properly, it could result in a lack of trust and your audience going elsewhere. This is why it is vital to understand what you should and shouldn’t do when dealing with influencers. After all, one wrong move could cause damage that takes years to repair. According to Takumi’s latest research into the realities of influencer marketing, there are a lot of aspects of influencer marketing that can turn consumers off. [si_guide_block id="27934" title="Download our Individual Member Resource…