Influencer Marketing Tips for Your Small Business: How To Drive Brand Awareness, ROI and Sales Conversions

When it comes to small business marketing on social media, influencer marketing is one of the most popular strategies. Influencers are people who have a strong social media following and are trusted by their followers, so they can effectively promote brands or products without being seen as pushy salespeople.
This article will show you how influencer marketing can help you drive brand awareness, generate a 5x ROI, and increase sales conversions for your small business!
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a strategy that focuses on engaging with influencers to promote, market, or sell your brand. It can be done in many ways - for example by collaborating with social media influencers who will post sponsored content about your product, service, or cause (in exchange for payment or gifted products/experiences).
As reported by Business Insider, "According to January 2021 research by Influencer Marketing Hub and influencer marketing platform Upfluence, 62% of marketers worldwide said they intend to increase their influencer marketing budgets this year."
Why do so many large companies love influencer marketing?
Large companies often use influencer marketing to generate a stronger social media presence, increase traffic and sales on their website or app, reach new audiences, and build goodwill with customers.
From major brands like Burt's Bees, Olay, and Dove to retail chains such as Walmart and Ulta Beauty, large companies are known to spend millions of dollars on influencer marketing, because it's been proven to yield a good return on their investment.
As a lifestyle blogger and social media influencer, I've been hired by all of these companies (and many more) to work on influencer marketing campaigns. From blog posts to Instagram content, they've hired influencers (such as myself) to create engaging, original content that features their products in a positive light.
The data has shown that influencer marketing can generate a five-fold return on investment. Studies have also been shown that influencer marketing can increase sales conversions by 55%.
For these reasons, and more, large companies are shifting more of their marketing budgets away from traditional methods (like print ads and television commercials) towards influencer marketing.
What are some benefits of influencer marketing for small businesses?
Influencer marketing has many benefits, including:
- Generating brand awareness and driving sales conversions
- Building goodwill with customers through social media engagement
- Obtaining new clients or building your customer base
How can small businesses increase brand awareness through influencer marketing?
To increase brand awareness through influencer marketing, small businesses should find influential bloggers or social media influencers who share a similar target audience with your company and sponsor their content (either financially or by giving them free products). This can include having the influencer create photos or video content featuring your brand and then sharing that content on their social media channels. This helps your company get valuable exposure to its audience, which drives brand awareness for you.
How can small businesses yield a 5X ROI through influencer marketing?
The ROI of influencer marketing is generally calculated by dividing the total revenue generated through sponsored posts on social media channels or other content created as a result of an influencer campaign, minus the cost used for securing that sponsorship.
For example, if your company earns $500 in sales from a sponsored influencer marketing campaign, that means you would have paid the influencer just $100.
How can small businesses increase sales conversions by doing influencer marketing?
Small businesses can increase sales conversions by including influencers in the product creation process. This includes finding influencers to participate in beta testing, collaborating on products and services, or even creating your own influencer-based campaign for an upcoming release of a new product line. In addition to which, because influencers are trusted by their audience, it's an effective form of peer-to-peer marketing. People are more inclined to buy from a brand when they heard positive reviews from someone they trust. This is one of the key reasons why influencer marketing can help small businesses increase sales conversions.
As you can see, influencer marketing can be a very cost-effective way to reach your ideal customers, grow your lead list, and drive sales for your company. In conclusion, influencer marketing is a great way to leverage the power of social media for your small business.
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