What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of collaboration between brands and individuals who have a substantial and engaged following on social media platforms. These individuals, known as influencers, use their online presence and personal brand to promote products, services, or causes. The primary goal of influencer marketing is to leverage an influencer’s credibility, reach, and impact to connect with a specific target audience effectively.

Influencers can come from various niches and industries, such as fashion, beauty, fitness, travel, technology, and more. They can have different levels of popularity, from micro-influencers with a few thousand followers to macro and mega-influencers with millions of followers.

Why is Influencer Marketing Essential?

Influencer marketing has gained immense popularity in recent years for several compelling reasons:

1. Authenticity: Influencers often have a more genuine and relatable persona than traditional celebrities. This authenticity resonates with their audience, making their recommendations more trustworthy.
2. Targeted Reach: Influencers have carefully curated their followers, which means they already have a specific target audience that aligns with your brand’s ideal customer.
3. Content Creation: Influencers are skilled content creators. They can produce high-quality, engaging content that can be used by brands for their marketing campaigns.
4. Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Recommendations from influencers are akin to word-of-mouth marketing in the digital age. Their endorsements carry significant weight with their followers.
5. Boosted Credibility: Associating with a credible influencer can enhance your brand’s credibility, helping you establish trust with potential customers.
6. Increased Engagement: Partnering with influencers can lead to higher engagement rates, as their followers are more likely to like, comment, and share posts related to your brand.

Now that we’ve established why influencer marketing is essential let’s explore the steps to successfully partner with social media influencers.

Steps to Partner with Social Media Influencers

1. Set Clear Objectives and Goals

Before diving into influencer marketing, you need to define your objectives and goals. What do you want to achieve with this partnership? Common objectives include:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Driving website traffic
• Boosting sales and revenue
• Generating leads
• Launching a new product or service
• Enhancing your social media presence

Setting clear and measurable goals is crucial as they will guide your influencer selection and campaign strategies.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is fundamental to influencer marketing. You need to know who your ideal customers are and what social media platforms they use. This information will help you find influencers whose followers align with your target demographic.

3. Find the Right Influencers

Choosing the right influencers is a critical step in the process. You want influencers who resonate with your brand and share your target audience. There are various types of influencers, each with its own advantages:

• Micro-Influencers: These influencers have a smaller but highly engaged following. They often have a niche focus and can offer a more personalized connection with their audience.
• Macro-Influencers: These influencers have a larger following, often ranging from tens of thousands to a few million. They provide more extensive reach and can work well for brand awareness campaigns.
• Mega-Influencers: These are typically celebrities with millions of followers. They can generate massive exposure but may come at a higher cost.
• Industry-Specific Influencers: Depending on your niche, you might consider partnering with influencers who are experts in your industry. Their authority can greatly influence their followers’ decisions.

To find the right influencers, you can use influencer marketing platforms, conduct manual research on social media platforms, or seek recommendations from your industry network.

4. Build Relationships with Influencers

Successful influencer partnerships are built on strong relationships. Take the time to get to know your chosen influencers. Engage with their content, comment on their posts, and share their work. This not only establishes a rapport but also demonstrates your genuine interest in their content.

When reaching out to influencers, be respectful and professional in your approach. Clearly communicate your objectives, what you’re offering, and what’s in it for them. Influencers are more likely to collaborate when they see the value in the partnership.

5. Collaborate on Content

Content is at the heart of influencer marketing. Work closely with the influencer to create content that aligns with your brand message and their style. Remember that influencers have a unique voice and style that resonates with their audience, so give them creative freedom while ensuring that the content supports your campaign objectives.

Whether it’s Instagram posts, YouTube videos, blog posts, or podcasts, the content should feel natural and authentic. Be transparent about any sponsored content and ensure that it complies with advertising regulations.

6. Define Compensation and Terms

Influencers invest time and effort into creating content, so compensation is a vital aspect of the partnership. Compensation can take various forms:

• Payment: Many influencers charge a fee for their services. The amount can vary greatly based on their reach and niche.
• Free Products or Services: Some influencers are open to collaborations in exchange for free products or services.
• Affiliate Marketing: You can set up affiliate marketing arrangements, where influencers earn a commission for every sale generated through their unique affiliate link.

Ensure that all compensation and terms are clearly outlined in a written agreement to avoid misunderstandings.

7. Track and Measure Performance

To assess the success of your influencer marketing campaign, you need to track and measure key performance indicators (KPIs). Common KPIs include:

• Engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares)
• Follower growth
• Website traffic
• Conversion rates
• Sales or revenue generated

Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and tracking links to monitor these metrics. Regularly review the performance of your campaigns and adjust your strategy as needed to optimize results.

8. Disclose Sponsored Content

Transparency is crucial in influencer marketing. To comply with advertising regulations and maintain trust with your audience, influencers must disclose sponsored content. They can use hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or #partner to indicate that a post is a paid promotion.

Additionally, ensure that influencers disclose their relationships with your brand in the content itself. Transparency not only keeps you on the right side of the law but also builds credibility with your audience.

9. Foster Long-Term Relationships

While one-off influencer campaigns can be effective, building long-term relationships with influencers can be even more beneficial. Long-term partnerships allow influencers to become more familiar with your brand and create a deeper connection with their audience.

Moreover, working with the same influencers repeatedly can lead to cost savings, as you can negotiate better rates and streamline the collaboration process.

10. Adapt and Evolve

The world of social media and influencer marketing is constantly evolving. New platforms emerge, algorithms change, and consumer preferences shift. To stay relevant, it’s essential to adapt and evolve your influencer marketing strategy.

Regularly assess the effectiveness of your campaigns, gather feedback from influencers, and stay updated on industry trends. Flexibility and a willingness to embrace change are key to long-term success in influencer marketing.

Case Studies of Successful Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Let’s take a look at a few real-life examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns to illustrate the power and diversity of this marketing strategy:

1. Daniel Wellington

The watch brand Daniel Wellington is known for its influencer marketing success. The company partnered with micro-influencers on Instagram to showcase its stylish watches. These influencers posted high-quality images wearing Daniel Wellington watches, often accompanied by the hashtag #DanielWellington.

The campaign was a massive success, boosting brand awareness and sales. By working with micro-influencers who had a strong presence in the fashion and lifestyle niches, Daniel Wellington effectively reached its target audience. This case demonstrates the impact of partnering with influencers whose followers closely match your ideal customer profile.

2. Gymshark

Gymshark, a fitness apparel brand, leveraged influencer marketing to become one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK. The brand collaborated with fitness influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms. These influencers created workout videos, reviews, and fashion hauls featuring Gymshark products.

The key to Gymshark’s success was choosing influencers who were passionate about fitness and already had a substantial following in that niche. The brand’s growth can be largely attributed to its ability to connect with fitness enthusiasts through these influencers, who acted as brand ambassadors.

3. Glossier

Glossier, a cosmetics company, has built its brand primarily through social media and influencer marketing. The company’s strategy involved collaborating with beauty and skincare influencers who shared its ethos of natural beauty and simplicity.

Glossier encouraged user-generated content, with influencers posting makeup tutorials and reviews of their products. This approach not only generated buzz but also helped create a sense of community around the brand.

These case studies highlight the versatility of influencer marketing, as it can be applied to various industries and niches. The key is to identify influencers who align with your brand’s values and appeal to your target audience.

Challenges and Pitfalls to Avoid

While influencer marketing can be incredibly effective, it’s not without its challenges and potential pitfalls. Here are some common issues to be aware of and strategies to avoid them:

1. Inauthenticity

One of the most significant risks in influencer marketing is coming across as inauthentic. If your partnership with an influencer feels forced or insincere, it can harm your brand’s reputation.

Solution: Choose influencers whose values align with your brand. Ensure that they genuinely appreciate and use your products or services. This authenticity will shine through in their content.

2. Follower Fraud

Unfortunately, not all influencers are entirely honest about their followers. Some may resort to purchasing fake followers to boost their numbers.

Solution: Do your due diligence when selecting influencers. Use tools to analyze their follower growth and engagement rates. Genuine influencers will have an organic and engaged following.

3. Lack of Transparency

Transparency is essential in influencer marketing. Both the influencer and the brand need to disclose their relationship and sponsored content clearly.

Solution: Make sure that influencers are aware of the legal requirements for disclosure. Encourage them to use the appropriate hashtags and language to indicate that a post is a paid promotion.

4. Overlooking Micro-Influencers

While mega-influencers might seem like the most attractive option, micro-influencers can often offer more engagement and a more targeted audience.

Solution: Consider working with a mix of micro, macro, and mega-influencers. Micro-influencers can be especially effective for niche markets and building more personal connections with their audience.

5. Neglecting Analytics

It’s crucial to measure the impact of your influencer marketing campaigns to understand what works and what doesn’t.

Solution: Regularly analyze campaign data and adjust your strategy accordingly. Don’t just rely on the number of followers; focus on engagement, conversions, and other relevant KPIs.

Influencer marketing is a dynamic and evolving field, and staying informed and adaptable is key to overcoming these challenges.

The Future of Influencer Marketing

As influencer marketing continues to evolve, several trends and developments are shaping its future. Understanding these trends can help you stay ahead of the curve and make the most of your influencer marketing efforts:

1. Authenticity Reigns

Consumers are increasingly seeking authenticity in the brands they engage with. Influencers who prioritize honesty and transparency in their content will continue to be in high demand.

2. Long-Term Partnerships

Brands are moving towards long-term partnerships with influencers rather than one-off campaigns. This approach allows for deeper connections with the influencer’s audience and more authentic content creation.

3. Diversification of Platforms

In addition to traditional platforms like Instagram and YouTube, brands are exploring new platforms like TikTok and Clubhouse for influencer marketing. Different platforms attract various demographics, and it’s crucial to adapt to the changing landscape.

4. Performance Metrics

Brands are becoming more sophisticated in measuring the performance of influencer marketing campaigns. They are looking beyond vanity metrics and focusing on ROI, sales attribution, and other tangible results.

5. Influencer-Owned Brands

Some influencers are evolving into entrepreneurs, creating their brands and products. Brands can explore partnerships with these influencer-owned businesses for unique and authentic collaborations.

In conclusion, influencer marketing is a powerful tool that can help your brand connect with a targeted and engaged audience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create successful influencer marketing campaigns that boost brand visibility, credibility, and engagement. Remember to stay up to date with industry trends, adapt your strategies as needed, and build genuine, long-term relationships with influencers to maximize the impact of your campaigns. The future of influencer marketing looks promising, and brands that embrace this strategy can continue to thrive in the digital marketing landscape.

The post Influencer Marketing: How to Partner with Social Media Influencers appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post to MMW from Shawn Arora, the founder of LaunchSpark, a Toronto-based explainer video agency with a focus on ROI.

The consumption of social media has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Instagram, the mobile social network that Facebook acquired for one billion dollars in 2012 is now worth hundred times more. In terms of monthly active users too, this social media platform has grown from 500 million in June 2016 to one billion two years later.

This dramatic rise in social media consumption has contributed to the growth of a new breed of influencers and micro-influencers. These are social media users with a large following of users who are interested in specific niches.

For instance, a pastry maker who posts pictures of their desserts is bound to gather a following of users interested in pastries. Similarly, a gym instructor posting videos of their training sessions is likely to gain a following of fitness enthusiasts. Using these users to promote your bakery or fitness equipment is a great way to not only reach a targeted audience, but also win the trust of these prospective customers.

At the outset, influencers are much like celebrities who endorse brands in exchange for money. But as the industry has grown, we are witnessing a noticeable evolution in the way the industry works.

Size is not everything

One of the most noticeable evolution in this space is the follower size commanded by an influencer. Traditionally, influencer or celebrity based endorsements have relied on the overall authority commanded by the endorser. Not surprisingly then, the highest paid athletes or celebrities are often those with the biggest following. Their endorsement carries more value than one made by a low ranking celebrity.

With influencer marketing however, the focus is not on the number of followers, but how niche the following is. Marketers routinely advise their clients to seek influencers with less than 5000 followers or so.

There are two reasons why this is the case. Firstly, such influencers have a high percentage of followers that meet a brand’s target group. Consequently, your campaign is likely to reach a larger chunk of users who are prospective customers. Compare this with a celebrity like Kim Kardashian who enjoys several millions of followers who do not all fall into the same demographic.

Secondly, such influencers also offer better ROI. This is because at a low follower count, influencers tend to be less demanding and offer a more thorough review of your product. This is likely to bring greater exposure to your brand and consequently higher conversions.

Focus on conversions, not branding

Influencer marketing is essentially the social media equivalent of celebrity advertising. The focus in its early days was brand building and media exposure. Not surprisingly then, some of the biggest social media influencers were also those who were media celebrities. However, the objective of influencer marketing has seen a significant shift in recent times.

Like most other forms of digital advertising, influencer marketing today is highly monitored for conversions. One ‘Psychology of Following’ study of over 4000 consumers published by Olapic shows that over 31% of these respondents had purchased a product based on a social media influencer post. This also follows the pattern of other similar studies in the past that showed that an overwhelmingly large number of users rely on social media recommendations while making a purchase.

Focusing on conversions is a better way to gauge the success or failure of an influencer marketing campaign. This is particularly vital for micro-influencer campaigns where brand exposure and visbility is not of much consequence. Measuring the conversion rate also enables a marketer to benchmark an influencer marketing campaign vis-a-vis other forms of digital marketing like paid advertising.

Personalized campaigns

Traditional endorsement campaigns that had branding as their sole objective did not deviate much from their core messaging. But with modern micro-influencing campaigns, marketers have begun experimenting with both influencers and the message that they want to market.

For instance, brands may hire several micro-influencers, each with their own niche following, and market various products and offers to these distinct audiences. There are a few advantages to this strategy. If you are launching a new line or are not sure about the most effective positioning statement for your brand, it makes sense to experiment with different ideas in silos to measure and identify the best path forward for the product.

More importantly, the turnaround time to measure conversion rate is pretty short with micro-influencers. Brand building can take several months, if not years. Small businesses with bootstrapped budgets may have well depleted their marketing budget before they can realize the ROI from their campaigns.

While these changes have made marketing using influencers much more palatable to the bootstrapped marketer, this is not to say that traditional influencer campaigns do not have a place in the industry today. Even on social media, celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Selena Gomez continue to be the biggest influencers. They continue to be popular for brand building campaigns and for those products that do not need a niche audience group.

But at the same time, such campaigns are increasingly being used by startups and small businesses to market their wares and build a following for their brand and business.

The post Op-Ed: The Changing Face Of Influencer Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

MMW has learned that these high-profile executives are committed to bringing new innovative ideas, thinking and guidance to Briz Media Group, its clients, and the communications industry in general. Agency changes include a new logo and website that better reflect the broad scope of the agency’s work and capabilities across a number of industries, including martech, adtech, digital, cryptocurrency, and telecoms, among others. Through Briz Media Group’s Connectors, companies have access to industry power players who can make connections to propel a business to the next level. Connectors can also help advise companies on key business initiatives—from raising capital to the best route to successful exits.

“Connectors is Briz Media Group’s stake in the ground as leaders in the marketing and communications industries,” said David Bray, founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Briz Media Group. “To own a category, you need to be a leader— to be intimately linked to that category and define it.”

Melody Wolff, Chief Everything Officer at Briz Media Group, added, “Companies are still grappling with understanding how to utilize technology to effectively communicate with their customers. It is incumbent upon us, as communications professionals, to be up to speed on the latest developments in the market so we can fill in the gap and advise clients. We look forward to introducing customized, industry-specific networks that companies can use to bring new, fresh concepts to their own industries.”

To learn more, click here.

The post Briz Media Group Launches a New Twist on Influencer Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post by Kim Westwood, Founder & Managing Director of Shopping Links

Although more than 86% of marketers now use influencer marketing to boost brand awareness and increase engagement, many are just starting to recognize the value that influencers can add to their SEO.

Although Google considers more than 200 factors when determining search rankings, one of its senior strategists recently verified that inbound links and on-site content quality, the two factors that have historically had the greatest impact, will continue to matter most. What do influencers have to do with this? It turns out quite a lot. By driving traffic from a high domain authority (even when links are “no follow”), sending readers from social channels, and creating content directly for brands use in their own marketing efforts, influencers can directly affect both of these factors. Here are four ways top brands are collaborating their way to higher search results:

High-quality inbound links

Most marketers know that high-quality inbound links can dramatically boost their SEO, but many do not realize that this also includes “no follow” links from sponsored content. Here’s how it works. With organic content, Google crawls every link to your site, even if no one has clicked it yet. With paid content, Google only follows traffic from readers. So even when your content is sponsored, Google recognizes the organic interest of readers and rewards you for every click through to your site.

Collaborating with influencers not only puts your brand directly in front of a relevant audience, but it also gives you some control over how you will be featured, which can further increase the likelihood that readers will click to learn more. If you’re a retailer, for example, you can negotiate to have each featured product click through to your eCommerce store. Or you might ask the influencer to link to content on your own website with more ideas for how to use or try your product, enticing readers to click. Finally, influencers also give you high-quality inbound links from their social channels such as Instagram or Facebook, giving you an even bigger SEO boost.

Cost-effective content

Aside from generating more inbound traffic, influencers can help your on-site SEO as well. Content is expensive to create, and many brands simply don’t have the time to keep up with production. Collaborating with an influencer in your industry to guest blog for your website allows you to publish fresh, high-quality content that will naturally contain your desired keywords. An influencer, after all, is already familiar with the topics that matter most to your customers. For fashion and lifestyle brands, marketers also have the benefit of receiving influencer imagery, which they can then use across other campaigns, including from social media to their EDMs. Our research has shown that marketers who use influencer content in their email newsletters, rather than brand imagery or stock photography, see higher click-through rates, click-to-order rates and even revenues. A final benefit of collaborating with influencers to create content for your website is their ability to promote their contribution to your website across a wide audience. When creating your collaboration brief, consider making promotion across certain channels, such as Instagram or LinkedIn, depending on your industry, part of your requirements.

Online conversations   

One final SEO benefit of influencer collaborations is the increase in overall traffic that comes from sparking online conversations about your brand. If an influencer’s followers are unfamiliar with your brand, chances are good that they’ll want to know more once they see it in a blog article or Instagram post. The direct visits to your website URL and organic search traffic for your brand help to boost your domain authority, since these visitors are likely to spend some time on your site. It can be a little more difficult to trace this traffic to your influencer campaign, but Google Analytics can help you match surges in traffic to the timing of your campaign. Free social monitoring sites like HootSuite and SocialMention can give you further insights.

Understanding how influencers impact your SEO can help you think more strategically about your optimization efforts and how you can get more value from each collaboration. Whether through inbound links, high-quality content or relevant online conversations, influencers can be a secret weapon for brands across all industries.

Contributor Bio:

Kim Westwood is the Founder and Managing Director of Shopping Links, an influencer marketplace designed to make it easier for brands of all sizes to connect with fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers for the purposes of relationship-focused marketing collaborations. Since the company’s inception, more than 1,200 brands, including Fortune 500 retailers, have utilized the service to access a network of 14,000+ vetted influencers from 117 countries, leading to thousands of transactions within the platform. Shopping Links was the winner of the Business Services category at the 2016 Governor of Victoria Export Award and has been named to Anthill Magazine’s SMART100 Index of most innovative Australian companies.

The post How Brands Are Using Influencer Marketing to Improve SEO appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

MDG Advertising’s new infographic, “The State of Influencer Marketing: What Every Brand Needs to Know”, visually explains:

• The benefits and challenges presented by influencer marketing
• The characteristics of an effective influencer post
• The key social networks for influencer marketing
• Costs of influencer programs and payment structures
• What brands really want from influencer marketing

For more insight, check out their blog here.

Infographic by MDG Advertising

The post The State of Influencer Marketing: What Every Brand Needs to Know [Infographic] appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The company was founded by Patrick Ip, a former Google Innovation Lead and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and Jacobo Lumbreras, an AI engineer who has built HR and marketing automation products at Yoi Corp. The two merged their talents in advertising and AI to build Unity.

MMW also learned that Unity has raised $1 million from investors including Jonathan Berent, Director of Global Customer Experience at Google, and a former colleague of Ip’s.

Just as Google used automation to scale AdWords and create a self-serve platform, Unity is aiming to do the same for influencer marketing. The industry is growing at a rapid clip, with Instagram alone projected to reach $2 billion by 2019, according to a recent study by US agency Mediakix.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible for the influencer market as SMBs represent a massive portion of US businesses,” said Ip. “By giving these companies access to influencer marketing, we unlock millions of dollars of untapped ad spend.”

The post First Look: Ex-Google Innovation Lead Launches AI Platform for Influencer Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post by Harvey Schwartz, EVP Talent & Founding Partner, WHOSAY

On top of a year of fake news, sketchy festivals, click-bait, and disturbing political drama we’re all clamoring for more truth in our lives…. and especially our social feeds. And if you follow influencers, hopefully you’re entertained by their exciting lives and inspiring messages. And, as such, you hope they maintain some level of honesty on the content they share—as a simple pay-back for following along their social journey.

So If you’re a brand looking to partner with influencers, find the path to keeping it real. Seek… authenticity. It’s the latest buzzword, emphasized for good reason given the pervasive disdain for the fake. Just as you trust a friend telling you to watch a cool show or eat at a great restaurant, you want your audience to trust your brand message as delivered by the influencer.

It sounds easy, but we’re not scripting a TV commercial where actors are being paid to read lines that everyone knows is a marketing message. Influencer marketing is a new format where you have to match the right influencer with your brand and ensure there’s an actual connection to the product and service. This can be achieved by following a rigorous casting process with a commitment to discover common interests, not social reach.

And the good (real) news, there’s plenty of great influencers who genuinely love your brands, who are looking for authentic, creative partnerships. So don’t take a shortcut on vetting or you might find the paycheck is the only connection made.

Authenticity in influencer marketing is all about having or establishing an actual connection between influencer and brand/campaign at the time of activation. For example, if the campaign theme is about mountain climbing and the brand is a wholesome snack the influencer must be an avid mountain climber and if the influencer is not currently a consumer of the brand she must try and enjoy the product before endorsing it. We believe influencers must contractually agree to that admission prior to agreeing to any sponsored deals. That document is defined as a “Statement of Authenticity.”

Authenticity can not be measured in advance. However, one can benchmark organic posts that follow a similar theme to the brand campaign and look to achieve similar results, if one delivers creative that matches. The public ultimately votes in comments and likes. You can then apply an independent sentiment score on all the comments to provide a form of measurement that would have alignment to authenticity.

However, with thousands of influencer options and significant fees to participate there are many influencers who will take any check, as well as those that have bought fake followers to exaggerate their organic reach. The challenge is therefore to apply a rigorous screening process throughout casting.

It’s important to review past social feeds for content that falls in line with the brand theme, as well as look at previous sponsored posts. And the single most important tip is to have an actual call/discussion with the influencer to address any concerns and fully understand if they are the right ambassador for the brand.

As far as formats and the audience’s reaction, it’s easy to gauge responses by analyzing likes and comments on the sponsored posts (which can be pretty harsh if the authenticity is awkward or forced and conversely glowing with praise when everything aligns). Live content is difficult to fake as well as “stories” which tend to be less scripted, therefore follow influencers lives more organically.

Last but not least, though “authenticity” seems to be the buzzword du jour, seeking the truth has never been a fad, therefore authenticity will remain paramount. But beware, authenticity without strong creative storytelling has very little impact. Pursue the best creative path with the foundation of authenticity and great performance will surely follow.

The post Why Authenticity in Influencer Marketing Is Not a Fad appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is an exclusive guest contributed post to MMW from Ian Wu, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Cheetah Mobile.

The post Op-Ed: Influencer Campaigns: What Works and What Doesn’t appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is an exclusive guest contributed post from Kamiu Lee, Head of Business Development & Strategy at Bloglovin’

In 2016, Influencer Marketing grew in popularity, becoming a more prevalent advertising and marketing tool. Growing concerns regarding ad-blockers have only convinced more brands to go the storytelling route to get their product or service in front of more consumers. A recent study from McKinsey even found that consumer-to-consumer word of mouth from marketing-induced content generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising. Influencers also gained more media attention than ever before. Media outlets such as Fortune and successful broadcast programs including 60 Minutes profiled influencers both large and small, proving the rising success of the industry. It has become increasingly clear that the industry is only just beginning to mature into its creative potential, and there are seven key trends forming for 2017.

1. Better Technology Will Increase Efficiency for Brands and Influencers

The rise in technology in the industry will allow brands and marketers to scale out their programs and work with more influencers than ever before. This means big wins for both brands and influencers, with smaller influencers gaining opportunities earlier, larger influencers gaining exponentially more opportunities overall and the general marketplace becoming more competitive. In turn, brands will continue to see more ROI and therefore invest more in Influencer Marketing campaigns.

2. Micro-Influencers & Audience Scaling in Niche Markets

2017 will bring more flexibility for brands in working with influencers. The growth of Influencer Marketing technologies that allow brands to search for the right fit, facilitate payment and communications with influencers, manage the overall campaign, and provide analytics and measurement afford brands increased flexibility and scalability in their campaigns. The last year has brought a moment in the spotlight for smaller micro-influencers, who often have rich connections with their niche audiences and therefore stronger engagement rates. Working with a large set of smaller influencers will continue to increase and become more measurable in the next year due to improved technology.

3. Advancements in Analytics Offer More Engaging Content

The increase of stronger analytics and measurement tactics this year lead to a reign in the importance of KPIs over reach and traffic. This will only continue to be solidified in 2017 as brands and agencies confirm that influencers have an optimum level of creative control in their sponsored content, leading to higher engagement rates for the influencer and the brand.

4. Multichannel Campaigns Power Consumer Attention

Recent research from Bloglovin’s digitally savvy users confirmed that 88% of female consumers follow their favorite influencers on two or more channels, proving the need for more cross-channel campaigns. To capture the attention of today’s distracted consumer, brands will increase their multiplatform strategies, creating content across multiple channels and tailoring the content to best engage each platform’s audience. We expect this trend, which began to take form in 2016, to continue and evolve in the next year.

5. Longer Term Partnerships, Supported by Data

Instead of working with a variety of influencers for single posts and quick boosts, perceptive brands and marketers will begin to find more value in long-term relationships with influencers. Not only will this kind of partnership create a more genuine, deeper relationship between the brand and influencer, but it will also help to form a larger story from the influencer. Increased measurement capabilities will show stronger engagements, and higher levels of trust and brand recall from their posts.

6. Choosing the Right Influencers Based On Aesthetic and Style

The majority of brand partnerships in the past have been focused around staying in their own industries’ categories, but why should beauty brands be limited only to beauty influencers? The year ahead will bring more partnerships outside of an influencers “core” category.  Choosing an influencer that represents a brand’s philosophy rather than just its category can lead to a more engaging and unique campaign.

7. Regulations Increase as Influencer Marketing Becomes Mainstream

As Influencer Marketing continues to progress as a more mainstream tactic for advertisers and brands, we can expect to see regulations increase. In 2016, the FTC specified how they expect brands and influencers to work together properly to disclose sponsored content. However, about half of markets admit they aren’t sure what the current FTC guidelines are, and the guidelines themselves are continuing to evolve. It’s crucial as regulations continue to change in the next year that there is better education for both marketers and influencers on how to make sure their successful campaigns are also legal.

About Bloglovin’

Bloglovin’ connects 10M+ users with their favorite influencers, helps influencers reach a wider audience through the Bloglovin’ media platform, and partners with brands through Activate by Bloglovin’–the world’s leading influencer marketing platform, with access to 1M+ registered influencers. Bloglovin’ partners with many of the world’s most respected brands on native advertising and influencer marketing campaigns, including Burberry, Campbell’s, Gucci, H&M, NARS, Post Foods, and Tom’s of Maine. Brand and agency partners come to Bloglovin’ to identify the right influencers for their brand, create scalable custom content campaigns across influencers’ blogs and social channels, and manage and measure these campaigns every step of the way.

About Kamiu

Kamiu Lee is VP of Business Development & Strategy at Bloglovin’, where she oversees business development, finance and strategic initiatives. Prior to Bloglovin’, Kamiu worked in Business Development and Strategy roles at Rent the Runway and Refinery29, as well as in early-stage investments at Gotham Ventures. Kamiu started her career as an investment banker based in New York, London and Sao Paulo, where she focused on M&A and equity fundraising for consumer and media companies. Kamiu holds a B.S. from Boston University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Kamiu is passionate about the potential of the influencer marketing space, and has been quoted on the topic in WWD, Fortune, Digiday, Glossy and Racked, as well as a presenter/panelist at FashTech NYC, Influencer Marketing Days Conference, International Style Institute, TUMBLR, and Rakuten Experience.

The post 2017: The Year Influencer Marketing Becomes Mainstream appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post from Victor Ricci, founder of Trend Pie, an influencer marketing platform that helps app developers drive cost effective downloads.

The truth is, influencer marketing works when brands and marketers play at the highest stakes. This will help them predict their success.

I’m excited about sharing influencer marketing case studies. Because to a large extent, the brand is judged based on merits. If they develop a great strategy, they win. If not, they lose.

For example, Amir Rajan developed a great strategy, quit his corporate job and built an iOS game that generated 2.26 million downloads in under 2 years (free and paid combined).

In this in-depth article, I want to show you how game studios can use influencer marketing to drive app downloads.

Of course their games (i.e., products) are truly great, but how did they go from 0 game downloads to hundreds of thousands of downloads in a space of 12 months?

How do you explain that other brands work long hours, exploring other methods of acquiring new users, yet, Game Studios is getting better results?

You already know the answer, don’t you?

=:) influencer marketing.

So let’s get to it. Here’s how game studios use influencer marketing to gain more traction, attract more users, acquire more customers, increase revenue, and build a strong brand, in 4 simple but powerful steps:

First step: Determine who influences your ideal customer

There’s no set rule for measuring impact. Though you may not be able to gauge how much impact influencers have on your ideal customers, but that makes it great.

To get the best result, you need to focus on experts that influences your ideal customers. It doesn’t matter how big or small the level of impact may be, as long as the effect is there, you’re good.

So how do you figure out the right influencers to connect with?

Start by entering your primary keyword (e.g., app marketing) into Twitter’s search box. The results are typically the target influencers whose focus is closely-tied to app marketing.

The Twitter results are brands, marketers, and research institutes that understands app marketing. Obviously, they should have direct or indirect influence on your ideal customers.

Note: You can find your ideal influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and Google+, by simply searching for your primary keyword.

Remember that when you find influencers, you’re not done yet. Work on building relationships with them. Because they have the interest of your ideal customers in their hearts.

Second step: Prioritize influencers

Through thorough research on social media sites, you were able to identify influencers whose opinions, recommendations, reviews, tips, quotes, and more, influences your ideal customer.

Great. But there’s more.

You need to prioritize them.

Game Studios prioritizes influencers based on who they think will have the most impact on their target audience. The company focuses its efforts on a few key influencers at a time, to fully understand them.

In the example that we highlighted above from LinkedIn, isn’t it obvious that putting all your efforts into LinkedIn groups may yield better results, since you can participate and get both micro and macro influencers to test your idea?

If your idea, content or product is truly helpful and engaging, influencers will want to share it. Why? Because they’re desperately looking for such information to engage with their audience.

On the other hand, if you don’t have much time to get into the conversation that’s already happening in social groups, then, connecting with other brands that have active community of loyal audience (i.e., your ideal customers) may yield the best results for you.

So you’ve got to prioritize influencers. And only you can do it, because your business objective may be different from mine.

Third step: Take action and engage influencers

One of the harsh truths about influencer marketing is that you hardly have enough time to communicate with key influencers.

This is one of the reasons why prioritizing is critical. Because it helps you to make informed decisions, take actions and engage with these influencers.

It’s no secret that influencers are busy people. But have you ever asked yourself why they’re damn busy?

Well, to answer that question, they’re busy because they create and share more content with their fans and customers than most people do.

After all, they win people’s heart in the first place through irresistible content – and the only way to sustain that relationship is to give them more interesting content.

With that in mind, the best way to engage influencers is to find out the content they’re sharing. Are they sharing more software, mobile apps, ebooks, blog posts, videos, or audio content?

Where do they get these content types from? (e.g., blogs, social media sites, forums). Of course if you want more influencers to find your content or product and share it, then you’ve got to be everywhere. According to NayTev Insights, 80% of Buzzfeed’s reach exist beyond their website.

Once you’re armed with this information, it becomes easier to pitch them your best content, and get a “YES” response.

Note that you can also engage key influencers by lending a helping hand. For example, watch their educational videos and share it on social sites.

Make a donation to support their cause, attend their webinars or live events. And when you do, send a quick/short email to let them know that you truly believe in what they’re doing and you’re a part of it.

Fourth step:  Bridge communication gap using tools

One of the reasons why game studios has successfully built a strong brand using influencer marketing is because of effective communication.

How do I mean?

Well, the brand believes that keeping in touch with key influencers at all times. And not when they’re in need of them.

Unfortunately, this is where most mobile apps and game developers miss it. They spend money, time, and resources, building relationship with influencers – before product launch – but totally neglects it after recording initial success. Don’t do that.

You must bridge the gap in your communication.

When it comes to building relationship and communicating with influencers, don’t go on recession. It could be a simple, “How are you doing this week?” message to an influencer every other week.

There are follow-up tools, also referred to as email autoresponders (e.g., Aweber, GetResponse, ConvertKit) which you can use to keep in touch with key influencers.

Game studios with an active email newsletter can use it to communicate frequently with both influencers and potential customers.

Conclusion

With the right influencer marketing strategy, tools, and skills, game studios are able to launch successful campaigns, generate thousands of new downloads, increase in-app sales, and grow a thriving game development business.

The odds aren’t stacked against you. Once you can keep these four steps in mind and execute them, you will grow your own business. Above all, always measure your outcomes.

Yes, influencer marketing works but you need to go all in. You can no longer stand on the fence. Use all the tools that you can get, and don’t stop learning.

The post How Mobile Game Studios Can Use Influencer Marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.