Who do you think consumers trust the most? If you believe the answer is “They Trust The Brands”, you are making a serious mistake and your lead generation strategy could go terribly wrong.
In the world of eCommerce, customers tend to trust each other as they look for relevant information from earlier buyers before completing the purchase. But at the same time, they want to hear the voice of Social Media Influencers and see their recommendations and reviews.
Reports show that the influencer marketing industry is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019. What makes this concept so precious? Why social media influencers marketing should be your go-to eCommerce strategy?
Keep reading if you are eager to learn the answers to these questions!
The Current State of Influencer Marketing
Online influencers are individuals with proven expertise in their related fields. Influencers gather thousands or even millions of followers, so they have the power to reach a lot of people and drive customer engagement. Influencer marketing is important because:
- 80% of consumers have bought a product after having seen it as a recommendation by an influencer.
- Another study reveals that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations.
- Almost 90% of businesses say that ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels.
- Nearly 70% of marketers say Instagram is the most important social media platform for their campaigns.
The stats are impressive, but what about the impact of influencers on eCommerce businesses? We have a lot of benefits to discuss here, so let’s move on to the next chapter.
Seven Benefits of Using Social Media Influencer Marketing in Your Ecommerce Strategy
Why would an eCommerce store work with social influencers? We can name more than one reason, which is exactly why you should see the entire list of benefits. Here are the seven major reasons why online retailers should cooperate with social media influencers.
1. Influencers help you raise awareness
The first reason to hire social media influencers is obvious as they can help you to raise awareness and reach more customers. Keep in mind that industry thought leaders have a lot more followers than the average eCommerce business, so you can count on additional exposure.
Besides that, digital influencers will not introduce your store, products, or services to just any kind of audience. On the contrary, they will assist you in establishing contact with verified leads. The only thing you need to do is to analyze influencers carefully and identify individuals who target the same audience.
2. Trustworthiness is guaranteed
If there is one word we could use to describe the relationship between social influencers and their fans, it must be “trust.” Namely, influencers publish high-quality content for a long time and it makes them look credible and authoritative in the eyes of the average consumer.
It’s like trying to find an content writer for you – the only thing that matters is to pinpoint a professional paper writer who can deliver as promised. This is what influencer marketing is all about since users expect relevant niche figures to keep feeding them with trustworthy content.
3. Build a relationship with your customers
The fact that your eCommerce store is working with trustworthy influencers can give you a genuine reputation boost very soon. Apart from growing the number of followers and website visitors, you can also take over communication and continue engaging with the latest fans.
4. You reach out to the highly targeted audience
We already mentioned the importance of verified leads, but it’s necessary to describe the benefit in a separate section. A proper influencer selection grants you access to people who have the same traits as your average customer.
For instance, eCommerce stores can use Instagram to approach younger consumers with appealing and entertaining images or videos. But if you are targeting B2B decision-makers, you can take advantage of LinkedIn influencer campaigns.
5. Influencer marketing boosts sales
Awareness and relationship-building are great, but eCommerce comes down to sales generation. This is where influencers play the most significant role since they can help you promote any given product and maximize conversions.
Remember what we said about influencers – they set trends and share purchasing recommendations, so you can drastically increase sales results in a limited timeframe. But if you keep engaging with new customers, you will form a stronger bond and turn some of them into recurring shoppers.
6. Influencer campaigns are affordable
Contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing campaigns do not require major investments. Online stores will rarely hire celebrities, so you don’t need to pay a small fortune to plan and execute a campaign.
According to the study, the average influencer with up to 100 thousand followers will probably charge $2 thousand per post. This can vary based on factors such as engagement and production costs, but the truth is that eCommerce businesses can launch influencer campaigns relatively cheaply.
7. Influencer campaigns can improve website ranking
Most companies don’t see the direct correlation between influencers and search engine ranking, but a well-planned campaign can really breathe new life into your SEO strategy.
The point is that social influencers redirect a lot of fresh visitors to your website, which is immediately recognized by search engine algorithms. After all, you should not forget that backlinks represent one of the fundamental ranking drivers, especially if they come from high-authority influencers.
The Bottom Line:
Social Media Influencers are winning over the marketing industry, so you should definitely consider adding it to your business promotion plan in 2020. In this post, we discussed the main reasons why influencer marketing should be your go-to eCommerce strategy.
Do you think online influencers can make a substantial impact on your sales results? Which benefit of this strategy do you believe to be most important? Let us know in the comments!
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