Not just hype, influencer marketing is now a must-know strategy. Paired with web-based social networking, it’s the kind of lethal blow marketers have been looking for. Influencers have been at the center of marketing strategies ever since the effectiveness of outbound marketing started to decline.

So much so, that in a study by Linqia, 92% of marketers claimed it to be an effective marketing strategy. In fact, 39% of marketers involved in the study even expected their budgets for it to increase in 2018.

But what exactly is this tidal wave that is disrupting the world of marketing?

Defining Influencer Marketing

It is a strategy that involves marketing to and through a group of individuals like bloggers, consultants, or subject matter experts. Established leaders in their social circles, these key individuals have some influence over purchase decisions made by your target audience.

Influencers, through their content, act as a bridge that allows brands and consumers to engage with one another. Not only that, but influencers also help improve a brand’s image and outreach by vouching for them in their social circles.

As a consumer, whose recommendations about a product would you be willing to trust? A stranger in a commercial or someone you know personally? The latter, obviously. Pair that instinct with research that showed that 91% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And now you know why influencer marketing works.

In essence, influencer marketing is something of a cross between word-of-mouth marketing and celebrity endorsements. The best of both worlds if you will. Influencers aren’t traditional celebrities; they are real people like you and me. That’s one of the main reasons people are trusting of reviews or recommendations coming from them.

Benefits

As a brand, there’s a lot for you to gain from building an influencer marketing campaign. But these three reasons stand out:

Improved Brand Awareness:

Via informative influencer-generated content like product reviews or testimonials, you can get the buzz going about your brand. In a study by Launchmetrics, almost 90% of marketers in the fashion industry found influencers effective in spreading brand awareness.

Increase in Sales:

Online reviews and special discounts offered by influencers can be the final nudge consumers need to make a purchase decision. This was reflected in the above study, with 69% of marketers reporting it helped drive sales.

Better Customer Retention:

Organic and authentic customer engagement is the key to improving retention rates. And that’s exactly what influencers do you for you. 73% of the marketers in the previously cited study found it useful in increasing brand loyalty.

These numbers speak for themselves. Influencer marketing can provide your brand the competitive edge you’ve been looking for.