Modern marketing demands that you utilise the latest tools to stand out and establish a brand. If you’re working in a saturated market and wish to gain an edge, perhaps it’s time to do away with the conventional and take up influencer marketing.

A powerful tool for small businesses, influencer marketing, may be just what you need to get your name out there to a younger audience. With over 4.5 billion social media users around the world in 2022, influencers are used by both large and small businesses to promote their products to this highly lucrative and vast demographic.

Here’s everything you need to know about this marketing tactic and whether it can work for your small business.

Influencers: Not Just for Big Businesses

Small businesses can benefit from using influencers in their marketing efforts, helping build awareness around their brand and increase sales. Through the platforms of these influencers, they personalise their brand and can reach out to their potential customers.

Even a micro-influencer can help boost your base at a low price. By working with an influencer, you can also expand your reach and reach new audiences at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods. According to estimates, brands can earn over $5 for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing.

Goal Setting for Influencer Campaigns

Behind any successful marketing campaign is a goal in mind. Before you start working with an influencer, you must have a clear and realistic objective you aim to achieve by hiring one. An unclear campaign goal can lead to ambiguity and an inability to measure your success and ROI.

This can also make it hard for an influencer to understand their expectations. Influencer marketing is more than choosing a celebrity with the most followers and having them plug your product in front of a camera. Whether your goal is to build a brand, increase followers, or get more conversions, influencer campaigns can vary based on your desire.

Finding the Right Influencers for your Business

After you have set your campaign goals, it’s time to start looking for the ideal influencer for your campaign. Many businesses mistake choosing an influencer that aligns with their image rather than a platform that hosts the biggest target market. According to a survey, 79% of small businesses consider Instagram the most important influencer marketing platform.

Similarly, TikTok has over a billion monthly users that use the platform for 850 minutes every month. While it may seem hard to find the right influencer for your campaign, what’s more, important is finding the right platform to invest in.

Search Your Social Media Pages

The easiest way to find an influencer your target market will listen to is to identify people who are passionate about your brand, regularly engage with it, and see what groups they frequent. Ask your audience questions and engage them to make a sound influencer investment. You can use a question sticker or poll to research what celebrities they follow online.

If you have competition, look through their social media profiles to find the ideal influencer for your campaign.

Review Your Options

After thoroughly checking the various platforms and profiles of the competition, it’s time to start looking for the ideal influencer for your campaign.

You must take time to analyse their accounts to see if they fit your brand well. Since these individuals will be an extension of your brand, it’s important to carefully choose how you wish to be perceived.

You must first determine if they are similar to your audience. This will allow you to identify if they are a good fit for your brand and how they can help you connect with your target market.

Legitimacy in following is also important to assess; the practice of buying followers to boost audience numbers artificially is common. This method can be very harmful to your brand and can lead to fake results. Fortunately, you can assess this by looking at their engagement rate and the demographics of their followers.

Ideally, you want to see at least a 2 to 3% engagement rate for a good influencer. However, anything over 10% is considered viral, and stellar content creation is likely. Another important thing to keep in mind is the quality of their content. Also, check their videos to see if they are high-end or an amateur produced them.

Influencer Marketing Platforms for Small Businesses

Due to the increasing popularity of influencer marketing, it can be hard for small businesses to navigate the waters alone. Fortunately, many platforms are designed to help small businesses find the right influencer for their campaign.

Upfluence, for instance, allows users to find and connect with various influencers easily. This platform allows businesses to monitor their followers, engagement, and interests.

Another popular platform designed for small businesses is Sparktoro, allowing you to connect with potential influencers and find out what kinds of products they can use as brand ambassadors. Brandbassador, designed specifically for e-commerce marketing platforms, connects small businesses with potential influencers.

Final Thoughts

With increasing competition, it’s no surprise that businesses are willing to pull out all the stops to ensure they’re always two steps ahead of the competition. Small businesses, in particular, must ensure they are differentiating and establishing a brand so they can grow and be credible in the eyes of their target market.

That said, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to online marketing. Businesses must have a well-rounded digital marketing strategy incorporating many tools to ensure they leave no stone unturned when driving conversions.

For instance, while influencer marketing is more than just a passing fad, established and time-proven tactics like email marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimisation all play an equally critical role in ensuring that businesses receive the help they need to boost conversions and get more eyes on their brand.

Similarly, regardless of how great your campaigns are, your sales will stop dead in their tracks if the website your influencers are linking to isn’t optimised and in line with the best industry practices. Web design services are, therefore, integral to establishing legitimacy in your brand as well. All of these aspects of digital marketing go hand-in-hand to give you the best possible chances of success.

Diverse Online Marketing Solutions with TocToc in Canberra

Marketing experts have learned that partnering with influencers can greatly boost your marketing efforts. However, a well-rounded campaign with various strategies is essential to ensure success.

If you’re looking for the best digital marketing services in Canberra, we’re here to help: with years of experience providing digital marketing services, TocToc has helped numerous businesses unleash the potential of the internet and helped them drive their sales through content marketing, website design, and email marketing services.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you reach out to a wider audience.