It all starts with a simple idea, you own a company that manufactures basketball shoes, for example, and you need to market them to a global audience. How do you go about devising and implementing a marketing strategy that will reach the widest audience possible?
Social media marketing has become a vital part of any brand’s digital media marketing campaign, and influencer marketing is an integral part of a successful social media marketing strategy.
What is influencer marketing?
According to Wikipedia, “is a form of marketing in which focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers, and orients marketing activities around these influencers.” There you have it!
Human nature promotes influence
The great thing about human nature is that tends to be extremely predictable. We all admire celebrities and sporting icons, for example. We all want to know where to purchase those unique shoes our favorite NBA player is wearing. We subliminally believe that if we buy the same shoes, we will be able to play basketball as well as our hero does.
Categories of Influencers
There are different types of influencers available to help you market your product. Influencer marketing platforms such as HYPR can help you find the most suitable one in your category, and, if needed, country. It is important to note at this point that the category of person that you should utilize to spread the word about your wonderful product depends on the niche that the product falls in. For example, it is not a good idea to ask a fashion icon to market your baseball shoes. Your product will get very little exposure, unless the fashion icon is passionate about baseball; nonetheless, your brand will get greater exposure if you sponsor one of the USA’s basketball icons.
Here is a list of the different influencer types to help you match an influencer category with your product:
- A medical professional
A medical professional has a small, yet vital, role to play in influencer marketing. He/she is professionally trained to diagnose illnesses and will, consequently, prescribe the medication that he/she believes in and has been proven successful in curing their patients ills.
- A brand advocate
The brand advocate is a person who makes it their mission to ensure that their audience understands the value of the brand or product. These people are also known as brand activists and are good at garnering the requisite support for your brand.
- Sporting icon
These are the individuals, and/or, teams who epitomize the sports that they play. You will find that the respective sports fans will purchase the same clothing and shoes, for example, that is worn by their favorite sports icons.
- Celebrity
The celebrity influencer is possibly the commonest type of influencer. They are typically the most vocal of people and are seen wearing the latest fashion, makeup, shoes, and accessories. High fashion manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers often sponsor celebrities to wear their latest clothing ranges.
Final worlds
To guarantee the best return on your investment (ROI), it is vital that you choose the influencer that will give your product the best possible exposure with high relevancy to your category.
