Different campaigns have different goals that they aim to achieve. If the goal is to promote your brand, increase brand awareness or have your publics say great things about your brand in the social media space, then influencer marketing is a route to take.
Highlighted in this article are some of the benefits of influencer marketing in Public Relations. But first, let’s take a look at what influencer marketing is.
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that builds relationships with key individuals capable of reaching and engaging your target audience. These key individuals, also known as influencers, already have large numbers of followers on their social media platforms, which makes it easier to connect with a brand’s desired audience.
In today’s digital world, influencer marketing has become a strategy that PR utilizes in some social media campaigns and this is because of the advantages they have, some of which include:
Helps Connect With Audience
One of the big benefits of influencer marketing is that it helps connect brands to their audience. Nowadays, many people spend a lot of time online on different social media platforms, which makes it easy for brands to connect with them through these influencers.
Credible and Authoritative
The credibility of a brand increases when an authoritative influencer shares content about the brand. When PR engages an influencer who is regarded by his audience as a strong voice in an industry, it reflects positively on the brand’s public perception.
Acts As A Driving Force
Influencer marketing can help generate conversations for the brand during a campaign. This in turn causes the campaign to trend, and exposes the campaign to more audiences. In addition, influencer marketing is beneficial in exposing audiences to a brands’ new products, concepts and ideas.
Influences Public Decisions
Be it purchasing a product or growing a community online, the inclusion of influencers plays a role in influencing the decisions of a brand’s public. According to a study, about 40 percent of respondents said they made a purchase after seeing a social media influencer use the product or service. This shows that influencer marketing can help drive sales if that is the objective of a brand.
Contrary to the misconception that PR is archaic, the inclusion of influencer marketing strategy in digital campaigns shows that PR recognizes the benefits of influencer marketing to clients and brands.