Why Every Brand Needs Social Media Influencers

Brand Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Say hello to the new generation of moms: in between working and changing diapers, they’re researching new products and companies online to give their kids the best start possible – and they’re addicted to social media. These powerful consumers leverage their social media influence to take a brand from out-of-the-spotlight straight into moms’ hands. Who are they?

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Social Media Influencers
By definition, social media influencers are very active on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but they do more than just post selfies online. In the mom community, social media influencers are people who leverage their networks – other moms and their huge following– to bring awareness to topics they consider important to them (such as sustainability or child safety, for example), to rave about brands that have been lifesavers and connect with other parents going through the same things they are. They’re authentic and more trusted – in fact, only 15% of consumers say they trust posts by companies on social media, which is an important reason to leverage social media influencers to get your message out.

Their power is in the reach of their network – which is one of the reasons brands should look at including social media influencers in their digital marketing strategy.

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The Power of Social Media Influencers
Instead of using celebrities in marketing campaigns, some of today’s biggest brands are using social media influencers to gain rapport with its consumer base. Over the holidays, Old Navy, Dick’s and GoPro, to name a few, recruited social media influencers to post photos and videos with their products and encourage their networks to follow the brand online. It’s a new tactic that’s appropriate for the digital world we live in, in which thousands of social media followers can generate a lot more return for a brand that wants to boost its presence and authentically connect with guests online.

The payoff? Millions of impressions, hundreds of thousands of clicks, and thousands of new followers in just a few days – not to mention the fact that these brands were able to show off an authentic side of their product by using social media influencers who are credible in their field and relatable to their target demographic.

 

3 Key Traits of Social Media Influencers

Hootsuite, a social media management tool, lays out three traits that you should look for in a social media influencer:

  • Relevance
  • Reach
  • Resonance

For kid-friendly brands, that would mean connecting with social media influencers who create and share content that is relevant to your business needs (i.e. winning over the family consumer); someone who already has a large built-in social network and therefore increases the number of people you can reach through them; and finally, those resonating with an audience through valuable content.

Successful social media influencers don’t just have a large audience; just as important, they’re also seen as a credible source in their field. When marketing to moms, that means it’s essential you coordinate with social media influencers who are experts in the mom/family realm – specifically on family products and branding.

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Challenges of Social Media Influencers
While social media influencers can help your brand engage a new audience in an authentic way, the challenge is often ensuring that your influencers are in line with your business’s core objectives and presenting a consistent message to consumers online. You can’t achieve your campaign objectives if your influencers are not representing the message you want to convey about your products and brand – in a worse case scenario, conflicting messages can turn consumers away from your brand.

To reap the rewards of working with social media influencers, and avoid some of these challenges, here are a few pointers:

  • Understand your core objectives – what do you want to achieve? High engagement rates? Increased impressions? Get trending on social media?
  • Choose the right social media influencers. You’ll need to know your social media’s audience as well as you know your target audience, which can be difficult. It will pay off to work with a digital agency who specializes in your area of expertise so they can find the right influencers for you, who are in line with your brand’s message
  • Develop focused, value-added relationships (for both your brand and the social media influencer) to ensure your objectives are met
  • Create content that resonates with your target audience. When you’re working with a digital agency that specializes in marketing to families, they’ll be able to guide you in terms of what content will be most effective in your influencer campaign
  • Amplify the reach of your content with various social media influencers
  • Analyze and track your results to determine if your objectives were achieved

In an age of social media platforms, it’s vital that your brand reaches consumers on the channels they’re using and one of the best ways to do that is to use social media influencers to promote your products and brands for you in an authentic way.

Want to learn more about incorporating social media influencers in your marketing strategy? Download our media kit to find out how social media influencers can help you generate buzz for your business.