Influencer Marketing for Ecommerce Businesses
Influencer marketing is great for brand awareness and reaching into niche markets that may not already know about you. For example, if you are selling dog toys and are launching cat products, you might use an influencer who has a cat to promote your new product.
We do not advise working with influencers if you are relying on them to generate a certain amount of revenue for your business.
If you are needing to hit strict financial goals, use Google ads. Google ads gives you a more clear ‘x amount of money in; x amount of money out’. Influencer marketing, in general, is not as reliable when it comes to generating revenue.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing for ecommerce businesses is a form of marketing where businesses partner with individuals who have a large following on social media to promote their products. The influencer promotes the products to their followers, who are then encouraged to purchase the products.
Influencer marketing for ecommerce businesses can be a highly effective way to reach a new audience and drive sales. It allows businesses to leverage the trust and credibility that influencers have built with their followers, and to reach a large, engaged audience that may not be reached through other marketing channels.
Ecommerce businesses can work with influencers in a variety of ways, such as product reviews, sponsored posts, social media takeovers, or brand ambassadorships. The influencer may receive compensation in the form of product or payment, and the business receives exposure to the influencer’s followers.
Is Influencer Marketing Right For My Business?
- Are you an established business with a strong landing page and social media presence?
- Do you have Google and Facebook Ads running?
- Do you have a couple thousand extra marketing dollars?
If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, Influencer marketing might be a good option for you.
Consider these things:
Influencer rates: Influencer rates vary greatly depending on the size of their following and the level of engagement they receive. It’s important to research influencer rates and find ones that fit within your budget. We often recommend all of our clients to work with micro influencers, even if they have a larger budget. This tends to help you get a better bang for your buck.
Influencer rates are highly unregulated. So it is often hard to get the number of influencers you want to fit into your budget.
Campaign scope: Consider the scope of your campaign and how many influencers you’d like to work with. This will help you determine how much you’ll need to budget for the campaign.
Product cost: If you’re giving influencers free products to promote, factor in the cost of those products into your budget.
Marketing goals: What are your marketing goals for the campaign? The more influencers you work with and the more complex the campaign, the higher your budget will need to be. It is important to assess if influencers will be able to further the goals of your business. If you are looking to get sales, or brand awareness, you might need to look for different types of influencers.
Existing marketing budget: Take a look at your existing marketing budget and see how much you can allocate towards an influencer campaign
How Do I Know When To Launch an Influencer Campaign?
.For all of our clients that want to run influencer marketing campaigns, we remind them of the importance of having a strong brand presence.
Picture this…
Your favorite influencer promotes a product for great lip balm. It sounds great and looks great so you click on the link they shared. It brings you to a website that has no reviews, it is hard to figure out how to buy and they keep trying to upsell you. They also have very few instagram followers and you can’t find any reviews.
Would you buy that lip balm?
Probably not.
Even though the influencer may have created a great video, the engagement was great etc, if the customer experience and social proof isn’t there, you may have wasted money on the influencer.
It is important to have:
- Great reviews
- Good landing page experience
- Social proof on social media
Plus, most good influencers will not work with a brand that does not have good brand identity established. It is not a good look for their personal brand.
Before you launch an influencer campaign, it is important to ensure you have the budget, it makes sense for your industry and you have an established funnel to drive users to.
What Content Should I Have the Influencer Create?
There are many different types of content that an influencer can create for an ecommerce marketing campaign. Here are some ideas:
Product Reviews: The influencer can create a video or written review of the product, sharing their thoughts and experiences with their followers.
Unboxing or Unpacking: An influencer can create a video showing the process of unboxing or unpacking the product, which can generate excitement and interest among their followers.
How-to or Tutorial: The influencer can create a video or written tutorial showing their followers how to use the product and showcasing its features and benefits.
Outfit or Lifestyle Photos: The influencer can create photos showing them using the product in real-life situations, such as in an outfit post or in a lifestyle setting.
Giveaways or Contests: The influencer can host a giveaway or contest to engage their followers and create excitement around the product.
Behind-the-Scenes Look: The influencer can give their followers a behind-the-scenes look at the product and its creation process, which can build a deeper connection with their followers.
User-Generated Content: The influencer can encourage their followers to create their own content using the product and share it on social media, which can generate more buzz and engagement around the product.
Influencer Marketing can be a great option for many ecommerce businesses. However, it can be a very expensive effort as the industry is very unregulated. It is also risky. You cannot be guaranteed certain results from the campaigns. It is a great way to leverage an influencers credibility and engaged audience, but the goal should almost always be brand awareness.
If you have any questions about influencer marketing and if it is right for you, schedule a call with Murray Marketing Team!