Women influence 87% of consumer shopping purchases in America, yet until recently they have often been overlooked. Today’s social media influencers are a natural progression. Women have always asked each other for advice on purchasing decisions.
However, today’s social media platforms allow it to happen on a much larger scale. Influencer marketing platforms have also developed as a way to connect businesses with influencers. It can be seen as an organic progression of need and opportunity.
The Mommy Blogging Revolution
This is where it all started. Suddenly anyone with an internet connection and a keyboard could share their thoughts with the world. For many moms, this was a great way to express themselves and connect with other moms.
Mommy blogging was born from a need for social interaction and a sense of community. The old African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” still holds true. Communities are generally much less connected today than they were even 50 years ago, so women started creating online communities.
Affiliate Marketing
The next step in the evolution from mommy blogger to social influencer began when businesses started taking notice of these bloggers. They recognized that these bloggers had large audiences, and even better, targeted audiences.
This allowed the bloggers to advertise things on their blogs that their audience would be interested in. The bloggers were able to turn a hobby into an income, which encouraged them to keep blogging instead of going back to their careers.
Women also helped each other. Conferences and workshops were held in the brand-new land of blog monetization. There was an attitude of “help the industry grow, and our individual business will also grow”. Although for most, it was likely a much simpler philosophy of “help thy neighbor, help thy self”.
The idea that blogs could be monetized, that people could get paid for sharing their thoughts and opinions, laid the foundation for influencer marketing.
Rise of the Social Media Influencer
Social media influencers developed from blog monetization. Bloggers began reviewing and recommending products. As social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram became more popular, social media influence began to take off.
Many social media influencers don’t start out with the intention of becoming an influencer. They are simply sharing their thoughts and opinions, just like bloggers. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube make it easy to show and engage with products. Many influencers get their start doing product reviews for fun.
Doing product reviews or makeup tutorials aren’t a requirement to be an influencer. Anyone with a large social media following, particularly relating to a specific niche, can be an influencer.
Social media influencers are the girl next door that everyone is a bit jealous of. She’s always aware of the latest trends, has a great fashion sense, and always buys the best products. She appears to know what she’s talking about, and her followers trust her.
Relationship to Targeted Marketing
Targeted marketing isn’t a new concept, but today’s marketing is much more targeted than in years past. Google is an excellent example of targeted marketing. Google compiles information like your search and browser history, and essentially makes a digital profile of you. Then, it shows you ads it thinks are targeted to you.
A targeted demographic used to be based on a few things like age and gender. Now, interests and life stages are considered far more important. Using social media influencers is one form of targeted marketing.
The Impact of Influencers
Alex Bolen, the CEO of Oscar De La Renta, says “It would not be an exaggeration to say that our handbag business has taken off through our engagement with the influencer community. Our production has doubled.”
Influencer marketing is in many ways replacing celebrity marketing. In fact, according to Shane Barker Consulting, non-celebrity bloggers are 10 times more likely to influence in-store purchases, and only 3% of consumers are swayed by celebrity endorsements.
Non celebrity influencers are seen as more relatable, and more trusted. Most influencers become popular by giving their unbiased opinions, or at least appearing to do so. This makes them more trusted than celebrities, which are viewed as endorsing products for money rather than any interest in the product.
Making It Work for You
The news that you don’t need a celebrity for a successful marketing campaign is great news, particularly for small to medium businesses.
It’s clear that finding the right influencers can have a huge impact on your sales figures. You also get a better return on your investment than many other forms of advertising. A targeted loyal audience can convert to loyal customers.
Most Influential Marketing Channels
- Facebook: Affects 19% of consumer purchases
- YouTube: Influences 18% of consumer purchases
- TV ads: impacts 7.4% of purchases
- Digital and Print ads: Influence just 4.5% of purchase decisions
55% of marketers believe they get better customers from social media influencers. This means they are more likely to be loyal repeat customers.
Finding Influencers
Seeing the effectiveness of influencer marketing is one thing, but how do you translate that to success for your business? You essentially have two options. You can research your product niche, find the top influencers, and reach out to them. However, that requires a lot of time and effort.
The other option is to use an influencer marketing platform. They will connect you with influencers, create a marketing plan, and do all the hard work for you.
