The influencer craze is a fact. For any type of launch, the first strategy that comes to mind for entrepreneurs who don’t have much knowledge in the marketing field is using these web personalities to engage an audience similar to their ideal target. However, it’s necessary to ask: ‘Is investing in influencers the right answer?’ – after all, there are many other strategies that can be used instead, capable of delivering equally good results.
Indeed, there’s no denying the influence of these personalities today. In a survey conducted by StartSe, related to the use and effectiveness of influencers, for example, 75% of respondents stated they had already purchased something because they perceived the product as a good opportunity presented by an influencer; in addition to 55% who said they trust more in buying from a brand recommended by someone they follow on social media.
In terms of results, a study presented on the Harvard Business Review portal in 2022 showed that companies that had a 1% increase in influencer marketing investment achieved a 0.46% growth in engagement, suggesting that the strategy can indeed result in a positive ROI. In practice, using influencers to increase brand recognition, talking to an audience within their area of interest and strengthening connections with people, is not only viable but highly recommended to stand out from competitors.
The way they are securing space in the online environment, however, has been changing in recent years, shifting from the ‘focus’ figure to one that presents more as a lifestyle presenter, serving as a bridge for someone seeking to connect with customers while prioritizing presenting the product as the main point of partnerships. With Generation Z entering the market, this type of strategy has gained even more strength, attracting the attention of brands and entrepreneurs to the fruits that can be harvested through this movement.
For those interested in forming these partnerships, some precautions must be taken to ensure good promotion of their products or services. When launching a new product, for example, forming a partnership with a digital influencer solely to announce this novelty will work, at best, if the brand introduction is done gradually to create a bond and interest among followers. A tip that can help with this is betting on the originality of these personalities – something that, according to the same Harvard Business Review data, is responsible for an increase of about 15% in influencer marketing ROI.
Given this data, there’s no denying that investing in influencer partnerships can be the right answer for many brands. The decision to follow this path or not may vary depending on the size of the business or company for which a marketing plan is being drawn up. Moreover, it’s extremely important not to overlook even more basic strategies and actions, such as a paid social media campaign, which can sometimes bring a higher ROAS that is much more interesting than what a partnership action would yield.
Each business has the answer or the ability to analyze and define whether investing in influencers at the current moment is interesting or not, so that, based on this, they can seek the personality that best fits their target audience to build an assertive communication and promotion strategy for their products and services.
