Benefits of Influencer Marketing and how to get started.

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing in which businesses collaborate with individuals who have an online presence and can influence the purchasing decisions of their followers. These individuals, known as influencers, use their social media platforms to promote products or services to their followers, who may be more likely to make a purchase based on the recommendation of someone they trust

'Marketers' / 'small business owners' are quite familiar with the 'main' benefits of influencer marketing, these include: increased brand awareness, trust and credibility, create reach, higher engagement, targeted audience and a few more.

Marketers should also become aware that influencer marketing can also have benefits on SEO in a few different ways:

1. Links from influencers' websites or social media profiles to your website can help improve your search engine rankings. This is because search engines consider links from other websites(including social) to be "votes of confidence" in your content.
2. Influencer content that mentions or links to your website can also drive traffic to your site, which can help improve your search engine rankings. When people visit your site and spend time on it, search engines take this as a sign that your content is relevant and valuable, and may rank it higher in search results.
3. Influencer marketing can also help increase the visibility and reach of your brand, which can lead to more people searching for your company or products online. When more people are searching for your brand, it can help improve your search engine visibility and rankings.

Check out MinaWena their platform helps brands and agencies engage with everyday people through their searchable member database and gigs platform.

Brands can recruit & cast for ad campaigns, product testing, reviews, content creation, surveys etc.connecting?brands with everyday south africans. (100% Free)

Founded by Stacey Cruickshanks ??

In recent years, influencer marketing has really been on the rise.?What was a $1.7 billion industry in 2016 has since grown to become a $9.7 billion industry in 2020. In just 2021, it grew to $13.8 billion and was projected to expand to $15 billion in 2022.

Source: Jack Shepherd | The Social Shepherd

Here are some steps you can follow to plan an influencer marketing campaign:

1. Define your goals: What do you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign? Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or boost sales? Clearly defining your goals will help you create a campaign that is aligned with your business objectives.
2. Identify your target audience: Who are you trying to reach with your campaign? Understanding your target audience will help you find influencers who can effectively reach and engage that audience.
3. Brainstorm and create a campaign brief: This may include the key talking points you want the influencer to promote in their video or guidelines around what format you want the content in, the length, when and where it should be posted etc.
4. Post the gig: Post it on MinaWena and have it's members apply for the gig, there are no hidden fees or commission, you work directly with the influencer.
5. Filter through the applications: Decide on which influencers you'd like to work with and negotiate the terms (eg. The influencer must post 3 videos wearing the free pair of shoes etc.)

There is an endless rabbit hole of questions around this marketing strategy and I'd love to dive a little deeper. Post you questions and thoughts and let's get chatting.

Written by: Jonty Stander ??