Influencer marketing: how you can use it to grow your eCommerce business

When you think of influencer marketing, what do you think of?

• Cristiano Ronaldo promoting the latest designer aftershave?
• Kim Kardashian encouraging her followers to buy hair products?
• Logan Paul pushing some sort of sugary soft drink?

Yes, the most-high profile social media users can demand millions of pounds for a handful of sponsored posts. However, you can still take advantage of influencer ads even if you have a small marketing budget.

Here’s how to do it…

The power of the nano and micro-influencers

In social media speak, a nano-influencer is someone with between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, while a micro-influencer has between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.

(I’ll give you two minutes to check out your Instagram account to see where you currently stand!)

If you’re an eCommerce business, these are the social media accounts you should be working with. In fact, in 2021, micro-influencers created 91% of all sponsored posts on social media.

So, why are nano and micro-influencers the perfect partners to work with if you want to promote your products on social media?

You spend less money

First and foremost, these influencers charge lower rates. While you can expect to drop tens of thousands of pounds to work with an influencer that has a higher follower count, a nano or micro-influencer will charge significantly less. For an Instagram post, the typical nano-influencer can earn up to ￡78, while a micro-influencer generally charges up to ￡394.

(Of course, if they like your product, they may be willing to charge less or even do it for free).

You reach more interested people

Secondly, these influencers have a more targeted following. Let’s go back to Mr Ronaldo, who has a staggering 595 million followers on Instagram. Sounds like a massive audience to sell your wares to, right?

However, many of those followers are defunct accounts, spam accounts, and bots. It’s estimated that 15% of his followers are fake. And while the most famous number 7 in the world still gets a nice payday for selling products online, it means brands are paying to advertise into thin air.

On the other hand, smaller influencers are more likely to have a genuine and legitimate audience. And as nano and micro-influencers spend more time responding to their followers, engagement rates are much higher. Influencers with between 1,000 and 5,000 followers have the highest engagement rate of all.

(Let’s be honest; can you imagine Ronaldo liking every single comment on his posts? I’m struggling to see it!)

How to find the perfect influencers to work with

Influencer marketing is an effective tool to drive sales on social media. However, if you’re new to this marketing channel, it can be hard to get started.

Invest time in finding the right influencers to work with though, and you’ve found fantastic people to partner with in the months and years to come.

Here are some of my top tips for getting started with influencer marketing.

1. Before you begin…

Before you start searching for influencers to represent your brand, you must understand what you can and can’t do. Falling foul of the ASA can mean you and your influencer can get in trouble. And this can lead to naming and shaming, as well as a hefty fine.

Essentially, any posts where money or products have changed hands must be clearly disclosed as advertisements. There are also additional rules around advertising age-restricted products, slimming aids, and foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar.

2. Encourage influencers to come to you

There’s nothing wrong with asking prospective influencers to come to you. This can be a massive time-saver, especially for smaller eCommerce businesses.

Set up a page on your website and ask social media users to get in touch with why you should work with them. Ask how many followers they have, what they post about, and how often they post. You can then reach out to them when the time is right.

3. Check out hashtags related to your business

Manually searching hashtags relevant to your business is a great way to find potential partners to work with.

Not only does it help you find influencers within your niche, but it’s a sure sign that they know how to promote themselves. And the more they promote themselves, the more reach your posts will get.

Top tip: Check your competitors’ hashtags to see who they’ve been working with. If an influencer has worked with a rival, the odds are that they will be a good match for your business too.

4. Find influencers that post quality content

Imagine you’re hiring for your marketing team. Someone who arrives to an interview on time, is neatly dressed, and has done their research is more likely to get the job than someone who waltzes in half an hour late in their pyjamas.

The same logic needs to apply to any influencers you work with. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do they post high-quality photos?
• Do they use the right hashtags?
• Do they write clear, engaging, typo-free captions?
• Do they engage with followers? Here’s an engagement rate calculator that’s useful
• Have they worked with other brands before? This shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, but it’s always good to work with someone who has experience and knows the ropes

5. Plan ahead

It’s essential to be organised when planning an influencer campaign, especially when you need to promote something time-sensitive. You don’t want to ask someone to push your Christmas jumper range one week before December 25th!

The more time you can give a prospective partner, the better. I always recommend giving at least two months’ notice. Popular influencers can get busy very quickly!

6. Have a plan (but be flexible)

It’s always good to come to an influencer with an idea of what you want. For example, if you’d like them to post three Instagram Stories and a post about your brand.

However, an experienced influencer will also have their own ideas about how to best promote your products. Do pay attention to them, as they will know what content their target audience engages with most.

7. Monitor your results

It’s essential to monitor your marketing to ensure you get the right return on investment, and this applies to influencer marketing too. After all, you want to work with partners that drive the right results for your business.

Track impressions, reach, and traffic to your website – a UTM tracking code is a great way to do this.

Giving your influencer a unique discount code doesn’t just incentivise followers to buy, but can help track which influencers bring you the most sales.

In conclusion

Influencer marketing drives results – with businesses earning over ￡5 for every ￡1 they spend on marketing their brand. If your eCommerce business is new to this marketing channel, it might be time to check it out.

While I might not have Kim Kardashian’s personal email address, I do have the knowledge and skills you need to drive your business forward. Drop me a DM today, and let’s talk eCommerce.