Aligning influencer marketing with business strategy
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As marketers wrangle for consumers' attention amid an explosion of clutter on every channel, it's no wonder Influencers have become such important commercial facilitators. In a crowded room, in short, all eyes turn to the celebrity. Trading on their power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge or devotion of audiences, Influencers are turning their enthusiastic followers into essential cogs in brand marketing machinery.
The research organization Astute Analytica predicts that dollars spent on the global Influencer industry will grow from $10.5 billion in 2022 to an eye-popping $118 billion by 2031. To buttress what otherwise sounds like a "pie in the sky" projection, the analysts add that "89 percent of marketers say that ROI from Influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels.
Letting go of the illusion of control
Control is something most marketers have a hard timing relinquishing, but doing so is absolutely vital to the success of Influencer relationships and campaigns. Among B2B marketers especially, there can be some confusion between the words "influencer" and "shill." Often, contracts will state something like, "You will speak at x events, about which you'll blog y times and tweet these pre-crafted tweets z times." In these instances, the marketers may think they are properly managing the Influencer relationship, but more often they are handicapping the Influencer and jeopardizing the outcome of the campaign.
With Influencers, it comes down to whether you are prepared to share the pen, to literally hand it over.