Influencers and Their Power on Brands
The use of influencers to promote brands has become the fastest-growing and most lucrative segment of advertising in the world of today. It has been proven that influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads. Many people now use social media and follow people who they admire or look up to. Influencers are typically followed by a large number of people. When brands use influencers for advertising their products or services, they are introducing them to the influencer’s audience, increasing brand awareness by a large number.
Brands have many benefits when they use influencers to grow their business. First, trust is built because influencers have relationships and credibility with their fans. This allows them to engage their fans with the brand and show that it is worth the purchase. Second, it improves brand awareness because influencers can expand reach and knowledge of the brand. By providing influencers with content that they can share on their platforms, the brand is being seen and introduced as a new trend to a larger audience.
Third, reaching the brand’s target audience. The great thing about using influencers is that they place content in front of social media users interested in its niche. Meaning that there is no need for a brand to find their target audience since influencers will help ensure a targeted audience interested in the product or service by reading and engaging with its content. Fourth, brands have the opportunity of building long-term relationships with influencers. Establishing a bond with influencers creates a strong and lasting relationship that allows the brand to see long-term results.
While the influencer helps the brand, the brand also supports the influencer to have more value and popularity. As the influencer’s numbers grow, the brands and many other influencers will become interested in advertising the product or service. Two brands that I have seen that use influencers frequently are Daniel Wellington and ASOS. Daniel Wellington is a Swedish brand that uses minimalist designs and social media marketing to sell watches. I have seen Kendall Jenner, bachelorette contestants, TikTok stars, and even bloggers who have used their digital platform to advertise Daniel Wellington.
This brand has been using influencers since 2010; therefore, this brand is one of the most popular that have effectively used this form of marketing and made a large profit from it. This brand asks influencers to include their own personalized discount code with a photo of them wearing a Daniel Wellington watch, which they receive for free. By providing a customized code, the brand can see how many sales the influencer is contributing to and how well they are advertising the watch. Influencers have been successful for this company’s marketing plan because Daniel Wellington stands as one of the most recognized names in the business of watches. 71 percent of the content they post on their main page comes from influencers of their product.
ASOS is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. They sell over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories. They focus their marketing on creating content through influencers. Instead of using sponsored posts, ASOS created sponsored accounts for individual influencers. They are known as “ASOS insiders,” and their posts include ASOS clothing outfits with links that allow followers to “buy the look.”
This is smart because many people don’t know how to dress well or have a defined style and prefer to buy an entire look. It also allows people to follow these influencers’ Instagram accounts so that they can keep up with the new looks ASOS releases. By using these influencers, the brand avoided creating their own engaged audience and allowed influencers to build an organic one. ASOS insiders is an excellent example of a brand that prioritizes long-term engagement tactics and creates brand authenticity. Many influencers want to get involved with this brand due to its great reputation and success.
Influencers can help a brand increase its awareness and show authority. Out of 81 percent of marketers who use influencer content, 51 percent said it outperforms brand-created content. Since it works as a digital form of word-of-mouth, influencers have power within their fan communities. With this power, brands can reach out to a massive audience making the brand successful.
