Partnering with Influencers

In today's culture, we have YouTube stars, Instagram celebrities and other people of importance on social media. There is a simple term for these types of social media users, and that is "influencer." An influencer is a person or entity that commands a large following due to their own personal brand and how much of an authority they are in their respective areas.

However, before hiring an influencer, they need to be vetted to make sure they will actually help your brand instead of hindering it. Fortunately, vetting an influencer is fairly simple to do, but does require diligence

The top 5 ways to vet potential influencers are:

• Their personal brand and audience: Does their audience match your target demographic? For example, if you brand is lawn-care products and an influencer's audience is primarily urban, living in condos or apartments, then this wouldn't be a beneficial relationship for you.
• Is their audience engaged: Sure 50,000 followers sound good, but if their posts are only getting 100 likes, then the engagement doesn't match up. In fact, it's a pretty good indicator that the followers were purchased via bots or fake accounts.
• Is their audience compelled to purchase: An influencer can create engaging posts that get everyone excited, but at the end of the day, do they consistently inspire people to go out and buy what they're talking about?
• Follower interaction: You need an influencer who will actually put in the time and effort. One easy way to tell is through measuring how much they interact with their followers on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
• Previous examples: Perhaps the greatest indicator of being an influencer of value to your brand is to see what they've done or are currently doing for previous brands. Nothing says more than client satisfaction to determine if you should strike up a partnership.

Social Media Shopping

Using social media as a marketing tool is nothing new. Many times, users can click on a link to go to a website and buy whatever product or service they are interested in. The trend to watch out for is the spread of direct selling on social media.

Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shop Now and Pinterest buy-able pins have paved the way for the ease of direct selling, and it is growing. In a recent 2018 study, it was discovered that approximately 40 percent of users are following their favorite brands, with about 25 percent of those users projected to make a purchase. This percentage is projected to increase with brands that offer the equivalent of a "buy now" button.

With a reported number of just under 3.2 billion social media users in 2018, this is a marketing tool you can't afford to miss out on.

The Power of Video

Social media users want attention-grabbing content. This is largely due to so many competing posts and stimuli available across multiple social channels. How do you stand out by using the power of video, more specifically, the power of live video?

This trend is expected to explode in 2019, as more now than ever users are watching videos. In a recent study, it was reported that 95 percent of people watched explainer videos to understand more about a product or service, with roughly 81 percent converting into a consumer

Building on that is the use of live streaming. In 2017, two-thirds of all internet traffic was video streaming, and by 2020, it is estimated to grow to 82 percent.

While taking advantage of any one of these trends can help you gain an edge, you need to partner with an agency who can put it together into one cohesive social media strategy. At GKA, we work with you to determine your needs and goals while building a flexible plan that grows with your business. We provide our clients with unmatched service and success, thanks to our drive to deliver impactful results every day. Contact us today for more information on how we can set you up with a winning social media strategy.