Sell Your Product Fast

Back in the day it was about gold-medal Olympic athletes endorsing dry cereal on television. Today it’s about people called Pewdiepie raking in 60M a year from a chair in his front room through a YouTube channel. It’s every brand’s dream come true — influencers like Lebron James or Serena Williams endorsing your product to their 110 million subscribers while you gain thousands of sales in hours without ever lifting a digital marketing finger.
 
The fact that influencer marketing is so successful and popular means that a lot of marketing gurus are considering this ingenious marketing strategy and wondering how to wrap their brand around it. As you can imagine, it’s big bucks for the big names to endorse you — but would a few smaller influencers have the same effect?
 
At the same time, there are a ton of influencer wannabe’s on every social media channel, luring eager entrepreneurs with irresistible promises. Buyer beware – separating the real from the fake takes some investigation. If an influencer has purchased their audience of 200k instead of growing them organically, there could be very little return on investment (ROI).
 
How can your brand succeed with influencer marketing? Here’s what you need to know.
 
Know Your Audience
Before you choose to work with an influencer, make sure you fully understand your own target market. Who do they already follow on social media? For example, getting a K-Pop group to endorse your product makes no sense if your target audience is full of baby boomers.
 
It’s also important to know what influencers are most likely to drive sales. Some influencer marketing is just about brand awareness (wearing your logo on a polo shirt), while others will demonstrate your product or service to their audience to drive sales more directly. Check influencer references and make sure the results they claim are authentic.
 
By being clear about who your best customers are, you can make the right decision about what influencer — if any — will be profitable for your business.
 
Know if Your Product or Service is a Good Fit
Certain products are far more likely to sell after an influencer endorsement. That doesn’t mean that all brands shouldn’t use influencer marketing, but you want to be careful about how much you invest and your ROI.
 
Beauty and skincare products are the number one industry for influencers. Watching someone you admire put on a product and seeing the immediate improvement is a strong incentive to buy.
 
Health and wellness is another big one — as long as you choose the right brand ambassador. Someone who clearly has no experience in healthcare or violates FDA and FTC regulations is going to set you back instead of moving you forward.
 
A surprising industry that does very well with influencer marketing is children’s toys. Children’s unboxing videos on YouTube have scored major points with kids and parents, making many youngsters internet-famous long before they can drive.
 
Here are a few more industries that do well with influencer marketing:
• Travel and Lifestyle
• Food and Drink Including Restaurants
• Tools
• Clothing and Fashion
 
From cars to whiskey, products that can be shown off and demonstrated as making people more beautiful, happier, thinner, healthier, smarter, richer, are all ideal for influencer strategies.
 
Choose the Right Influencers
How do you get the attention of an influencer and partner with them? As we noted above, start by thinking about who your audience actually follows. Then, look for popular accounts.
 
Beware of fake influencers. People will purchase followers so it looks like they have tens of thousands of followers, but they don’t. Startups often fall for these influencers because the advertising fee is low, but the results are non-existent.
 
Look Beyond Humans. Pet accounts can be some of the most popular out there. Why not find an animal that’s popular among your audience and see if their owner will work out a deal? Don’t assume you have to sell pet supplies — several car manufacturers have partnered with popular animals.
 
Choose Your Platform. Most influencers exist on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Think about where your audience spends time and target your influencer marketing accordingly.
 
Are Influencers Right For You?
For most product-based businesses, influencer marketing presents a big opportunity. However, because it’s such a popular strategy, it’s a crowded space. Make sure you pay attention to where your ideal customers are and who they watch. Then, see if you can connect with an influencer to promote your product.
 
For more help with marketing and brand strategy, StraightFire always offer free, no obligation advice.