Influencer marketing: A double-edged sword?
Influencer marketing has picked up in recent years as brands see the value of tapping into the huge online followings that influencers can have. There are huge numbers of influencers out there in pretty much every industry, serving as a direct channel to millions of followers. This makes it easy to access a large, targeted group of potential clients through the influencer. In just a single post your brand could reach millions that are all immediately interested in your product or service. Sounds too good to be true, right?
Sometimes it is. The thing with influencing is of course that it is a full-time job and thus they need to be paid for their services. Often that isn’t an insignificant amount of money. Cost is determined by how much promoting you want them to do and the number of followers they have and this can end up being expensive. We’re talking anywhere from R15,000 for a single post to millions of Rand for a campaign or year-long period, and anywhere in between. There are even influencer marketing agencies you can use to find the perfect influencer for your brand (or indeed, your budget).
Despite the potential cost, there are many cases where influencer marketing has paid off big time. For example, when Kay Yarms tweeted a single tweet to her 263,100 followers, talking about her positive experience with Dawn’s new body lotion, it sold out. Clicks alone sold out of the lotion in over 500 of their stores. There is no doubt that influencer marketing can absolutely work wonders for a brand.
On the flip side, influencers can post many times throughout the day for various brands, meaning the single post that you paid R15,000 for could quickly become lost in the noise and fade into obscurity. Another thing to consider is the lack of control you have over an influencer’s behaviour, making an iron-clad contract a necessity. You don’t want to sign someone on as a brand ambassador only to have them end up in a scandal taint your brand’s reputation because you were affiliated with them.
Influencers themselves can find themselves harmed if a relationship with a brand is not carefully thought through. Recently, when Hello Darling’s travel clients complained publicly, they turned on the influencers who had once promoted the brand, calling them out for not doing their due diligence.
The world of influencer marketing is a challenging one to navigate, that’s for certain. There is simply so much to consider when looking to hire an influencer that it can be daunting. Influencer marketing can be a double-edged sword, but Hashtag Marketing knows exactly how to guide you in your search for the perfect influencer, and how to structure the whole process to make it a pleasant and valuable experience for all involved. Let us help connect you with your audience and tap into your perfect target audience today.
