HOW TO DO INFLUENCER MARKETING AS A SMALL BUSINESS

Influencer marketing is a practice that allows you to use the community of "influencers" to give visibility to a product or service on social networks. An influencer marketing campaign most often translates into a product or service being promoted by an influencer to his community. The objective of this action is to give visibility but also to influence this community to use this product or service. An influencer is a person with a more or less important community on social networks. He/she gathers this community around the same subject, the same passion. The goal of the influencer is to influence people's lives. Companies have a strong interest in these people to promote their products. 

Nobody likes to be invaded by ads when surfing the Internet. That's why ad blockers are widely used nowadays. This strong adoption of these tools proves that Internet users are not receptive to advertising on the Internet. On the other hand, it can sometimes be difficult to target Internet users.  An influencer has a well-defined community: it is then easier to target your prospects. Moreover, thanks to the proximity of influencers with their community, subscribers are much more receptive to being confronted with advertising. Moreover, according to a study by Augure Group, "93% of companies say that their influencer marketing strategy has allowed them to obtain more visibility and acquire greater notoriety, 76% to build customer loyalty and 27% to create new business opportunities."

It is very difficult to give a price for influencer marketing. Indeed, the price varies according to several criteria :

• The influencer: It all depends on the number of subscribers, the rate of engagement of the latter, the type of publication you want to make.
• The platform: Some platforms are more expensive than others. However, don't limit yourself to the cheapest platform: choose the most relevant platform for your product or service!
• The length of your campaign: The longer your campaign, the more expensive it will be.

Because it is very difficult to determine a price, we suggest you to consult the site Instagram Money Calculator. It provides an estimate of the cost of your influencer marketing based on the influencer. 

As a small business, you can also do influencer marketing. You don't need to spend a lot of money. You just have to follow a few rules. 

Before you start contacting an influencer, you need to choose your objectives, which strategy to opt for. Do you want to give visibility to your product or service? Do you want to encourage your prospects to buy your goods? Do you want to improve the visits on your website? Gain subscribers on your social networks? Depending on your objectives, the choice of your influencer will differ. However, even if your objectives are different, you should contact an influencer who at least : 

• Have a loyal and consistent community
• Match your objectives
• Match your brand image

If the latter does not meet these criteria, it will not be interesting for you to do influencer marketing. Besides, there is no need to contact a big influencer if you are a small business. Even with a small budget, you can contact an influencer with a smaller community. The most important thing is that the influencer fits your image and has a community that is interested in your product. Keep in mind that it will be more advantageous for you to work with a small influencer who has a community that is really likely to buy your product rather than the other way around. 

Before you start influencer marketing, you need to follow a few rules. The mention on the publication, the video, must be visible by the audience. You have to be transparent with the community. On Instagram for example, your publication must mention the "#ad" at the beginning of the description. On YouTube for example, the videographer must select "includes a commercial communication" before publishing his video. This way, a small icon appears at the beginning of the video mentioning that it contains a product placement. For a few words, it is absolutely necessary to be transparent and not hide your influencer marketing.

In conclusion, influencer marketing can be very effective. No matter what your goals are, if they are well established, your campaign can help you generate conversions, gain visibility. You just need to follow a few simple tips to get a good return on investment. 

Need a digital agency to help you build a successful influencer marketing strategy?

 Call  Dubuc Marketing, for accompaniment on the Rive-Sud, in Delson, Sainte-Catherine, Saint-Constant or Longueuil.