Anna Hubbel, writer at AdvertiseMint, Facebook ads agency
Influencer marketing is one way to reach millennial and gen z audiences. However, it’s not for everyone. Retailers, for instance, have more of a challenge making influencers work for them because they have more products to market to varying audiences.
Marketing analyst Emarketer reports that 31 percent of retailers work with brand advocates to become influencers, 30 percent use microinfluencers, and 28 percent use paid celebrity influencers. However, 33 percent do not have any plans to incorporate influencers into their marketing strategy.
Image Courtesy of Emarketer
It’s difficult for retailers who market a wide range of products to a variety of demographics to choose the right influencer and the right social media platform. For example, marketing a toy is more suited for YouTube, as opposed to fashion products, which are more suited for Instagram. Additionally, different influencers are more effective for certain demographics. For example, male audiences are more drawn to influencers who post about sports and outdoors, whereas female audiences gravitate to beauty, fashion, and food influencers. It becomes difficult for retailers with a wide range of products and audiences to pinpoint just one influencer and one platform.
But retailers should not discard the power of influencer marketing altogether, says Emarketer.
“Influencer marketing is important for businesses around the world, particularly those in retail, fashion, beauty and entertainment,” said Emarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Many consumers, particularly young people, get product recommendations from the influencers they follow. Retailers that collaborate with an influencer can bring new shoppers into stores and create buzz around their offerings.”
According to Emarketer, Instagram leads as the top platform used for influencer marketing. Mediakix data from January 2019 shows that 89 percent of US marketers say Instagram is the most important social platform for influencer marketing. Emarketer explains that a third of US daily Instagram users make a purchase based on an Instagram influencer’s recommendation, making it the natural go-to platform.
However, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are also powerful influencer platforms. Consumers may purchase different types of products on different platforms, making the influencer game a little trickier for broad retailers to zero in on.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to influencer marketing,” Emarketer said in its report. “For some products and demographics, it might not make sense to work with influencers at all. But if marketers do their homework and find the right influencer on the right platform, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool.”
By Anna Hubbel, writer at AdvertiseMint, best Facebook advertising agency
