Online social selling trends in 2021

Content generation by influencers is the most trending topic happening in the digital marketing world at this time.

Digital influence, or what most people call influencer marketing, is the most trending topic in the digital marketing world. It’s the online endorsements and product placement from notable people with high network value.

Marketers have found that this tends to draw a significant appeal that channels are leveraging to gain favor within targeted audiences. If you’ve recently launched a campaign, but not attracting the performance you had hoped for, learn how you can affect the traffic in your favour.

With Offices shut down in this pandemic, work from home is our new norm. While the new norm has affected our work and social life balance, content generators have been placed in a unique position. Cause unlike other professionals, has allowed them to transition seamlessly into the remote working model while other professionals in the marketing space are still catching up.

With other sectors struggling to catch up, content generators have remained the most valuable and available option for businesses working to engage with customers and prospects.

Influencer marketing strategy in 2021

Today, influencer marketing is a hot and trending topic. Right? Getting into the nitty-gritty details of the concept of Influence can get us lost in the woods.

What largely remains true is the fact that the power to influence and the principles underlying it have remained the same in history. Traditionally, growth marketers have used publicists to build communities, trust, engage and connect with customers.

B2B digital marketing experts have found that any marketing campaign depends on the ability to impact potential customers/ clients to make the right decision — to purchase the business’s product, service or to donate to a well worthy cause for a not-for-profit organization.

Successful growth marketers rock because they know how to convince potential buyers to purchase their products. To put it another way; they are successful because they know how to make customers make decisions in their favor.

So, who is an influencer?

An influencer is a thought leader, prominent online figure, celebrity, assorted business leader, or any reputable expert with the ability to sway the habits of others with their prized opinions. The concept in practice derives its meaning from the definition of an influencer. It is ideally the use of external content creators to engage and advocate your brand’s message.

It works when these expert leaders, sportsmen, or social media enthusiasts with large followings lend their weight to marketing campaigns through product or brand endorsement.

This marketing tactic has had rapid growth recently, with a market worth $10 billion and growing market worth $10 billion and growing, it is a big deal in digital marketing right now. You can’t really miss incorporating it into your digital marketing strategy.

Influencer marketing and social media in 2021

Ten years ago, content generation was exclusively a preserve of celebrities and renowned bloggers. The landscape has, however, changed rapidly. The content marketing space is now saturated with social media content creators — marketers who are using social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook to attract large followings. In fact, social media content creators are the trendsetter and tastemakers today. Every time you go on social media; you can miss some influential people with just a few followers while others amass millions of followers.

The content creators have a loyal follower base in specific niches that you could use to access your market or target audience. Above all, they can help create user-generated content about your brand. Once this content is shared on their timelines, it can be your greatest marketing promotions tool and a great Framework for Marketing in a Digital World.

Why influencer marketing in 2021?

Influencer marketing is gaining traction for many reasons. Think about it this way; we see a lot of advertising daily. Be it on TV, social media handles, or billboards, we are literally surrounded by advertisements everywhere we go!

It is no wonder people are trying as much as possible to avoid ads and boring call-to-actions, especially on social media.

If your ad is boring, nobody will be interested in what you are saying or have to offer. So, how do you make the difference? It would help if you had new, more natural, and customized ways of communicating with your prospects. And that is where the creativity of content creators comes in to help.

External content creators is the way to go! It is what works nowadays.

Why does influence marketing work?

It is a shortcut: Simply said, it works because it helps when limited campaign budgets need to level up. People look onto the internet for almost everything. As such, online content creators have found ground as tastemakers who help prospects decide which brand, product, or course of action to support.

Trust: Additionally, it is believed that if you influence the mind, then you can win the world. To effectively win the world, you must win the trust of those you want to influence. Gain the press coverage needed and honestly overlaps with their followers or fan base to increase activations and conversions. Much commitment and nurturing go into this relationship. As a business or organization, you could leverage an authority’s fan relationship to pass out a positive message about your brand.

Why is this marketing tactic effective?

Think about this, have you ever gone shopping online for a pair of shoes, T-shirts, etc.? You probably ended up not making any purchase because you felt you needed to do some background checks on the brand and online retailer before making an order. Here are some reasons why it works.

Influences: It is effective at influencing customer decisions. When customers are at crossroads regarding a given product or service, the marketing tactic comes in by providing customers pre-packaged information about a given brand, product, or service. As such, the customer does not get lost because they have got an ideal image of what they want.

Promotion: Besides the ‘influence,’ this digital marketing tactic plays a critical role in product, service, or brand promotion. Consumers are choosing to listen to each other over brands more than ever before. It is easier to communicate your message, for example, through referrals than, for instance, through direct advertisements.

Social media users who have established credibility and audience working as consumers can quickly start the conversation making it easier for you to target your audience in the process. Ready audience: Most businesses struggle to get the right audience for their sales. However, the audience is readily available to persons of influence; this could be a celebrity’s fan base or followers of social media platforms.

Once a business identifies the right authority in a niche that aligns with its business, it can always use its audiences to pass out its message to the right people.

The message resonates when the influencer and brand naturally fit.

The benefits for small businesses.

Any marketing initiative is measured by the effect it has on the targeted audience. It could be a business lead, email registration, sales, or event attendance. A good initiative should ensure maximum effect and return on investment.

A high return on investment

A survey by Mediakix indicates that this digital marketing channel has an 11X return on investment compared to other channels in digital marketing.

Increase conversions

The trust relationship between the thought leader and the followers makes it easy for the content creators to convince the followers to take specific actions, which in turn works to increase conversion for your next campaign.

Generates brand awareness

It is the shortest way to create your brand awareness. In essence, with this tactic, you are sure of reaching out to nearly 90% of an authority’s followers.

Generates leads

Persons of influence are better placed to interact with people and companies that you have not previously interacted with. They can spread brand or product messages to a wider audience with a level of authenticity that comes from a trusted party.

It provides excellent value to your customers.

At the heart of content marketing lies the need to provide content that solves some problem, entertains, inspires, or educates the audience.

Benefits for not for profit organizations

Is there a reasonable overlap between influencer marketing and not-for-profit? There is considerably a lot that not-for-profit organizations can gain.

Legitimacy

Like in small businesses, they can help a broader audience understand that the cause you are serving is essential. Influence marketing is convenient when an organization is starting and has not directly linked with its audience.

Increased engagements

Thought leaders who have established credibility and an audience that resonates with your cause offer an excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your organization. They help start the conversation, drive conversions and boost your brand awareness to new audiences.

Activation

One most effective way to leverage influence marketing is by looking at your brand as a product. So, instead of promoting a product as it happens in small businesses, you will partner with social media gurus who have established credibility and audience to raise awareness of your cause and spread the word.

Social media personalities, celebrities, or any notable persons are more beneficial especially when you focus on raising funds, achieving event attendance, or looking into recruiting new volunteers and supporters for your cause.

In addition, consider content generation to bridge some of your company's marketing with a social business responsibility strategy. It's a great vehicle to boost brand awareness to reach a wider audience. Influencers use their platforms to create meaningful messaging, run contests that work towards promoting your brand, generate value for your audience and promote your business or organization. This is incredibly beneficial for any start-up brand.

And lastly, commit to working with a marketing industry expert to implement your first digital marketing strategy and experience these results in your business.

Learn more about growth marketing and gain effective marketing strategies.