In the past few years, influencers have become a part of modern culture and a wide range of marketing campaigns. Social media users with large and deeply engaged audiences are a great way to gain awareness of your product or service in the marketplace.
Why influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing works because these influencers have built an audience that listens to and trusts what they share. So you don’t need to work with Kim Kardashian to produce a successful influencer marketing campaign. You need to select an influencer with an active and engaged audience.
Is influencer marketing right for you?
This year, influencer marketing is projected to expand to a whopping $16.4 billion industry and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. So should you drop everything and invest in creating an influencer marketing campaign? It depends. Using influencers in your marketing mix is beneficial if you want to gain awareness and sell a direct-to-consumer product. If your goals don’t fall into one of these two buckets, you may want to consider other avenues.
Can financial advisors use influencers?
Yes, they can, but social media influencers are considered promoters. That means the financial advisor must provide the influencer with the required disclosures as listed under SEC marketing rule Rule 206(4)-1. The influencer must then use the disclosure with their promotion on their social media pages, etc.
“To avoid running afoul of this regulation, advisers are encouraged to “provide such blogger or influencer with the required disclosures and confirm that they are provided appropriately on his or her respective pages.” It is also recommended that advisers include this disclosure requirement in any written agreement or contract with the influencer.”- Investment News.
Identifying industry influencers
Even if influencer marketing isn’t right for you now, work to identify influencers in your industry to collaborate with in the future to help boost shared content. Identifying influencers may require independent research as the influencers you identify may be unique to your company and industry. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Identify the goals for your influencer marketing campaign. Before reaching out to influencers, think about the goals you would like to achieve. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, boost sales, or grow your follower count? Considering the reason for using an influencer should be part of your plan before launching it.
- Understand your target audience. Knowing your target audience is vital to any marketing campaign and engaging with influencers is no different. Think about the specifics behind your target audience like geographic location, age, profession, etc., which will help you select influencers who appeal to your target audience.
- Commence the search. Start by searching hashtags related to your industry, and look at tagged social media posts or mentions. Then, start with one influencer and look for related accounts. You can also check out influencers your competitors are working with and consider using an influencer marketing platform to help with your search.
- Engage with the influencers you’ve identified. When reaching out to influencers, remember to focus on the value both of you can gain from working together. Start by suggesting sharing each other’s blog posts or other pieces of shared content with your audiences. Sharing will help you measure the value of your collaboration if and when you discuss paying for their services.
- Track your metrics. Once your first influencer campaign has launched, track how it performs to gauge if it was successful and identify areas for improvement. Look out for engagement rate, overall reach, positive sentiment, link clicks, conversions, and follower growth to see how the campaign performed.
Are you in need of high-quality financial content? Let us help. Reach out to us, and don’t forget to keep an eye on our blog for more tips to jump-start your content marketing strategy.
