There was a time when only the wealthiest and most powerful companies could afford to engage advertising firms to promote their brands or products to target audiences.
To attain the marketing aims, these businesses had to spend millions of dollars and recruit large staff. However, the days of just the wealthy person being able to afford greater advertising for their products are long gone.
Through social media platforms, technology has provided new ways of inexpensive advertising, and these methods have so far shown to be significantly more trustworthy. It is possible because of influencers.
Who are Influencers?
Influencers are persons with a significant following on social media and other digital platforms; they can range from regular people to celebrities to ‘YouTubers.’
Traditional Marketing vs. Influencer Marketing
Traditional marketing has been flipped on its head by influencer marketing. Marketing teams are no longer debating which ad agency to employ; instead, they are debating the potential of recruiting influencers.
The rise in popularity of influencer marketing is because the majority of customers are millennials who only trust the people they follow.
Influencer marketing, often known as smart marketing, & is the smartest form of marketing in today’s world.
Traditional marketing may win the debate by claiming more consumer coverage, but it would cost companies millions of dollars, not to mention the fact that the majority of ad income would be lost due to adblocking.
Traditional marketing has proven ineffective and costly in today’s fast-paced world of social media and other technology platforms.
Traditional marketing has been impacted by the development of influencer marketing and its quick rise.
We want to emphasize that, while influencer marketing is an efficient approach to get your product to the notice of consumers, you must still deliberately choose which influencer best suits your offering. You can easily get the fittest influencer for your product from an influencer marketing platform. It is the make-or-break factor in the advertising success of your product.
Celebrities vs. Influencers
Celebrities undoubtedly have a large fan base with millions of followers, but they may also be unreliable and expensive to hire.
Another point is that influencers are often carried away by bigger contracts.
So, before you go for a celebrity, give it some thought. Celebrities, although having a large following of followers, are less engaged with them, making it difficult for customers to believe their word.
Other influencers who are more low-key but extremely engaged and have millions of followers who trust them could be a good fit for you. These influencers would also cooperate with the company to come up with new marketing strategies.
These influencers might be well-known YouTubers, bloggers, or social media celebrities. The following are some of the reasons why we would recommend such influencers:
Affordable: These influencers are considerably less expensive than well-known celebrities, and they are willing to collaborate. If you believe your influencer does not have enough followers, you may also boost other influencers, which can help you gain additional exposure.
Interactive: Because they are Internet stars whose livelihood is based on their relationships with their fans, these influencers tend to communicate with their fans and followers more.
Low-key influencers, unlike superstars, are typically not mediocre and work closely with their companies to create fresh and better content that will earn consumers’ confidence.
When it comes to recruiting influencers, companies must be very careful and smart.
Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put restrictions and prohibitions on influencers, a major component in marketing success is an influencer’s conviction in a specific product or brand. The product your influencer supports must be one in which he or she believes in and which matches their personality for the customer to trust the product.
Influencer Marketing Right Now
When a company chooses to collaborate with an influencer to spread its content, it must successfully convey the brand’s message to the influencer for the target audience to be reached in the manner intended by the brand. Regardless of the brand or influencer, this isn’t always the case.
Although some celebrities are known as some of the most powerful influences in the entertainment industry, they have made blunders when it comes to selling a product, and it is due to the outdated model of communication, content production, and distribution.
Brands can now brief creators on a campaign via their smartphone from anywhere in the globe. So now the only thing the business or creative team needs to do is provide a brief, and the rest is handled by the platform, including distribution to other social media channels.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can replace a lot of things, but it can’t replace the “white glove service” that marketers offer to their customers. People will continue to be the ones who help companies and influencers work out the specifics.
Traditional Market Disrupted
Traditional marketing has been disrupted by the present tech era. Technology has undoubtedly democratized marketing techniques; before 2004, marketing contracts and brand ambassadorships were reserved for well-known celebrities.
However, as the world of social media continues to develop, even ordinary people with a large fan base may now promote major companies.
Social media platforms, YouTube, and blogs have all had a huge impact on the globe and gained a lot of followers as a result.
These customers, primarily millennials, have a high level of faith in the Internet personalities they follow rather than the large advertising firms with whom they are unfamiliar and can detect deception in their marketing techniques.
With its capacity to connect with consumers and minimal budget expenses, influencer marketing will surely be the most successful and sensible type of marketing soon.
Conclusion
Our study of influencer marketing vs. traditional marketing reveals a significant marketing change. Advertising is embracing credibility and authenticity as customers express a desire to identify more with their favorite companies. Having trustworthy influencers on your side can help you achieve this goal.
Despite this, corporate statistics suggest that conventional marketing is far from dead. Facebook advertising, Google ads, and Instagram ads have all demonstrated that they can create a significant return on investment to keep businesses afloat.
Influencer marketing is giving advertising a whole new dimension, making it simpler for customers to connect with. Brands that haven’t yet partnered with content producers are missing out on a huge potential.
Mohammed is a content writer and strategist for Influencer Marketing Platform known as a QuikPlace, a resource for brands to get started with Influencer Marketing to promote their brand, product, or services. He focuses on marketing and web design research.
