12 Strategies to 2X Your Business Growth with Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful tools for modern business owners and social media marketers.

By finding and partnering with influential content creators, brands can tap into vast new audiences and create genuinely viral content.

But how exactly do you go about finding influencers on social media? And what strategies should you use to double your business growth?

This blog post breaks down the answers to those questions and provides valuable tips on creating successful campaigns.

Stay tuned!

In recent years, influencer marketing has become one of the hottest new trends in advertising.

Put simply, influencer marketing is a form of marketing that leverages the power of social media influencers to promote a product or service. Influencer marketing is often seen as an effective alternative to traditional advertising, as it can be more relatable and trustworthy.

And while it may seem like a relatively new phenomenon, influencer marketing has been around for centuries.

In modern times, influencer marketing has taken on many different forms.

Today, brands often partner with popular social media users to promote their products or services. This can take the form of sponsored posts, giveaway promotions, or even simply partnering with an influencer to give their product a try.

Pro tip: Small influencers particularly are shown to be most effective!

By working with influencers who have built up an engaged following, brands can reach new customers and boost sales. And while there are some downsides to influencer marketing (such as potential fraud), it can be an incredibly effective way to connect with consumers when done correctly.

Let’s review some strong points:

• Saving money. An influencer’s post costs less than an ad (around $50 for micro-nano influencers), and their followers are more likely to trust their recommendations.
• Creating a personal connection between a brand and its customers. By working with real people who have a genuine interest in the product or service, brands can come across as more relatable and down-to-earth. The direct consequence is that you can build more trust and credibility.
• Reaching new demographics. By partnering with influencers who appeal to specific groups, brands can tap into new markets and expand their customer base.
• Generating leads and sales. When done correctly, influencer marketing can help you increase your ROI exponentially. That’s what we’ll discuss below.

The first step is to develop a plan that includes your goals and available budget.

Once you have a plan in place, you can start to identify potential influencers, reach out to them and pitch your idea. Remember to agree on a strategy, keep in close contact with them and monitor your campaign.

But first:

The most important step. You have to set your goals before the campaign begins. Otherwise, the strategies we’ll discuss below become moot.

Remember: You need a goal to guide you towards the results you want and to help you set specific KPIs.

Let’s look at some examples of goals that ultimately lead to business growth:

• Brand awareness: You don’t necessarily have to work with influencers who have large followings to reach a wider audience. Nano-influencer marketing can build more brand awareness because people listen and remember what these creators have to say. As a result, micro-nano influencers get you quality leads that know about and trust your brand.

• New target market: Companies’ revenues may stagnate or plummet because they are no longer compatible with their former audiences. So instead of bombarding these markets with traditional ads, you can reach out to new ones. Small influencers will help you find new angles to influence new audiences because they have intimate insights about their followings. In fact, studies show that nano-influencers have 22.2 more sales conversations with their followers.

• Increasing sales: Leverage content creators to offer promotions or discounts that get more people to your website. You can also get influencers to analyze your products/services or show their followers how to use those products in their daily lives.

• ​​​​​​​New insights: Most companies ignore this, but getting insights from micro-nano influencers is a powerful tool. These creators have strong relations and great contact with your target market, maybe even better than you have. so use their knowledge to hone your products/services or build better messages.

There are a few different ways to find potential influencers for your brand:

• Search for relevant keywords and hashtags on social media platforms, such as:
  • Your brand name to see who is already talking about your company and products
  • Keywords related to what you’re selling (e.g., shoes, fashion, high heels)
  • Hashtags like #sponsored or #ad to find content creators in your niche

• Use an influencer marketing platform like inBeat. This platform is intuitive and low-cost, allowing you to source influencers with high engagement rates in seconds. You have plenty of easy-to-use filters to get you started with just a few clicks.
• Ask industry experts or thought leaders in your field for recommendations. Ultimately, the best way to find social media influencers is to simply put yourself out there and start engaging with potential partners.
• Look at your databases. Sometimes, the right influencer is just under your nose. They can be a client, employee, or loyal customers.

It’s essential to reward your creators because incentivizing them guarantees more quality content and better relationships. Experience shows that micro-nano influencers prefer moral rewards like feeling part of something bigger instead of actual money.

After all, a post only costs around $50 – or up to $200 if you’re in the fin-tech industry. Influencers from other industries may have even lower rates!

So, you can:

• Agree on a payment
• Reward your influencers with discounts, new releases, and products

But don’t forget that real pay comes from your relationship:

• Including them in your strategy sessions
• Asking for their feedback, insights, and input
• Putting their advice into practice
• Keeping in close contact
• Making them feel like their content is making a change

It’s essential to develop a strategy with your influencers before moving forward with any marketing campaigns because:

• You want to be on the same page.
• You can get valuable input on things like new product development and marketing tactics that you might not have considered otherwise.
• Strategy talks are the foundation of any strong, long-term relationship with content creators.

As we said before, influencer marketing is one of the hottest trends in advertising. The danger with trends, though, is the tendency to go with the flow.

Remember that an influencer campaign works just like any other campaign. That’s why you should measure your results carefully to increase your chances of success.

As we discussed above, the first thing you need to do is identify your goals and objectives. Here’s how your metrics relate to those goals:

• If you’re trying to increase brand awareness, you’ll want to track metrics like reach and engagement.
• If you’re trying to generate leads or sales, you’ll want to track conversion rates.
• If you’re trying to build relationships with influencers, you’ll want to track metrics like follower growth and content sharing.

By tracking the right metrics, you’ll get a clear picture of how your campaign is performing and make necessary adjustments along the way.

Here’s the part you’ve been waiting for. This section is where you get all the examples and actionable tools to accelerate business growth!

Remember that the steps above are essential precursors of this particular phase in your campaign.

Imagine these practical tools as the foot pushing on the acceleration pedal. However, the right influencers will help you steer the wheel, and measuring results is your other foot handling the brake.

And planning is your brain directing the limbs.

There are several ways to promote a store using influencer marketing. For example, the influencer can promote the store in their posts, stories, and video content. This can help reach a larger audience and generate interest in the store.

Additionally, stores can host events and workshops that are promoted by influencers. This can create a personal connection between the influencer and their followers, leading to more sales and loyalty to the store.

Look at this example:

Wallace R. Nozile is a double board-certified dermatologist & micrographic Mohs surgeon. He’s also an Instagram micro-influencer.

His posts dissect various skin-related conditions, myths, and products. Wallace’s funny, insightful posts have high engagement rates, with hundreds of comments and shares. Some of his posts get even more views than his follower number.

That’s why his paid partnerships with CeraVe are so successful:

How to implement this strategy:

1.      Ask your influencers to use specific links that send people to your website. If you’re using a reliable website builder, it should be easy to create personalized links and codes for each influencer. You’ll need these to evaluate your content creators’ performances.

2.      Invite influencers to company events. This strategy gives you the chance to film interviews that you publish on your website or in future ads. You can also use your influencers’ presence at following events as teasers to create desire and awareness.

3.      Invite influencers to your local store. If you have a café or a local shoe shop, invite content creators to experiment with your products at your location. This strategy appeals to a local market.

Add your influencer’s content on your company’s website, social media, newsletters, marketing sales e-mails, and ads. This approach increases your reach and visibility, but also your connection with quality leads.

Remember: Getting those quality leads (e.g., visitors that convert) is a pain point for many companies. That’s why you need to address the right audience to begin with and use the right messages.

Most times, those right messages are influencer-created content because these influencers intimately know your audience.

How to implement this strategy:

Embed on your website/social:

4.      Photos of them using your products to underline the implied endorsement

5.      Interviews to highlight how that influencer is using your product or how your business relationship is affecting that creator’s life

6.      Links to that influencer’s activity. If you’re going about this the right way, you’ve chosen content creators who are thought leaders and experts in their fields. So, promoting their work strengthens your relationship and gives your brand more credibility. As a result, you can source better-qualified leads.

For example, Deux par Deux has a specific “Ambassadors” section on their Instagram. Also, the “Tagged” section encompasses a variety of photos from influencers using this brand for their children:

Another example is Zahraa Berro, a fashion and lifestyle creator. She has a specific Instagram reels section with Amazon links where people can see her using those products specifically.

She includes specific links that send people directly to those product pages.

How to implement this strategy:

7.      Send your influencers products they can try and then post about on their social media. Ensure your influencers include links that send people to your product pages. You don’t want your audience Googling your products because many won’t.

8.      Share those posts on your website and social media accounts in specific sections. A good website builder will know how to organize this content to attract more attention and lead to action. For example, sometimes you have more success sharing on your homepage, other times on your landing or product pages.

If you want to double your business growth, you can get more paying customers through deals and discounts. Research shows that 80% of people make a first time when getting a discount.

This discount is like a tipping point that pushes your potential customers further down the funnel.

Also, research shows that coupons literally create happiness.

So, negotiate a base rate or a sales percentage with your influencers, and have them offer these deals with specific codes to monitor purchases.

For example, Nainika Sharma Magotra is a nano-influencer who advocates for Dot & Key’s vitamin C + E moisturizer. She explains how this moisturizer works and how she uses it in the above-cited post. She also includes a discount code for 10% off and links to where people can purchase.

How to implement this strategy:

10.   Use a specific occasion, such as Christmas or Mother’s Day. People are looking for presents during these holidays, so you can ask influencers to present your product as a valuable gift.

11.   Create a contest. Concoct a specific contest or competition using your influencers’ insights. People who participate in this competition benefit from specific deals and rewards. For example, you can ask them to post pictures of them using your product to get the next one at 50% off.

• Choose the right influencers.
• Set a plan and specific goals before deciding on a strategy.
• Use links, codes, and engagement metrics to track your results.
• Nurture your relationship with your influencers to get the best content.

While influencer marketing may seem like a new trend, it’s actually been around for quite some time. What has changed is the way businesses are using it to reach their target markets. And if you want to see real business growth, you need to start implementing influencer marketing into your own strategy. 

We’ve shared 12 strategies that will help get you started, but don’t stop there! Try out these tips and see how they work for your unique business. Then come back and tell us about your success.