Influencer marketing is really nothing new. It’s the rise in the popularity of social media, especially during the lockdown, that has revived its buzz but the concept itself is as old as time.
I like to call it a modernization of Word-of-mouth marketing or advertising. It is basically partnering with a person, or group of persons with some significant public following (the influencers) who can influence the buying decisions of their followers.
Simply put, it is when a brand pays an influential figure to promote their products to their fans so that they patronize the brand’s products.
When put this way do you now realize it’s nothing really new? Old time classic adverts could easily pass off as influencer marketing. Cast your mind back to memorable ads like the Ashfoam advert featuring Tic-Tac and Obrafuor. Or how about the Fiesta Condoms ads with Sarkodie as the poster boy? And one of my all-time favourites, the Kalypo ads that featured ‘Oleele’. Yes, you know them as celebrities, but in actual fact they were ‘influencers’.
In more modern times, influencer marketing has become more identifiable with people who are seen as experts, or ‘leaders’ on different social networks. So a person who is able to build a community around a specific topic or industry such as bitcoin, or gaming could be perceived as an influencer within that community.
The marketing comes in when you want to leverage the influence he/she has over their community to promote your product or service.
It all boils down to the power of a personal brand. The more authentic and genuine a person’s brand is, the greater their ‘influence’.
Influencer marketing is huge and is here to stay for the long term and brands looking to leverage an authentic and proven way of creating a positive brand awareness with their target audience should definitely explore this opportunity.
Want to get started or want experts to help you craft a workable influencer marketing strategy that can return qualified leads for your business? Contact iSupreme Plus today!
