What Is Influencer Marketing?

Most people think of ‘influencer marketing’ as a celebrity endorsing a product. Because of this, many businesses don’t think that influencer marketing is for them.

In this Vlog, Grant explains that this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case.

(On telephone, away from camera) WHAT! Branson’s not coming?. ..Oh, I’m gonna have to do this on my own then, aren’t I.

So… Influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing is when you leverage the expertise, credibility and attention and reputation of others, in order to position your own products and services as desirable to the audience you want to attract.

Most people think of influencer marketing as a well-known individual or celebrity endorsing a product or demo-ing a product online, or talking about a product. Because of this, many businesses – especially in the business to business world – don’t think that influencer marketing is for them. But actually, it doesn’t need to be like that.

Influencers don’t necessarily have to directly endorse your product or services for you to be able to use influencer marketing.

In any given marketplace, there’ll be people that are particularly well known and respected. This could be geographically based or a vertical market. By working with these individuals, you can leverage some of the credibility and attention that they have.

For example, if you work in a local business community, it could be well-respected business leaders within that geographical location.

If you work in particular vertical market sectors like finance or recruitment, it could be experts and consultants that are well known within those marketplaces.

There are loads of different ways in which you could work with them. For example, you might ask them to write an article for you. You might produce a joint white paper. You might do a webinar with them or interview them about their expertise.

In all of these ways, they’re not directly endorsing what you do, but the fact that you’re working together with them, positions you as an expert and enables you to get the attention of the audience they already have.

In a world where it’s so difficult to get attention – and it’s so precious – anyway you can achieve cut through and raise your own reputation and credibility is important.

That is why if you can use influencer marketing in an appropriate way for your business, it can be really effective.

[Sound of car wheels screeching to a halt) Richard! They said you weren’t coming! … Oh, I’ve made the video now…

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There may be small changes to the spoken word in this transcript in order to facilitate the readability of the written English