Incorporating various marketing tactics in your startup’s operation will play a vital role in ensuring your startup keeps its doors open. Email marketing, conversational marketing, social networks, and viral marketing are just some of the most powerful yet cost-effective marketing techniques for generating leads and scaling your startup. 

Also, in this ever-evolving social media era, a new and fast-growing customer acquisition marketing method is rising, Influencer Marketing. There is no doubt this trend will keep up. Also referred to as branded content, influencer marketing has taken the marketing realm by storm and is setting up to be a powerful marketing tool to expand your business. 

Unfortunately, There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to making influencer marketing efficacious. Still, with proper planning and research, businesses of all sizes can capitalize on this goodwill wave. 

This post will give insights into what influencer marketing entails and, importantly, help you determine if your startup is ready to use influencer marketing.

What is Influencer Marketing

In plain terms, influencer marketing involves brands or individuals collaborating with online influencers to promote their products/services. Initially, celebrities and socialites were mainly paid to hold up a product. However, the tide is turning, considering most brands opt for authentic and passionate creators even with small but amped-up followers to market their products. The important thing here is that the online collaborators have to be influential. 

Primarily, there are four types of influencers:

• Nano-Influencers with less than 10K followers have the highest engagement rate and offer modest and narrow reach.

• Micro-influencers are more effective in terms of engagements and trust and maybe the best option for your startup. Also, they are considered the best place to start dabbing with influential marketing. 

• Macro-influencers are mostly specialists focusing on particular niches such as travel, fashion, fitness, or food. With up to 1 million followers, macro-influencers may be celebrities or socialites.
• With more than a million followers, Mega-influencers are on the high-end side, considering most are celebrities and prominent brands leverage them for influencer marketing. 

Among the prevalent social media networks, Instagram is the top choice for social influencers. However, TikTok, Facebook, Youtube, Blogs, and Twitter also remain popular powerhouses. 

While your startup needs to harness the power of influencer marketing, especially micro-influencers, there are several factors you should consider. 

Is Your Startup Ready to Use Influencer Marketing? Signs to be on The Lookout For

Before jumping into hiring the first influencer on your list, you should consider whether your business is ready to use one in the first place. Below are some of the signs to watch out for:

Your Product or Service is Good

In fact, your product or service should be grand! You already that great products and services are what keep customers keeping and retain them. Even if you used the best influencers in your niche and your products or services have nothing to show for, you’ll not go anywhere. 

First, understand your specific niche. For example, is it travel products, natural skin care products, among others? Then, confirm whether what you are selling meets the expectation of your target audience. This will also help you narrow down to the right influencers to work with. 

You Have a Presence on Social Media 

Your business must have some presence on social media sites like Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. First, it will supplement the efforts of using an influencer to market your brand. Second, your prospective audience will have an opportunity to learn more and understand your brand and what it offers. 

To ensure your social media pages are ready for this step, confirm whether you have a comprehensive bio page, good content, and some followers. You also need to have an excellent social media strategy in place. It will act as a guide to whatever content you create and post with the influencer. 

Have a Budget 

While you do not need millions of dollars to work with an influencer, you will still need to have one in place. How much you spend will depend on the type of influencer you are using and other individuals you hire to help with the content. 

For instance, if you hire an individual non-influencer, you could have a $20 to $200, while micro-influencers charge $1,000 to $10,000. Whatever your budget, consider what the influencer is offering you and how much you need to pay for the whole campaign and engagement. 

You Are in For The Long Haul

Before you start working with an influencer, even if it is a nano-influencer, you must understand that there are no rapid results. As such, it is best to create a long-term relationship for better results. This will help create a longer-term relationship with your audience and build trust that you can turn into a more substantial customer base.