Mumbai: If you reflect ten to twelve years, affiliate marketing was a reliable method of reaching your target audience on the internet. Traditionally, affiliate publishers and web portals were the primary channels through which brands competed for customers. Trends, however, are subject to cyclical changes, aren't they?

Nowadays, brands are looking for influencers who can promote their products on social media. The effectiveness of influencer marketing was questioned five or six years ago, but now brands are willing to pay a lot to connect with the right influencers through agencies.

According to our experience with affiliate marketing and influencer advertising, influencer marketing is a mixed form of affiliate marketing and celebrity endorsements. Influencers are now able to leverage their power through the creation of engaging brand-centric content. As part of our mission, we strive to connect with like-minded customers and to provide them with a better customer experience.

Powerful influencer platforms

Curated newsletters have taken off over the past few years. It's common for business influencers to promote articles through newsletters on social media like Twitter and LinkedIn. You'll likely come back for more as you read.

Eventually, you'll gain trust in the sources of information in the content, and their words will be able to influence you. When they promote a product or service, a buyer might buy it. You should send out newsletters and blog posts.

The old ways of marketing can't get you brand awareness anymore. Be sure to take advantage of influencers who are influencing your target audience.

Get an edge on your competition with influencer marketing. To help you start influencing people with your products and services, here are some tips:

• Ensure your influencers are legit

Influencer marketing follows the same principles as other forms of marketing. Getting to know your audience members is key to providing anything of value to them.

Make sure you segment your target audience based on their interests. Pick influencers who can attract those people instead of those whose reach will do it. Any relationship you have with an influencer should be based on relevance. 

If you pick an influencer with a similar target audience to your brand, you'll be able to reach the right people. Consumers 92 per cent of the time trust you as an authoritative source and recommend you to friends and family. Many followers of influencers consider their videos, photos, and posts to be endorsements.

• Make your influence niche-specific

Marketing with influencers can reach millions, but you won't get as much for your money as with other "mass" marketing strategies.

Try looking for smaller influencers and followers instead of big ones. It's often more likely that they have engaged and dedicated fans. Their communication should also be tailored to the audience and generate responses.

Many brands use this approach. This campaign wasn't designed to maximise ROI but to expand the brand's social footprint, which can pay off financially.

• Mix your content correctly

You can reach different audiences with influencer marketing, just like with content marketing. Make sure you're not just using Instagram and Snapchat for short-form content. These platforms don't just have viewer influence; you shouldn't rely on them exclusively.

See if long-form content offers you more opportunities instead. By using sites like Medium, you can find the right balance rather than focussing on one type of content exclusively. A platform like medium lets your audience dig deeper into topics than Snapchat and Instagram.

Curating your marketing collateral is always a good idea, and a good collection provides various content. You can further the discussion with pictures, videos, articles, and even emails.

• Make give-aways free and valuable

No one can deny that people love freebies. Ensure your influencers are hosting giveaways so your target audience will be attracted to your content.

It will help to encourage participants to follow your account and comment on your posts, and it may get more engagement. Customers will return to your business after sampling your products and getting to know your brand.

37 per cent of the time, consumers buy stuff based on recommendations from social influencers. The social proof of influencers is one of the reasons consumers trust them. There is a chance these strategies will boost sales, so they are worth a shot.

Conclusion

A marketer's arsenal of marketing strategies is growing more powerful with the use of influencers. It will help if you learn how to use it properly to be able to use it effectively. It takes considerable time, effort, and research to identify the right influencer to promote your brand. Once you have achieved the proper balance for your bottom line, it may be a divine match.

The author of the article is PDP Media founder and CEO Raushn Jha.