Impact of Social Media and Business Influencers on Marketing

A whole new lane has opened in business as a result of the popularity of social media: digital marketing. Digital marketing uses different digital platforms to promote a product or service. Social media marketing is a part of digital marketing activities and should be considered as one of the tools to be used under the same roof.

Companies now use social media platforms as though they are the environments where they advertise what they have to offer. They also post content (messages and/or related material) compatible with the industry they operate and work in cooperation with Business Influencers.

There are quite a number of advantages to using social media in digital marketing. Let’s take a look at them below.

1. Brand Loyalty: Businesses strive to reach a state where customers choose their brand purely because they trust the company. When customers buy the product or the service because they have faith in the company means there is no need for persuasion. Social media channels make it possible for the company to interact with its customers and build a bond with them. In this environment the middlemen (retailers or wholesalers) are eliminated which allows the communication to be precise and clear. Brand loyalty is achieved easily thanks to the advantages provided by social media platforms.

2. Easy Communication: Traditionally, brand-customer interaction was limited to an event hosted by the company to launch their new products. Through social media, brand-customer interaction has become more frequent, easy and fast. Customers today can reach out to their brand through platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (and the likes of it).

3. Reduced Costs for Marketing and Promotional Activities: Because social media marketing applies the concept of targeted marketing and advertising, it can create maximum brand awareness among targeted audiences at less cost. Social media marketing can also reduce operating costs and increase the profit margin of the business.

Social media channels are preferred increasingly by businesses to create brand value and to target more customers. In order to achieve long term goals with reduced costs there are marketing tools to help with your business. 

Research shows the number of people who are logged on to digital platforms is increasing and these digital beings spend most of their time on social media. Increasing number of users and the interaction between the platforms and the users clearly affect marketing activities. This means you need to use media influencers, brand ambassadors and content creators to promote your products.

Content creating activities should be considered as a sensitive matter for each specific industry. Social networks open the space for all sorts of material and you need to use these environments efficiently. Sponsored blogs or sponsored posts are one of the tools used by content creators. If you can engage thought leaders or influential celebrities to your company, social marketing will be even more fruitful. You are trying to reach a niche target audience and many celebrities already have access to them.

A great way of getting brand exposure is having a celebrity promote your product. This exposure boosts your sales and improves your reputation, which is why celebrity or influencer endorsement is important. However, celebrities or known influencers are not the only solution to the problem. Today we also have nano influencers (some prefer the term ‘micro influencers’) who are real people and they are typical consumers. Nano influencers post product pictures and share their reviews of their purchases online.

The number of their followers might be around 1,000 but their impact on consumer behaviour is quite significant. Working with micro influencers and nano influencers is a great way of creating original content and improving brand awareness. Below we included a few more points to remember in terms of efficient use of social media in digital marketing.     

• Social media is one of the most important tools where the questions of the customers are being directly addressed by the brands. By using social media channels, brands meet the demands of the customers thanks to the communication platform between the customer and the brand. An effective brand image is possible to be made through the uses of this communication platform where new strategies also can be adopted.
• Feedback collected through the social media accounts of the company is a vital source of information for marketing activities, for this feedback is about the products, services and/or all other issues. Depending on the collected data, the company will examine its marketing strategies and try to adopt new ways of marketing to increase sales. Business influencer activities can be additionally exercised so that the products or the services are promoted directly. It’s also possible to create original content about the products or the services which once again, will help increase sales.
• Customers are likely to investigate about the product or the service they are to buy before they make the purchase. Those who bought and used the product or the service, usually make comments about them as well. It’s established these comments are taken into consideration by other potential customers. Therefore it’s quite important for companies to pay close attention to the feedback collected on these digital platforms. This way, they will improve not only in terms of sales numbers but also be able to improve their products or services.
• If the company/brand owns several digital accounts, it’s important to make use of them by being actively logged on to these accounts. Company prestige and brand value are directly related to this because it’s a fact that strong ties between the seller and the customer are formed by using digital channels. Hence the attention on digital channels as they serve no different than the known marketing activities. The digital connection between the seller and the customer can be improved by using technology efficiently and regularly.

How to Make Use of Social Media and Business Influencers for Marketing

If the companies want to expand their marketing activities on digital platforms, they have to adopt an efficient way of using social media channels. Efforts for a prestigious company must include ‘influencer marketing’ and ‘business influencer’ activities which are also popular social media trends nowadays.

Influencers are followed on digital platforms by many people because their knowledge, experiences and expertise are valued by others. It’s possible to draw attention to your company with the help of business influencers. You can outpace your competitors and improve your company name and prestige due to the social media impact created by using those channels actively.

Here are some suggestions to use social media efficiently within the framework of Business Influencer activities:

• To implement marketing strategies on digital channels, you have to have solid knowledge of your customer base and post related content accordingly. When you think about your customer base and your targeted group(s,) please remember to take aspects such as age, sex, cultural differences and income level into consideration.
• If you use the digital channels only to post content, it might be slightly unattractive for the customers. Make sure you sometimes organise panels where the questions of the customers are answered or live broadcasts where different topics are addressed on special dates. These activities are known to work if you want to have more followers on digital channels.
• Also, customers are observed to feel slightly bored if you post similar content on the platforms you use. It’s important to enrich your digital platform with regularly changed photos, images, videos, interviews, business influencers’ materials or blog articles because that way your customers won’t lose interest in the particular channel. Make sure your content is original, with decent quality, compatible with your targeted group(s) and regular. Your Brand Value will not only be preserved but also improved.

Find out more about the impact of social media and business influencers in marketing activities by checking our website. Speaker Agency offers expert speakers Dr. Behice Ece Ilhan, Will Higham, Dave Carroll, Dr. Michal Kosinki and Timothy Armoo on many topics including marketing and sales. Make the most of their experiences to benefit your business.