Influencers – The Biggest Development in Social E-Commerce Marketing
Social e-commerce refers to the idea of someone being inspired to purchase a product or a service based on recommendations by others on social media platforms. In a world where people tend to spend significant amounts of time on social media, social e-commerce is the most viable way to extend your brand’s reach and increase awareness about your products among the general public. In fact, the urban consumer more or less expects brands to have a social e-commerce presence. On social media platforms, potential consumers can search for your brand via social content and explore products they usually would not look for on a strictly e-commerce platform. In addition, your brand has the opportunity to create interactive, shareable, and immersive campaigns that help your products go “viral”.
Where do influencers fit in?
This relatively new form of marketing hinges largely on the activities of influencers on said platforms. The concept of brands using individuals with significant social media followings to create awareness and validation for their products has gained significant traction over the past few years. In fact, 87% of Instagram users claim to have made a purchase based on an influencer’s suggestion.
What’s so special about an influencer marketing platform?
The thing that gives an influencer marketing platform an edge over other techniques in the field of social e-commerce is that influencers are people who have built up a following of enthusiastic and engaged people who value the opinions of the influencer. They have already established themselves, in varying degrees, as experts on specific topics. This puts them in a position to create conversations about the things they’re interested in, allowing them to start trends and generate buzzwords. And on top of all that, audiences tend to view influencers as people who are “just like the rest of them”, meaning that content created by influencers shows the general public that other members of the public are using and enjoying your products.
How is social commerce impacted by this?
What this means for e-commerce is that influencer marketing platforms are poised to become the “new storefront” for brands looking to make an impact on their target audiences. Content creators, as the general public’s first access point to your product, hold the key to your audience discovering and then purchasing your product. In today’s times, it has become almost necessary for brands to have good long-term relationships with influencers who can garner the attention of the brand’s target audiences. Having your products attached to a person capable of making high-quality creative content that engages viewers gives it a boost in visibility that is hard to replicate if one only uses standard advertising methods.
Understanding that a brand’s consumers are valuable marketing assets themselves is a powerful idea and we can confidently assert that it is a trend that will not be going away anytime soon. Using influencer marketing platforms and social media content creators to promote your campaign doesn’t mean that one would neglect other forms of social marketing. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of having a group of influencers to endorse your products is that the strategy of influencer marketing mixes very well with other marketing strategies. Want to organize a free giveaway? Have a special discount code to promote? Conducting a contest and looking to encourage people to sign up? Have an influencer tell people about it!