Social Commerce Part 2 Recap
Social commerce refers to the use of social media platforms as a sales channel to facilitate eCommerce sales. It allows companies to engage with customers, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive sales directly through social media platforms. Social commerce sales have particularly taken off in the last several years, and are expected to reach $1.3 trillion this year. As this market is growing, it is vital to take advantage of the benefits that this channel can provide you and your brand.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of marketing where businesses collaborate with individuals who have a large following on social media to promote their products or services. The goal is to leverage the influencer's popularity and credibility to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and ultimately boost sales. This is a great way to generate brand loyalty as an influencer’s followers usually have a lot of trust in what the influencer says and promotes. Typically, influencers receive compensation, either in the form of monetary payment or free products, in exchange for promoting the brand.
There are different types of influencers based on their following on social media. Nano-influencers have between 1,000-5,000 followers, micro-influencers between 5,000 and 20,000, macro influencers between20,000and 100,000, mega influencers between 100,000 and 1 million and celebrity influencers have more than 1 million followers. For the most part, brands will work with micro or macro influencers because they tend to have higher engagement rates on their posts as compared to other influencers, seen by the graph to the right.
Who is Impacted Most by Influencer Marketing?
As influencer marketing is tied to social media activity and following, the success of influencer campaigns is largely dependent on the target audience. The generation most impacted by influencer marketing is Gen Z, as they have the largest social media presence and engage more with content than other generations. Additionally, across all generations, women are more likely than men to engage with or respond to influencer marketing campaigns, as seen in the graph to the left.
Influencers exist across numerous social media platforms, from Facebook to Instagram, TikTok to YouTube,Twitter, and more. However, the most popular platforms for influencer marketing in terms of engagement are Instagram and TikTok. TikTok in particular has grown significantly, citing an 85% user growth rate between 2019 and 2020. The platform currently has the highest influencer engagement rate of any social media platform, as seen by the graph to the right. This marketing channel has grown significantly in the last several years for multiple reasons, including that social media overall has become more popular and traditional advertising channels like television and print ads have become less effective. Additionally, consumers are more likely to make a purchase when they trust the person promoting it, and followers tend to feel a sense of trust or loyalty to the influencers they follow.
Why Should You Invest in Influencer Marketing?
Increased Brand Awareness & Engagement- Partnering with influencers gives you the opportunity to show your brand to a larger audience of potential customers that you might not have been able to reach previously. Influencers also generate engagement through the content they post, which could lead to increased engagement on your brand profiles as well.
- Because influencers are typically seen as credible and trustworthy, a consumer is more likely to purchase a product that they recommend. Once a consumer receives the product and is satisfied with it, they will also feel more trust in the brand and are more likely to become a repeat customer.
- Influencers typically reach a specific niche market, meaning that brands are able to develop partnerships with influencers whose following matches the audience the brand would like to target to. This allows brands to develop targeted campaigns to the audience they will be reaching, and better measure the effectiveness of the campaigns across platforms.
Of course, like any marketing strategy, influencer marketing isn't always the answer and may not be appropriate for every brand or situation. It's important to carefully consider the goals of your campaign and the specific influencers you're partnering with to ensure the best possible results for your specific brand.
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