The following is a guest post from our partners at Mavrck.
As a result of the proliferation of digital channels and connected devices, U.S. consumers now spend, on average, two hours per day on social networks and the equivalent of 12 hours per day consuming media online.
This rise in media consumption has also come at a cost, namely consumers’ increased ad fatigue, as well as a growing challenge for marketers to create relevant content. Nearly 33% of U.S. adults online say they currently use an ad blocker, and 48% report they actively avoid ads, according to a recent report from Forrester Research.
As consumer trust in institutions continues to dissolve, we’ve become a society whose purchase behavior is increasingly influenced by those we choose to connect with online. In 2016, 74% of people trusted social networks to guide their purchase decisions. With the growing need for content, it’s also not enough for marketers to rely on social listening and content curation alone. Investing in an influencer marketing and relations strategy is now essential for brands to compete for consumers’ attention.
When you hear the words ‘influencer marketing,’ I’m sure the Kardashians and other Hollywood celebs are some of the first to pop into your mind. However, celebrities aren’t the only type of influencers. The content that consumers trust and seek out today, is content that’s created by consumers. In the context of your brand, you have the opportunity to harness this interest and intent by leveraging the power of your most underutilized business asset: existing customers with social influence.
As more consumers seek out credible and authentic information online, here’s how to leverage the influence of your most influential customers to impact consumers in the moments that matter.
The Power of Micro-Influencers
By now, you’re probably realizing the power of identifying your most influential customers. These micro-influencers are everyday customers who possess influence around relevant topics among their followers on social media. Let’s take a look at the ways micro-influencers can be most beneficial for your brand — creating, amplifying and submitting branded content, such as social posts and product reviews.
70% of mobile shoppers say they’re more likely to purchase a product if the website or mobile app has product reviews. On top of this, 73% of consumers think that reviews older than 3 months are no longer relevant. How do brands keep up with the infinite demand for content?
While there are many ways to generate a steady stream of ratings and reviews, leveraging your micro-influencers is one key way to keep this content coming. Due to the sheer number of micro-influencers, they are able to generate more content than macro- or mega-influencers. They also have such rich knowledge and insight, that to not leverage them for content creation is a significant missed opportunity. Since micro-influencers are loyal customers of your brand, their feedback is more authentic and credible than mega- or macro-influencers. Still not convinced?
The Latest From Us
We want to help your brand reach its goals. We are excited to announce that PowerReviews and Mavrck have partnered to enable merchants to generate user-generated content on demand from their Mavrck influencers, advocates, referrers and loyalists, and syndicate that review content out to 5,000 sites and one billion monthly in-market shoppers across the PowerReviews Open Network. This combined solution has been proven to help merchants and marketers activate and drive more business value out of their influencers and advocates. Want to learn more? Contact us today.
About the Author
Liz Gottbrecht is Vice President of Marketing at Mavrck, an influencer marketing company. Prior to joining Mavrck, Liz was the Director of Marketing at Streetwise Media, a digital media and events company that operates news properties in Austin, Boston, DC and Chicago.
