We’ve all been there. Scrolling through Instagram, killing time looking at pictures of videos from people we know (and some we don’t), when a post comes up that catches your eye. A visually interesting product layout or video that promotes something you may have had your eye on or are in the market for that causes you to click through and maybe even ultimately purchase! Believe it or not, you’ve just engaged in influencer marketing.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that involves product placement or program/company endorsements from “influencers” – people or groups/organizations that hold a certain level of knowledge or influence in their field. Many times, their influence comes from the number of followers or post engagements they have, and the more of both they have, the more a brand is apt to utilize their social skills for marketing.

Why and When Should Influencer Marketing Be Used?

According to influencer marketing agency Mediakix, 71% of marketers rate the quality of customers and traffic from influencer marketing as better than other marketing sources. But why? Influencer marketing achieves a level of intimacy with targets that traditional marketing may not. It enables brands to strengthen their message through authentic endorsements, which not only can influence consumer buying decisions but also build trust. Influencer marketing also allows you to expand your reach to targets that may not be hit with traditional marketing tactics as well as reaching more engaged and qualified audiences.

Consumers can often be introduced to a brand or product that they have never seen before through influencers and the use of video is highly prevalent, which makes influencer marketing a great content creation tool as well. Being able to utilize the content made by an influencer for your brand is an effective way to humanize marketing outside of traditional commercials or advertisements.

What are the Influencer Marketing Trends for 2022?

Influencers have historically been seen on social sites like Facebook and Instagram, but as channels like Snapchat and TikTok continue to evolve, so do the presence of influencer partnerships on these platforms. In 2022, just as we continue to see these platforms grow, we’ll also see the use of brand partnerships grow too.

We’ve talked a lot recently about the “death of cookies” and what that means for brands going into 2022. Influencers are another great avenue to take when it comes to navigating these data shifts. Much like employing first-party data, using and analyzing the social reach of influencers to determine their consumer base and personas can help brands activate another marketing channel free from privacy challenges.

Client Success Story

Marketsmith client New Jersey Lottery is a state run lottery with a long history and an assortment of daily and jackpot games to choose from, including Cash4Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball. While traditional media has been largely used for historical marketing strategies, over the last year Marketsmith expanded its reach to include influencer media in order to increase awareness, excitement, and buzz to promote new games and promotions in a highly targeted and innovative way.

For a recent holiday season promotion, we employed influencers across New Jersey to showcase how NJ Lottery scratch-off tickets are a great DIY holiday craft project to gift to their family and friends. The influencer program was layered on to traditional marketing tactics and provided extended reach for the season’s campaign, as well as showing a new, modern side of the brand.

The results:

  • The media influencer campaign garnered 1,340,321 impressions across 15 blog posts and 73 social media posts
  • There were 5,161 total engagements on influencer content – likes, comments, shares, video views, replies, retweets, and saves – which continued to expand the reach of the campaign outside of the impressions we were able to record!

Ready to be the next success story?

As an agency that uses both traditional and digital marketing in our strategies, we are well versed in the use of influencers as part of our clients’ marketing campaigns. Let us show you how your brand can tap into this stream to reach new customers and drive engagement!