When the concept of social media came out, it was just an opportunity for people to meet and connect with their peers online.

But as more and more people join various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, these people begin to form their networks.

Over time, they begin to influence others by creating various forms of content – be it video, graphics or text.

For the past few years, this has become a magical marketing platform for businesses seeking to explore social media as a means of reaching their target audience.  According to the Digital Marketing Institute, at least 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations for their purchasing decisions.

Also, about 73% of marketers have set aside a special budget for influencer marketing. Out of this budget, every single dollar spent generates revenue of at least $6.50.  These facts and figures explain how important influencer marketing is today.

In this article, we take a look at how businesses can leverage influencer marketing to reach a wider audience.

What’s Influencer Marketing?

Before we get Into the details of this article, let’s take time to understand the meaning of the term ‘Influencer Marketing’.

Influencer marketing in its basic form means the use of social media influencers to market your goods and services.

In essence, it involves endorsements and product mentions by influencers on their various social media platforms. For the avoidance of doubts, influencers are individuals who have built some level of following on social media based on the kinds of content they post.

Now, let’s get into the details properly.

How To Reach A Wider Audience Through Influencer Marketing.

Before you begin to wonder if Influencer marketing is good for you, let me save you the stress. Influencer marketing works for every business. Interestingly, almost every industry has several influencers online. Whether you’re in the food industry, retail industry, health industry or any other industry, there are influences available for you.

Even if you are a musician, there are influencers available for your music videos.

Now, let’s see how to leverage Influencer marketing for boosting sales.

Soliciting Reviews From Trusted Influencers

Do you know how it feels when your trusted friend uses something and recommends it to you? Like, you don’t even think twice before you buy it – of course if you can afford it.

Your target audience trusts these influencers just as much as you trust your best friend. So, when these influencers publish a review about your product on their platform, you tend to get more people ready to buy instantly.

The process involves contacting the influencers, giving out some samples of your products to them. And let them use the product. Then, based on the results, they’ll provide the review.  Simple and interesting right?

Doing Giveaways and Social Media Contests

Who doesn’t like free things? If you’re an active user of social media, then you’ve either participated in a contest or you’ve come across one or two on your timeline.

This strategy is generally one of the best ways to reach a wider audience on social media. You can partner with various influencers to push your giveaway campaign. Usually, if you’re selling a product, you’ll request for social media users to perform simple tasks to stand a chance of winning one of your products.

Interesting right? Give it a try. The results are always amazing.

Using Instagram Stories

With over 500 million people now actively engaged with Instagram stories, this is one of the best ways to market your business on Instagram.

Most people spend much time on celebrity or influencers’ Instagram status. These influencers usually share their lifestyles and intricate details on their Instagram status. So, it’s always a smart way to ask them to share your products on their status.

It’s practically easier to swipe through Instagram status than it is to scroll through your Instagram feeds.

So, most people (especially the younger generation) prefer to watch status than they would want to scroll through the Instagram feed.

If you’re targeting the younger generation, then you know where to focus your energy in terms of influencer marketing.

Conclusion

The face of marketing keeps changing from time to time. Today, influencer marketing is the fastest rising marketing strategy. Both established and new brands are finding ways to make use of this new strategy to boost their businesses.

In this article, we provided you with 3 ways for leveraging influencer marketing to reach a wider audience.

We hope you loved it and that it was helpful to you. Kindly leave a comment below.