In this digital age, every marketer knows that online marketing is an aspect of the marketing strategy. However, there are many ways you can conduct an online marketing campaign. Marketers can choose from the many online marketing options ranging from banner ads to influencer marketing.
Today’s article seeks to compare traditional online advertisements with influencer marketing. Which form of marketing is the most effective? The pros and cons of each marketing methodology will be discussed to determine which you should include in your marketing strategy.
Comparing online advertisements with influencer marketing | Influencer marketing benefits
Before we start talking about some influencer marketing benefits, it will be good to understand the main differences between the two forms of marketing.
Online advertisements refer to your banners ads. Your brand can tap into the advertising options provided by social media platforms. A few common examples include Instagram ads and Facebook ads.
The price of these advertisements will differ. If it is a CPC (cost-per-click) advertisement, advertisers will pay based on the number of clicks the advertisement receives. On the other hand, advertisers pay based on the number of impressions for a CPM (cost-per-impressions) advertisement.
Influencer marketing refers to marketing involving social media users who have gained a following online, also known as influencers. There are many types of influencers, each producing their own unique form of content for different groups of audiences. In most influencer marketing campaigns, influencers produce content for the brand’s marketing campaign. In a way, these influencers are the bridge between the brand and its target audience.
As for the cost of influencer marketing, the short answer is that it ranges. There are a few factors that will determine the cost of a campaign. These factors include the number of followers an influencer has, the engagement rates and the number of influencers involved in a campaign. Of course, the type of content matters too. Longer form content like videos usually tends to cost more as compared to shorter form content like a picture.
There are pros and cons to each type of marketing. For online advertisements, the group of people your ads are displayed to would depend on the algorithm of the social media platform. Social media platforms have access to data about your consumers’ browsing habits, and could therefore tailor the ads to their personal preferences. In the case of influencer marketing, viewers of your content will mainly be the followers of your influencers. Therefore, you can reach the right people by choosing the right influencers for that particular campaign.
Additionally, your brand is in charge of producing content when it comes to online advertisements. This is unlike influencer marketing where your brand works with an influencer to produce content for the marketing campaign.
While there are pros and cons to each marketing method, there are a few reasons why you might pick influencer marketing instead of traditional online marketing advertisements.
Influencer marketing advantages: #1. Ad-adverse consumers
Firstly, advertisement adverse consumers could affect the impact of online banner advertisements.
Online advertisements are everywhere. Just before you watch a video on a streaming website, as you scroll through your feed early in the morning, chances are that you would have come across multiple advertisements while on social media. This has led to ad-adverse consumers, who dislike advertisements due to the over-saturation of ads.
On top of that, ad blockers have allowed consumers to successfully block the appearance of advertisements. In fact, the number of internet users using ad blockers has been steadily increasing. Currently, there are 763.5 million AdBlock users worldwide.
Influencer marketing could be a solution to bypassing the problem of ad blocks. These influencer postings are unlike traditional advertisements. Branded content appears on the influencers personal social media account, and are like personal reviews of the brand.
Influencer marketing advantages: #2. Trust and credibility
Secondly, marketing is not only about the number of people that your message reaches, but also the impact of your message. What determines the impact of your message? The credibility of the message.
Therefore, the medium of communication could affect the impact of your message. Influencers have garnered a following on social media due to their expertise in their respective niches. For instance, a fashion influencer will be knowledgeable about the latest fashion trend; a food influencer knowledgeable about the new eateries in town and the list goes on.
Therefore getting influencers to speak about your brand or product will increase the credibility of the marketing campaign. After all, these influencers have gained a reputation for being credible sources of information in their respective fields of expertise.
Influencer marketing advantages: #3. The opportunities for interaction
Thirdly, influencer marketing could provide opportunities for interaction and feedback. Influencers are used to communicating with their followers. From polls to comments, many influencers have regular interaction with their consumers.
Therefore, influencer marketing provides more opportunities for engagement. Be it a consumer asking for more information about the product or giving advice to others in the comment section, the regular conversations that influencers have on social media facilitate an environment for better engagement.
Influencer marketing advantages #4. Better content
Lastly, as the saying goes, content is king. One of the biggest influencer marketing benefits would be the content created by these influencers.
Influencers are the ones who know what their online audience enjoys. After all, they are the ones who have managed to garner a significant following on social media. Therefore, when it comes to producing branded content, an influencer’s input can be a game-changer. Your brand may set certain guidelines and criteria to meet in an influencer marketing campaign. However, do also consider the influencers input in content creation for the best results.
On the other hand, when it comes to online advertising, your brand is in charge of content creation. While there is nothing wrong with in house marketing, creative blocks could lead to stale or impactful content creation.
Conclusion
There are many Influencer marketing benefits – from brand awareness to sales conversion. To truly appreciate these influencer benefits, do embark on your own influencer marketing campaign today
Sources
Martechseries, mts-insights/guest-authors/influencers-vs-advertising-consumer-mindset-changed-way-buy/
taggermedia, blog/advertisingvsinfluencermarketing/
