Published on December 14th, 2020 | by Maryn Mcdonnell

What Every Online Retailer Should Know About Influencer Marketing

If you are still looking for ways to promote your Shopify store, you may want to tap into influencer marketing. It is the perfect form of marketing for retailers, for it offers an easy way to advertise your products and services. In this article, you’ll learn the reasons why influencer marketing is the go-to marketing method for eCommerce.

It Is Not That Hard to Do

The first reason is apparent. Influencer marketing is easy to do, but it can give your massive business results if you do it right. You can start it by only looking for influencers in your niche and finding out if they can promote your products. Some brands even launch influencer marketing campaigns by sending product samples to several influencers at the same time. When you do this, you don’t have to oblige them to review your products. You could give them the freedom to only share reviews if they liked the products.

You Don’t Have to Go for Big Influencers

Influencer marketing can be too complicated if you fixate yourself on big celebrity influencers. Suppose you have tried approaching one of them. In that case, you’ll find that they usually charge extra high advertising fees, and it is so hard to get them to say ‘yes.’ Celebrity influencers are often the reason why retailers shy away from influencer marketing. It is just too hard to compete with other brands to get influencers to be your brand ambassadors.

The good news is that you can still do influencer marketing without bothering celebrity influencers. All you have to do is look for micro-influencers. These people have less than 100,000 followers, but their market is highly responsive to their content. The best part is that you don’t have to bend backward to get them to say yes. These influencers are often beginners in their career and would love for companies to sponsor them. So if you are looking for influencers to promote your products, try micro-influencers instead.

You Can Start with a Referral Program

Influencer marketing is fantastic because you can do it with other forms of marketing. Take referral marketing, for instance. If you create an exclusive referral program, your website has a better chance of capturing an influencer’s attention.

This strategy has been used by companies like Drum Set Lab and Hunting Bow Lab. They created a referral program and used that as a starting point to attract influencers to their business. Referral programs are attractive because it is more than an ordinary promotion. It also provides a reward for participation. It makes an engaging campaign for the influencer to share with their followers.

An Exclusive Discount Code Can Get Them to Say Yes

The great thing about getting influencers to promote your retail business is that you can easily create a discount code with the influencer’s name. Influencers love this, for it immediately associates their name with the brand. Plus, they have something that they can share with their followers while they convince them to head to your website and buy.

An Influencer Marketing Software is Optional

Did you think that you need influencer software to do influencer marketing? It is entirely optional. Influencer marketing is ultimately a form of marketing about harnessing an influencer’s relationship with his followers. It is about getting these people to promote your business. You can do this by merely researching the right influencers to represent your brand and sending them a message. More than asking them to promote you, it is a perfect opportunity to forge partnerships or long-term relationships. As you can see, the software is optional. You don’t need it to do this.

NOTE: I am not saying that you don’t need influencer software. Influencer software is excellent for tracking all of your communications. Some of them give you templates so you can easily manage your influencer outreach. So they are still useful although they are entirely optional.

You can Also Recruit Influencers as Affiliates

Even the best affiliate marketing course will not mention that influencers make the best affiliates. But they are. Once you get an influencer to promote your business, you’ll have someone who is trusted in your industry to advertise your products and services. If they are in the industry for a long time, they may even know marketing and sales. While most affiliate programs are designed for marketing professionals, it doesn’t mean that you cannot ask influencers to become your affiliates.

It Opens You to the Idea of Collaboration

One of the things that you’ll learn once you work with a significant number of influencers is the idea of collaboration. You can collaborate on different things – content, products, and events. So if you don’t have anything tangible to offer an influencer, you can always work with them on something. The result is having them promote what you have done to their followers.

Don’t Limit Yourself to Online Forms of Marketing

Influencer marketing can be done online, but you don’t have to stop there. You can always invite influencers to offline events to get to know them. You don’t have to hold a huge conference to ask them as guests. You can have a small influencer meetup where you invite several influencers in one niche. That works too.

Don’t Limit Yourself to One Form of Online Marketing

Influencers come from different social channels. Some may be popular on Youtube, while others may be thriving on Instagram. You have the option to promote your products across various channels. So don’t get fixated on one social medium. There are so many social channels you can explore.

Don’t Underestimate User Reviews

If all else fails, you don’t even need influencers to promote your retail business. You can ask your customers to do it for you. It would help if you did not underestimate the power of user reviews. Every customer has a social network, and every user review can grant your business new traffic and exposure.

Now, you are familiar with the workings of influencer marketing. Now that you know these factors, you can now start launching your campaign with ease. You know the type of influencer to target and how you can increase your chances for success.

Tags: influencer, influencer marketing, online retailer

About the Author

Maryn Mcdonnell is a creative content writer. She spends her days working closely with many entrepreneurs and creative thinkers internationally. Her interests include travel, self-improvement, and technology. Find Maryn on Twitter @MarynMcdonnell.