Does Influencer Marketing Really Work?

When it comes to promoting your work, there are a host of strategies and tactics you could consider. One such strategy is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is defined collaboration between influencers and brands or influencers and organizations. The intention is to leverage an influencer’s platform to promote your work, organization or campaign.

The Harvard Business Review reported that “In 2022, the influencer industry reached $16.4 billion.” At that time, “more than 75% of brands had a dedicated budget for influencer marketing.”

While it may be easier for larger corporations to dedicate line items in their budgets for influencer marketing, smaller nonprofits may struggle to do so.

The question becomes whether this tactic and approach is effective and effective in all situations. It really depends on your goals and resources.

If you pursue influencer marketing, it should be part of a comprehensive outreach strategy. It should be one tactic among many.

Moving the needle on your work in terms of public visibility will require a host of tactics such as advertising, podcasting, earned media, social and digital media, event planning and promotion, report releases, etc.

If you sink all of your resources into one bucket, you will have less available for other important projects. The key is to get clear on your goals and align your goals with the appropriate tactics.

You may want to focus on one goal at a time, measure your progress, and then determine next steps. Understand that you don’t need to invest in all tactics at once.

Should you consider influencer marketing, even for a season, here are four things to keep in mind:

Look for influencers with a large following

Influencers with large followings are able to reach massive amounts of people with a single post or series of posts. They are also seen as more credible and trustworthy.

Devote enough time to measure effectiveness.

An influencer marketing strategy should be deployed with sufficient time to measure impact and effectiveness. This isn’t something that you start and then quickly pull down. Plan to invest for at least 6 months to a year.

Partner with people who are aligned with your vision.

Look for influencers who are aligned with your vision and work. Ideally you want to be in relationship with people who are already developing content – even broadly – on your issue. These individuals will have a shorter onboarding ramp than others.

Look for demonstrated advocacy in your arena.

Many people will readily accept your money and organizational resources. You want people whose base is in your industry, people who are already posting content around the subjects you care about. Not only will they have knowledge of the issue, they will also have a following that comes to them for that sort of content.

If you’re on the fence about influencer marketing, there are alternatives. You could develop your own platforms and influencers. This may take time, but time shouldn’t be a deterrent. Identify people from your team or board and help them develop a platform that will help you and your organization.

 

Jennifer R. Farmer is the principal of Spotlight PR LLC.  Check out our blog posts and subscribe for regular communications updates.