To successfully promote your online reputation, you need to be talked about online. And it is important not only WHAT they say, but also WHO exactly. When it comes to reviews, the opinions of ordinary consumers have the greatest weight here – through their emotions and impressions, potential customers can see themselves. And understand that your product is what they need. Of course, this is a rough description, but nevertheless. But SERM is not limited to reviews alone – there are many other possibilities.
Influencer marketing offers huge opportunities for reputation development. This is promotion with the help of influencers, the so-called opinion leaders. The second definition perfectly characterizes the essence – these are the people whose opinions are listened to. Often, they are fully shared. This is more than just advertising – this is promotion on a broader level. Often native. Hence the high efficiency. And we will talk about how to use it for the benefit of your brand below.
Influencers – the new force of influence
The very concept of “Influencer” comes from the English “To influence”, which is translated as “to influence”. Therefore, an influencer is an influential person who influences the choices and actions of other people for whom she is of great importance. That is, a kind of idol, but in a broader sense. An influencer can also be a person whose way of life and thoughts resonate with other people. If the concept of “Idol” is associated primarily with show business, then an influencer can be a blogger, a popularizer of science, and an expert in any industry.
The main feature of an influencer is the specific database by industry presence of their own audience, following the life of the person of interest and sharing their views. As a rule, these are subscribers to certain Internet channels. Yes, influencers are, first of all, an Internet phenomenon. And a very actively growing one.
For businesses, these are a kind of intermediaries between them and potential clients. The logic is clear: if a popular person supports a brand, then their followers are likely to share this opinion. And this is a good way to get a loyal audience, to encourage them to be interested in your offers. To build a quality association with your brand. This will definitely benefit your reputation.
Is influencer marketing really necessary?
The main argument for using this approach to promotion, including reputation building, is consistently active growth. In 2024, the global influencer marketing market is estimated at $24 billion. For comparison: in 2019, the volume a guide to building a successful e-commerce site of this market was $6.5 billion, and in 2016 – only $1.7 billion. That is, over 8 years, the global influencer segment in monetary terms has grown 14 times.
Of course, we are not saying that absolutely every brand needs to promote itself through influencers. This is still a rather specific communication channel, tied to a specific audience. But if it suits you, then why not use it. At the very least, it is worth a try.
Reputational goals of working with influencers
In the context of brand reputation management, integrations with opinion leaders will be useful in solving the following tasks:
- Increase audience loyalty. If a media personality uses the products of a particular brand, even without directly advertising it, this gets a response from subscribers. Roughly speaking, if an idol uses it, then it’s great.
- Boost your recognition. By appearing in a popular blogger’s content, your brand will be better remembered by his community. Moreover, this way you can quickly get huge coverage.
- Convey the values, ideas, and responsibility of the brand. In their content, the influencer can mention in a native format the approach of your company, your participation in various socially significant events, etc. Such messages have every chance of receiving a high response from the audience if they coincide with their values.
You shouldn’t try to get all the effects at once. united states business directory It’s better to segment the work, achieving different goals sequentially.
Such different opinion leaders
It is important to understand that the status of “Influencer” unites a wide variety of personalities. They are not just not the same, but often completely different. Therefore, if you are planning to boost your online reputation and brand image through an influencer resource, you will need to clearly understand: who exactly should you contact? In other words, by what criteria – in addition, of course, to the content topic – will we choose an influencer? To decide on this, you need to understand how to classify opinion leaders. This is what we will talk about now.
Number of followers
Here it is customary to distinguish the following segments:
So, the larger the audience, the wider the reach, but the lower the quality of each of them. In the case of influencers whose audience is small, the situation is the opposite: the reach will not be as impressive, but the likelihood that you will touch their soul is higher. Therefore, it makes sense to start small.