How to Hack Instagram Marketing Using Influencers

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About seven in ten people in America today use social media to connect with each other, share information, read news items and even entertain themselves. Instagram easily ranks as one of the most loved platforms among Millenials. The social media platform is increasing in reach and popularity, and there are currently millions of people out there using Instagram daily. Instagram has consistently given brands greater awareness, reach, and an excellent social media presence in marketing.

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For a couple of years now, marketers have increasingly leveraged collaborative efforts using Instagram. Influencer marketing of such strategies has gradually dominated the social media marketing industry. Influencer marketing has been proven to attract a large customer base and help retain them. But how can a startup maximize influencer marketing to scale in revenue? In this article, we will explore this and more.

What makes Instagram so unique?

The video and photo sharing platform Instagram has grown in popularity especially among teens and youths. This website is the go-to place for election and political news, online influencers and disinformation campaigns.

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1. Four-in-ten Americans have used Instagram

A survey carried out between january and february 2021 showed that the percentage of American adults who have ever used Instagram grew from 9% from back in 2012. 

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2. Young adults are more likely to use Instagram

On record, young American adults are more likely to use Instagram and about seven in every ten Americans between 18 and 29 said they have used Instagram before. The numbers are however smaller with older people with about 50% of people between 30 and 50 years, 30% of those between 50 and 65 and about 14% of people 65 and above saying they have used Instagram. 

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3. Most adult Instagram users use the platform at least once daily

Most adults in America say they use Instagram at least once daily and 38% of them claim they use it multiple times daily. Also, among the younger generation, 73% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 say they visit Instagram daily with about half of them doing so multiple times each day. 

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4. Children aged 11 and younger use Instagram as well

Irrespective of Instagram’s age rules which stops children 13 and younger from joining, about 5% of parents of kids younger than 11 said their children use Instagram. In the case of parents with kids between the ages of 9 and 11, 11% of their kids used Instagram.

Who is an Instagram Influencer?

An Instagram influencer is simply anyone capable of building and driving a large group of followers on Instagram who respect their opinion. More often than not, the number of followers they enjoy depends mainly on the likeness and trust they want with their audience. Influencer marketing has evolved to become a catalyst for businesses looking to showcase their value proposition, expand reach, and get new customers. This type of marketer help reaches out to target audiences in a genuine and personal manner. 

Benefits of Instagram Influencer marketing for your startup

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1. Opportunity to reach the target audience directly

About fifty percent of customers depend on the recommendation of an influencer to buy an item. Leveraging this fact could give you a unique opportunity to grow reach and sales for your brand. There are different influencers for every niche and industry, ranging from fitness, fashion, and tech to home decor and DIY. Usually, these influencers grow their follower base with people interested in these niches. Partnering with such influencers in your niche or industry will get you direct access to people who have a real interest in your service or product.

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Partnering with influencers for reviews and features for your services or products will especially if they are bloggers will give you access to high quality links which will in-turn help you drive traffic while boosting your search engine ranking. For instance, Good Greens, a nutrition bar company partnered with some micro-influencers to help promote their brand. Being a startup, they really didn’t have the financial muscle for a huge marketing campaign. Instead of them deploying the conventional advertising system, they directly contacted thirty micro-influencers within the Cleveland area and struck reasonable partnerships with them. They simply gave the micro-influencers some nutrition bars and asked them to write reviews about the bars on their blogs and Instagram.

2. Cut through all noise

Regular digital marketing adverts can be pretty annoying, so internet users block such ads and request that they not be displayed again. Even if the customer may be interested in your brand proposition, they may not see the ad. 

However, if an influencer believes in posting such a product, their curiosity will be triggered. Statistics show that about 74% of customers rely on people's recommendations like influencers before buying. 

3. Increased engagement

Getting people to look at your posts, comment on them and like them on social media and even share such can be difficult. The most innovative way to go about this is to connect the product to something they want to get. To achieve this, you only need to search for people who already live the dream and leverage them to market your product or service.

4. Create brand authority

It takes time to build trust, and for startups, time runs quicker than it does for more prominent companies. The easiest way to fast-track the growth of your business is by ensuring that customers see it as genuine. However, you shouldn’t partner with an influencer who doesn’t align with what your brand stands for. Potential consumers will soon notice when an influencer's endorsement is not genuine, adversely affecting your brand. 

5. Good return on investment

It can be frustrating investing so much money into marketing and not getting your desired results. However, a more innovative strategy as people who do it right to call multiple times the amount invested in it. Small startups usually don’t have as many resources to experiment with different strategies. Therefore, instead of walking blind with strategy, you should try out one with a proven track record of positive results. 

Hacks to help make the most of influencer marketing

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✅Leverage on micro-influencers

Getting a top influencer that aligns with your niche can be challenging. Usually, top influencers are expensive, which may not be the best proposition for startups managing finances. But having a lean budget shouldn’t deter any business from leveraging influencers, as there are micro-influencers who can help drive engagement. Micro-influencers are influencers with followers between 1000 and 1,000,000.

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Such influencers are typically authorities in their chosen niches. Also, the small size of their audience means they can deeply connect with them, which usually translates to more engagement in their posts. It suffices to say that micro-influencers on Instagram give startups high engagements at affordable rates.

✅Authenticity matters

You need to be as authentic as possible when working with a micro-influencer. Although there isn’t anything wrong with getting inspiration from top brands, you need to believe in your brand and only share original things. If you want to acquire and retain customers, you need to be as honest as possible in the information you disseminate. 

✅ Use the right influencer

There are several influencers out there with millions of followers, but the real secret to getting the right results is to hire the right influencer. Engaging an influencer who specializes in a niche different from yours may be a total waste of resources. Ideally, the influencer should align with your business objectives and what you seek to portray using the influencer. 

✅ Look out for fake followers

One of the drawbacks of influencer marketing is that some influencers use fake followers and profiles. Therefore, you should thoroughly check the influencer’s profile before investing in them. Organic followers are usually products of regular posts and engagements. So, if an influencer doesn’t have reasonable engagements on their posts, this could indicate that the followers are fake. For instance, if an influencer has 500,000 followers but only has 5,000 views on their video posts, this should tell you that the followers are fake.

✅ Use influencer quotes and testimonials

Influencer testimonials are a smart way to increase engagement. People will more likely believe what someone they know says about a product or service. You could begin by giving the influencer a sample of your product and have them give an honest review of their view on the product. For instance, if it is a skincare product, you could have the influencer use such for a period and then share their “before and after” experience.

✅ IGTV is underrated

Instagram has gradually grown and flourished, and one of the biggest revelations of the app is Instagram Television. This standalone application can be used to view videos on vertical and full-screen. The videos here can exceed the regular one minute, and when a person follows an influencer on IG, they will automatically see their IGTV channel. 

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Influencers can leverage IGTV to influence, educate, and build relationships with followers. Influencers can quickly post demo videos, product reviews, and tutorials about your brand. 

✅ Be active on social media

Many people approach social media with a mindset to get quick marketing results. While this may be possible, your marketing strategy's real measure of success is in its sustainability. Being active on social media platforms will help you find the perfect influencer who consistently dominates your niche. You can always engage with their posts on such social media channels. 

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Consistently engaging an influencer's posts makes it easier to reach out to them to do business with you directly. Also, consistently engaging such influencers will help you attract followers from their page.

✅ Connect with an agency

One way to cut expenses and maximize efforts as a small and growing business is by outsourcing certain aspects of operations. Many may not realize that several reputable agencies like Vlingspecialize in helping brands and individuals find the perfect influencer for their campaigns. Dealing with such agencies means you will be cutting the margin for error because they usually have a comprehensive database of influencers in different niches. Also, such agencies will usually give you a better deal as they sometimes offer discounts on services. 

Final thoughts

Every business currently raking in billions of dollars started small. The significant difference between such businesses and those that failed is that they innovated when others made excuses. Leveraging Instagram influencers for your startup can help you quickly scale patronage and revenue if done correctly. Using the services of an agency like Vlingcould help you see multiple returns on investment in a quick time.

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