Influencer marketing is gaining popularity in Zimbabwe. It has become almost synonymous with the rise of social media. When executed well, it is a powerful tool. However, many brands shortchange themselves because they are not clear on the true purpose and strategy behind influencer marketing. Remember these basic rules for influencer marketing and start to see tangible results:

1. Influencer marketing is not synonymous with celebrity endorsements.

Many brands believe that influencer marketing means engaging the biggest celebrity or the social media influencer with the largest audience. However, a famous name is not a one-way street to impact or influence for your brand on the market. Celebrities are broad influencers- they have a lot of fans but those fans vary in terms of demographics and psychographics. Because of this, leveraging their reach doesn’t necessarily allow you to connect with a specific target audience. When creating an influencer campaign you need to target the right audience, not just the largest one. By getting your brand in front of the right audience, you get more benefit from influencer marketing than just using a famous name to try and reach a broad, unspecified audience.

2. Seek out the right partnerships.

In our local market, the same influencers are used by a wide range of brands. Just because someone is a “smaller name” does not mean they are not a powerful influencer in the appropriate niche. To tap into influencers in a niche market, search the appropriate hashtags and look up industry expert influencers and thought leaders. You can also consider partnering with non-competing brand influencers. Partnering with a brand that shares a similar audience with you, but which offers noncompeting products and services, allows you to use their influence to connect with ideal prospects.

3. Package content in a relevant way.

Instead of just trying to form partnerships with famous influencers, seek out influencers in a niche that resonates with your target audience. This will help you get in front of the right audience, not just the largest one. Because influencers should reach members of their audience who are also your target audience, your content should fit in seamlessly onto their platform. Look, feel and tone of voice should be consistent with that influencer, helping it to feel genuine and relatable. Influencer marketing is not copy pasting your advert onto the influencer’s platform. Furthermore, their audience must not find their endorsement strange or seemingly out of character. Always adapt content to platform.

Stephanie Taderera is a Content Executive at Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants. For more information and business enquiries, contact us today.