The term influencer marketing for small business usually makes you associate brands with celebrities or popular faces roped in by big businesses. Influencer marketing is more popular than ever and more businesses are trying to utilise the power of influencers to create awareness about their brand.

Enter small business owners who are using influencers to support their social media marketing efforts. The marketing technique of leveraging the power of influencers is being used by both big and small businesses. The benefit of influencer marketing especially to small business owners is immense because they can essentially use micro influencers at a limited budget and still generate awareness and buzz for their brand. 

This article will tell you in depth the advantages of influencer marketing for small businesses and what the future looks like for small business owners in regards to influencer marketing. 

Benefits of Influencer marketing for small businesses

1. Increase in Brand Awareness

Creators can introduce your brand locally and generate awareness,gaining immediate exposure for your brand is crucial so that your brand can become a key player in the specialised niche it holds for itself. This is where small influencers can take inspirations from big businesses and how they rope influencers to promote their brand. Even if small business owners leverage the power of micro influencers to promote their brand story, this can be a turning point for both the brand and the creator in terms of visibility and awareness. 

2. Affordability 

Influencer marketing can be quite economical if done right. Many micro influencers are willing to promote a brand in exchange of goods and services in place of payment so this proves to be advantageous for many small brands.Local creators tend to have stronger engagement rates so small businesses should always start out with local creators who cater to a particular demographic.  The influencers are flexible and receptive to new brand ideas which makes the partnership between small businesses and local creators authentic and trustworthy. 

3. Trust and authenticity 

Authenticity is key for small businesses working with influencers. The credibility and trust that the creators and influencers have built over the years help brands of any bandwidth to rely on creators to churn out the best results. It becomes important for small businesses to seek out influencers that will talk positively about the brand online and help the brand reach a wider audience. 

Tips and Tricks for small businesses using influencer marketing 

1. Partnering with local creators 

As mentioned above, the pool of local creators help the brands get started. Micro influencers are cost effective and can represent your brand well. They also have a higher engagement rate so you could actually offer your own product/service in exchange for a social media post for your brand. 

2. Well defined Goal and objective 

For any business big or small, it is important to have a clearly defined strategy in mind. They should have a clear vision whether they want to increase brand awareness or generate more sales.Focus on building these objectives from the start and that will help you in selecting the right kind of influencer for your brand. 

3. Find the right platform 

After doing thorough research work, you need to find your target audience and the social media platforms your audience likes to spend time on. For eg: The people in the age group of 40 + are most likely to be active on facebook. This way brands can segregate their target audience based on their likelihood of being active on particular social media platforms. The influencer can then link your products on their social media handles and people can purchase your product directly. 

Social media strategies

Instagram today has become the top social media app for businesses to promote their brand and rightly so! The content we consume through instagram by creators  in the form of reels and stories is heavily produced by influencers themselves for brands they work with and by linking particular products on their stories we can make purchases directly. The fruitful collaborative experience for the brand and the influencers is a win-win situation for everyone. 

Instagram posts are a great way to engage the audience, posting lengthy captions underneath your post can really be ideal to start a conversation and the likes and comments are also important for these promotional posts.

Instagram stories can be utilised by brands in fun and creative ways, unboxing and reviewing the products on the instagram stories of the influencer can be informative for the audience who are potential buyers. The creators can also put affiliate links in their stories and discount codes for buyers. 

Reels-the new age phenomena can be a great tool for influencer marketing for showing your product in action. The influencers or creators can integrate them in the brand’s marketing plan and make some cool reels that will draw the audience’s attention and also promote the brand. 

How to connect with influencers for your brand?

If you are looking for influencers/content creators check our services at WhizCo.

WhizCo is India’s leading influencer marketing agency. WhizCo bridges the gap between creators and Brands and helps brands execute unforgettable influencer marketing campaigns and helps them grow online. 

WhizCo offers a complete solution to brands for running campaigns- from shortlisting, evaluating and onboarding influencers, to gathering feedback and performance tracking- All this coupled with years of expertise in managing thousands of creators and executing multiple campaigns at once.

Final thoughts 

Influencer marketing is a great way for small businesses to grow and expand. Local creators and micro influencers can accelerate your brand reach and hence small marketing budgets are no longer a barrier or constraint for small business owners.