The constant innovation and the ever-changing technology forced companies and businesses to rethink their strategies. The tactics or marketing campaigns that were deployed in 2014 or even in 2013 are no longer relevant for the targeted customer and for almost all of industries today. A new infographic published on Visual.ly goes into detail of how influencer marketing is becoming paramount and the king of content for 2015.
It used to be the case that whoever had the most followers and engagement was the go to source. Things have changed in respects to that traditional model and platforms like for example the visual discovery tool Pinterest. This new form of endorsement model apparently works with customers and those influencers that build trust are instrumental to these transaction successful between the brand and their clients.
Retail or brand sites have the digital technology resources at their disposal to influence a purchase. Nevertheless, blogging is the third most effective influential resource for making overall purchases (31 percent). As you may have expected the other usual suspects used for attracting customers to purchase something are Facebook, YouTube, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.
Shifts in how consumers buy products or services
There has been a saying or a slogan for some time since the rise in popularity by social networks that "content is king and design is queen". It still rings true, but influencer marketing is the cherry on top.
The infographic previously mentioned above highlights that consumers are trusting more the work from influencers than brands themselves for good reason. According to the findings 92 of consumers trust recommendations from other users even if they may not know them over the content that is generated by any given brand.
This definitely shifts the balance of powers and has forced brands to soften the sales pitch and provide social media listening tactics or social media customer service.
With social media marketing cementing itself permanently in our daily lives and becoming prominent resource in consumer activity changes must be made in order to generate leads. According to Skyword influence marketing will hit critical mass in 2015.
Using social media channels are not just a fad but ultimately a great haven to really build positive brand reputation. This gives brands or businesses the opportunity to cease more leads.
According to a Forbes.com report, an analysis by John Rampton bluntly explains that social media networks give brands plenty of ammunition to improve their perceptions from consumers. Furthermore, Rampton asserts that brands need to do more than just post and actually attend to consumer questions or complaints via these channels.
So if you still have doubts about using social media turning towards an expert or an agency just may be what the doctor ordered. If you are just starting out, an entrepreneur or have a small business Rampton advises that "Countless entrepreneurs grow their businesses exponentially and John Rampton is one person who can help growing it."
Takeaways
This year has been heralded the year of mobile along with the incremental rise of influence marketing. Marketers have their work cut out for them and must continually modify their campaigns in order to stay effective and up-to-date.
You are going to see increasingly collaborations between these influencers and the brands they recommend. What is difficult at times to accurately predict is consumer buying patterns.
The heart of the matter is paying attention to your targeted customer and as always work on generating quality content for the masses. They are not just looking to buy a product for the lowest price, but perhaps buy an experience that makes them want to come back to buying repeatedly from a brand they can really trust.