What traits are important for a successful social media influencer?

In the world of social media, an influencer is a individual who has the power to make others believe that they need a certain product or service because of their real (or perhaps perceived) authority, relationship with the brand and professionalism. As social media is growing everyday, brands are competing with each other to differentiate and stand out in the market – and influence marketing is said to be the next big thing.

Consumers are now looking to other consumers to gain trust in a brand, and help make a positive purchasing decision. Influencer marketing allows brands to leverage the power of word-of-mouth through individuals who people already like, follow and admire on social media – in particular Instagram and Facebook. In the not-so long ago past, consumer’s relied on advertising to help them make a purchasing decision, whereas now consumers are connecting with each other and sharing their thoughts and experience with a product or service.

We are now seeing more and more brands connect with their audience, inform and entertain their customer’s rather than just talk at them and disappear once the sale has been made. Brands are now strategically partnering with the right influencer’s and seducing their followers by sparking organic conversations and sharing the emotions that they experience.

I can personally admit to having bought a product in the past purely due to the fact that an influencer raved on about how good it was and I believed I would gain the same satisfaction as other followers did. Turns out the product wasn’t so good after all, but I acknowledge the successful influencer marketing efforts!

So what makes as a good influencer? Authenticity – people like to relate to people who seem authentic and are not trying to be someone else. Relevance is also important, there’s no point posting images or content that is of no value to the target audience, and lastly good communication. A two-way conversation can turn a follower into a huge fan and recommend other’s to follow the influencer who reached out.

There can however be a downfall to having the wrong influencer for your brand if they disappoint and let other’s down, mislead and fail to deliver on something that they promised.

Olga Dumitriu
Client Account Executive
Olga is a Manager of Brand Projects at Truly Deeply. For more than 25 years Truly Deeply have been working with brands to position them for growth. Olga’s expertise is to engage with brands and manage the project lifecycle to ensure optimum outcomes and experiences for clients. Olga has experience working with corporate, health, food and education clients.
To find out more, click here: http://www.trulydeeply.com.au

Image Credits: Instagram.