Q4 is well underway and brands of all kinds are deciding on the best tactics to support their businesses next year. Looking holistically at calendars and budgets, there’s no doubt brands are wondering: are influencers worth the investment? In short, YES, influencer marketing is a relevant and impactful tactic to effectively drive return on investment (ROI) when acting as a standalone campaign or used as a supportive arm of a larger initiative.

Studies show that influencers produce as much as 11x more ROI than any other digital marketing approach. The benefits of influencer marketing are endless, but let’s focus on the top four reasons why influencer marketing is worth the investment:

Full-Funnel Support

Influencer content can be developed to target the entire funnel or just a single point. Key to supporting multi-funnel tactics, vibrant, thumb-stopping content generates awareness, while assets that are optimized by channel and include unique call to actions (CTA) can drive both consideration and sales. 

Authentic Brand Advocacy

A trusted resource for followers and fans, influencers are an authentic means for promoting a brand. 61% of consumers trust influencers’ recommendations—nearly twice as many as the 38% who trust branded social media content. 

Targeted Audience Reach

Pairing organic content with whitelisting allows brands to deliver content to hyper-targeted audiences. This is a great way to extend the life of content, turning it into a continuous form of messaging to key players.

Cost-Effective Brand Assets

Influencer partnerships can be a very cost-effective way to gather brand content while also promoting the brand on influencer channels. Utilizing smaller, highly engaging influencers can support content development while bypassing high cost production shoots and ultimately lowering yearly overhead costs. This allows brands to create a mix of evergreen, holiday, and campaign-specific assets throughout the year. 

It’s clear that most brands recognize the value and need to invest in influencer marketing, as the industry is expected to grow to $4.14 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. Whether using influencers as brand promoters, content developers or for larger partnership opportunities, influencers are key in supporting your holistic marketing approach to drive ROI. Register for our webinar on full funnel paid and influencer campaigns in this link. 

Written By: Angie Bolotin, Head of Influencer Marketing