“Consumers today depend on their favorite social media influencers.”

As a continuation from our blog in April of this year, “Under the Influence,” gone are the days consumer purchases hinged on enduring brand loyalty—consumers picked products based on brands they found over the years in friends’ and family’s pantries and closets. These days, consumers query their friends and family on social media to discuss new brands & products. Even more commonly consumers today depend on their favorite social media influencers—they read their blogs, review their photos and suggestions for each product.

Our agency has been introducing influencer marketing to our client base with a bit of resistance. Much like in 2010 when we would explain mobile marketing and social media channels—clients weren’t buying the concept. Now, these same clients are thanking CMA for focusing on the future in promoting this and continuing to put social and mobile into the line items of each annual marketing plan. We were getting turned down year after year in our attempts, but eventually our vision proved true. We don’t have to tell you what has happened since Apple launched the first smartphone in 2007. Everything changed. I remember ordering my first pair of boots on my smartphone in 2011, and I wondered if these will really show up at my doorstep. My boots arrived three days later. That was the exact moment I knew retail as we know it would be changed forever.

We will look back 5-years from now and find it funny that our influencer budget line items continue to be cut from most of our clients’ budgets just like we do now with mobile marketing budgets. We cannot convince our clients to pull the trigger and put money into the influencer category.

Online Recommendations Generate Trust

1. When consumers follow an influencer, they become part of a community. There are chatrooms consumers can go into and feel comfortable talking about the product and grow confidence around the product they are researching. The influencer feels like a friend. They will buy from a friend and recommend this to others. Check out this link Style for a Certain Age. Influencer Beth Djalali has quadrupled the sales at Talbot’s. She has also helped stores like Nordstrom and assisted in growing small brands like Victoria Emerson. Djalali helps other influencers who promote furniture, art & fashion. They work together to help brick and mortar as well as online sales. Sure, they get paid for this, but the consumers rarely think about that. This is their friend and they want them to be successful.

The New Research Is All About Reviews

2. Research and reviews help, but going from shop to shop to find merchandise and compare prices has gone by the wayside. Customers now turn to their influencer for guidance. Research shows that 96% of consumers believe what they read in reviews and recommendations. Nearly 90% of women online say they get their buying ideas from blogs and online reviews from stores and influencers.

“Nearly 90% of women online say they get their buying ideas from blogs and online reviews from stores and influencers.”

Being A Storyteller Brings Comfort To A Confused Consumer

3. Being an online storyteller is really what impacts brand loyalty—consumers want to hear the voice and authentic storytelling approach of their online resources. Influencers not only make recommendations, they also bring their audience into their personal homes to share their decorating style, introduce them to their dog and provide fun recipes and Friday happy hour cocktail ideas.

MOCIAL The New Way To Shop From Your Couch (mobile/social)

4. Mobile and push notifications bring a retail platform to everyone’s living room. The new shopping buzz makes decision making to buying a product easier than ever before. We can search and review a product recommendation quickly and toggle between influencers, reviews and product overviews in a quick 10-minute search. I find myself clicking on a link that my favorite influencer suggests; I review and end up buying the products often just because Djalali looks adorable in all her outfits. I even find myself cooking and drinking many of her concoctions.

So, Gurus, to sum up this continuation influencer blog from April, Creative Marketing Arts will suggest to influencer marketing as a line item in our marketing plans and budgets. We won’t give up on our beliefs that this is the best way to market our shopping centers. We must invite our influencers into our stores to share their ideas and love of products and merchandise. We want them to write about our stores, share stories and be a part of our online social media strategy. Through their ongoing posts, they will share about our properties and shed light on our brick and mortar merchants. You can find local influencers in every market who will love to assist you with your marketing programs and event plans.

Source: www.chiefmarketer.com/author/stacy-debroff/