Align. Collaborate. Engage. Measure.

Thought leadership marketing utilizes multiple content and platforms to showcase industry skills and expertise. Genuine thought leaders are experts in their field and influencers in their own right. Between three and 38 million influencers tap into their audiences to share, recommend and impact outcomes. According to Invespcro, 72% of consumers trust businesses more after influencer recommendations. Surging in popularity, these engaged and passionate brand ambassadors are taking their rightful place at the top of the marketing budget. Here are four strategies why.

ALIGN

Social influencers align with relevant audiences - shared interests, age, gender, location - to expand the reach of products and services. As experts in their niche, they build audience loyalty and trust. Authentic influencers are more likely to have a dedicated following with established credibility in specific industries. They grow followers, increase leads and site traffic, drive sales, and escalate product visibility across multiple platforms. Align your business with influencers that match your values. Check their bios, likes, dislikes, tips, stories, advice, photos, videos, and captions. Do they have the capacity to persuade others to act? Will they impact purchasing decisions? One of the best alignment tools is knowledge. ISOC, a specialist training company, delivers short courses on communication skills. Once you understand the power of alignment, you are on the way to motivating consumer purchasing decisions. 

COLLABORATE

Brands collaborate with influencers to reach new viewers, generate leads, and attract customer loyalty. Join forces with influencers consistent with your image. Their followers are already interested in your type of product or service. Meet your new customers! Influencers help leverage already committed audiences to grow businesses and improve search rankings. There are unlimited metrics to source the perfect brand ambassador. Heepsy has access to more than 11 million social influencers. Tailor searches to your industry. Do your homework. Check their posts and credibility. Ensure content is creative, consistent, and optimized for the platform. Set your goals and objectives, establish budgets, and at all times, maintain collaborative control. 

ENGAGE

According to techjury, the stratospheric rise of engaging influencers has turned into a multi-billion dollar business. Quick turn-around, personable responses are a top priority. Reliable influencers are proactive and professional. They develop a strong relationship with their followers. Engage with your ambassadors to publish high-quality content regularly. Capitalize on branded or category-specific hashtags when sharing content. Concentrate on the platforms that best target your product or service. Enlist multiple influencers to post simultaneously, about an identical product or service, to spike interest and encourage interaction. High engagement indicates an invested audience keen for the next installment to purchase.

MEASURE

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, for every dollar brands spend on influencers, they get an ROI of $5.78. Sponsored blog posts have proven to yield up to 11 times more of a return than standard banner ads. Measure for measure, Earned Media Value (EMV) is the standard for calculating social media buzz. It's crucial to calculate the number of followers, posts, and interactions social influencers produce and track how these numbers change over time. Impressions count - likes, comments, and clicks. However, influence engagement is the primary measure of marketing success. Determine exactly how many people are paying attention to your campaign. The essential KPIs to measure specific elements of your strategy are conversion rates, reach and awareness, referral traffic, audience growth, and engagement. 

If your thought leadership strategies aren't measuring up, align, collaborate and engage with OBCIDO. Contact info@obcido.com.