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Nothing changes in business quite so fast as the world of social media marketing – and more specifically, the world of influencers.
For entrepreneurs starting their businesses, it can be daunting. After all, some of the biggest influencers in the UK are reported to charge around over £10,000 per social media post.
Yet, there’s a good reason the influencer advertising market is projected to be worth over a billion US dollars, according to data by Statista. Harness its power correctly, and the practice presents a huge marketing opportunity for businesses of all sizes, with the potential to skyrocket your business to an engaged audience of customers organically – and all with zero outside investment.
That’s exactly what Lindsay Scheider, founder of Get Into The Limelight has found. Since starting the family-run business seven years ago, she has grown the company from a Squarespace ecommerce store selling trending products, to a successful luxury line of sunless tanning products and accessories stocked in Macy’s and in boutiques across the US and Canada, as well as having been featured in Cosmopolitan, The New York TimesNYT, ABC and more.
To do so, she tells us, harnessing the creator economy has been key – going right the way back to when the business’ tanning product was launched in 2016.
“When I started selling on Instagram, and working with influencers, it was such a different time,” says Schnieder, “Posting was so different. Back then, an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers would charge $200 a post. Now, the same influencer is charging $8,000 a post.”
But though times have changed, one thing remains: authenticity has always been key to effective influencer marketing, Schneider says, “Making sure that the influencers really love the product, that shines through. Growing with that has been a challenge, and that’s also what’s made the business succeed… Having those influencers that stand behind the product is a game changer.”
Choosing the best influencer partnerships for your brand
In the authenticity-driven world of creators, though, it’s not simply a case of the more followers the better. Instead, retailers must work to find a symbiotic influencer partnership.
“One big thing is making sure the following makes sense for the business – for example, for us, when working with reality TV stars, choosing someone with a strong female following,” explains Schnieder.
Then, it’s not all about social media account size.
“It’s also not just about celebrities, but working with micro influencers and mid-sized influencers who really love the product,” the entrepreneur reveals, “I mean, some of my affiliate influencers who earn commission only bring in more than the people I’m paying thousands and thousands of dollars to advertise, because they’re motivated and love the product.”
The secret to the perfect content creator partnership
Monetary motivations included, the relationship between brand and creator must be genuine, Schneider explains further.
“For me, I want to work with someone that I genuinely love, that I follow on Instagram, where I know what they stand for, and that I know that they’re a good representation of the brand and that they genuinely love the products that they’re creating with me.”
“Their heart has to be in it, because if not and they’re just doing it for the money, I think that the audience will see right through that,” adds Schneider.
Affiliate partnerships are low risk, high reward – which makes them perfect for small businesses
Creating long-term affiliate partnerships with influencers has been pivotal to the success of Get Into The Limelight, and allowed the business to eschew the costs of traditional advertising. That means sustaining them is key.
“With my top performing affiliates, I pay them a quarterly sponsored post rate to post every quarter,” says Schneider, of the smart strategy, “That’s really helped too, because I get exclusivity. They’re not able to post about any other brand in the self tanning category, and they’re posting consistently.” In a win-win relationship, the influencers are also earning the affiliate commissions, and a sponsored post rate each quarter.
Taking calculated risks has doubled the business every single year
Of course, not every partnership will become fruitful. But, Schneider has found ways to invest in the model while totally bootstrapping the business.
“The business has doubled every year, and if I had to say why, I would think it’s from taking calculated risks and being smart with my money – whether it’s outsourcing, or paying for sponsored posts, or affiliate, or co-branded collaborations,” she reveals.
Influencer marketing in 2024 comes with its challenges
As entrepreneurs will know, no strategy is 100% successful all of the time.
“I’ve had a share of nightmares, too,” says Schneider, “Where people will get their content approved, and then they’ll post something different, or I’ll pay them and they will never post – they’ll just run with the money.”
But those risks? Calculated. “Still, those risks have gotten the business to where it is,” she reflects.
Expect the trend to continue
The influencer marketing industry may have already ballooned to a value of over $30 million, but you can expect it to grow even bigger – and rapidly. Stats show that the market is expected to grow to $47.80 billion by 2027.
For Get Into The Limelight, that means honing those lucrative partnerships even more so in 2024 and beyond.
“I love co-branded collaborations. It’s great to have someone that I really admire partner with the brand, so I’m looking forward to work on that in 2024,” Schneider tells us, “We’re also making some new products and expanding the line.”
Ultimately, the entrepreneur has found that great influencer marketing comes down to one simple, analytical strategy, though, she explains, “It’s about doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.”
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