MARKETING YOUR BRAND

Notes from a PR & Social Media Marketing Specialist

It’s exciting to be in a world where technology and social As the temperature drops, the demand for influencers rise. Companies are leaning more and more on influencers to spread the holiday cheer. If you’re unfamiliar with influencers and the impact they make in digital marketing, let me fill you in on why companies are paying more than a million dollars for a top influencer to promote their product. An influencer is an online personality who impacts their followers’ purchasing decisions based on the type of content they curate. They have established credibility in a specific niche that their followers also have an interest. They use their online presence through Instagram, Facebook, blogs, and other social media platforms. Usually, Influencers will collaborate with different companies that have a similar brand to their own.

Influencers have a major influence over their followers for a reason. Whether that be bringing relatable content to their audience or inspiring them, their followers feel like they know them on a personal level and trust their opinion. (This also includes trusting your favorite influencer on what the yummiest platter or cocktail to serve at the Holiday party is!) An influencer can be any online personality, from a YouTuber to a major celebrity. According to Digital Marketing

How to connect with influencers this holiday season, and why are influencer partnerships important during the holiday season?

By Meghan Sperry - Socialite Media

Institute, “Christiano Ronaldo comes out top on the highest-paid Instagram influencer list, making $1.6 million per sponsored post. His 318 million followers are privy to several of those sponsored posts, including his paid partnerships ranging from Nike to his own underwear line.” Keep in mind that the more followers on a platform influencers have, the more they can charge a company to agree on a collaboration.

Now that you know a bit about why influencers are such a big deal in marketing let’s focus specifically on holiday marketing. It’s very well-known that holiday marketing brings immense amounts of revenue for millions of businesses. According to neilpatel.com, “there is a 50% increase in ad impressions during the Holiday season.” This is no surprise, as everyone is gift shopping or planning holiday gatherings. The competition also rises,

which pressures businesses to find the perfect, most influential influencer for their campaign. According to localIQ.com, “Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined have been projected to generate over $10 billion in sales.” It’s difficult to actually wrap your head around how large of a number that is, but let’s agree to be on the same page that it’s a huge one.

Influencer partnerships with businesses prove to be even more beneficial during the holiday season compared to any other time of the year. This is due to people who wouldn’t typically be checking social platforms daily turning to social media for gift inspiration and purchasing. According to Join marketing, research in the database shows that “influencers’ engagement rates are up to 12% higher in the month of December compared to the other months.” This data proves that it’s a critical period for your business’s marketing strategy.

Relating to my personal experience, Socialite Media has gained several clients within the months of November and December (more than we usually would within a two-month span.) This is because our clients want to boost their social media presence during the holidays when they know it will be a busy time of year for consumers searching on the market. Influencer marketing during the holiday season isn’t just for products such as clothes or jewelry but also just as important for the restaurant industry. This is a time where restaurants want to really push their new holiday specialty cocktail or their gift card specials, which is exactly where influencers come in handy.

If you have an influencer in mind and are looking to collaborate with them this holiday season, reach out to us at info@socialitemedia.com.

Socialite Media is a boutique social media marketing agency with headquarters located in downtown Chicago and Las Vegas. Their goal is to provide companies with successful social media marketing in their ultra-competitive industries. For more info, visit www.socialitemedia.com and follow on @socialitemediagroup.

Meghan Sperry