With advancements in technology, organisations now have new opportunities that can aid in better understanding and connecting with their target audiences. The increase in e-commerce brands is especially due to the rise in social media users. Gone are the times when people preferred going out to make a purchase. Nowadays, they look forward to these e-commerce platforms to fulfil their needs. A Statista analysis projects that the Indian e-commerce market would be worth $350 billion by 2030 as a result of rising Internet usage and a favourable business environment.


In addition, the growth of social media influencers has also contributed to an increase in e-commerce brands as they have opened up new marketing avenues for them. In fact, influencer marketing has become a cutting-edge strategy that is successful in engaging the public, forging relationships with them, and educating them about the existence of businesses and the worth of their products.


Since influencers have the attention of a bigger audience, companies have the opportunity to expand their brand to new-age customers, resulting in improved reach and brand awareness.


According to a Statista report, the influencer marketing sector in India would be worth Rs 2,200 crores by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent.


Perks of integrating influencers for brands


Build more trust


Online and offline behaviours, as well as daily life in general, can all be observed to be significantly and widely impacted by social media.


In a Statista study, a sizable portion of respondents claimed that social media has improved their ability to access information, eased communication, and gave them freedom of speech.


Additionally, as of 2022, Internet users around the world spent an average of 147 minutes per day on social media, up from 145 minutes the year before. Given the rise in social media users, influencer marketing has developed into a potent tool for companies.


Influencers have the ability to connect with the public on a personal level and win their trust in the process. As a result, people look forward to these influencers for product and service recommendations. This point can be used to the advantage of e-commerce firms, who can then use influencer marketing to promote their products.


Therefore, this would leave a favourable impression of the brand in the minds of the general public, which would immediately help them establish credibility.


Control over content


A brand's unique selling proposition and distinguishing feature is the type of content it creates. Hence, creating engaging content in the form of appealing pictures, videos, reels, infographics and blogs should be a brand's top priority if it wants to engage the largest possible audience.


The more attractive your content is, the more consumers will take an interest. Also, creating digital content is pretty simple and inexpensive when compared to other traditional content forms. In fact, e-commerce firms can direct how they want to be perceived by the public by using the appropriate digital content and influencers for this aim.


This would enable them to produce engaging content in accordance with the target audience and prepare how influencers should distribute it to the general public in order to interact with an increasing number of individuals.


Easy tracking


By using influencer marketing for promoting products or services, e-commerce brands can easily track how well they are doing in the market and gain clarity of metrics in terms of consumer engagement and sales from each influencer from time to time.


This would, in turn, help them devise effective strategies and alter the content represented by the influencer accordingly. For brands majority of the business decisions regarding how to take the brand forward and form new objectives are influenced by how well they are doing in the market and what else they need to cater to stand out.


This can be determined with the help of data gathered in terms of consumer interaction levels from the influencer itself and can be leveraged to set the roadmap. Also, influencer marketing is considered to be a very powerful form of marketing when compared to others as you can receive time-based insights on how well your brand is performing and alter your upcoming course of action accordingly.


Opening the business to a wider audience


Today, a wide group of audience relies on various social platforms for information as well as entertainment. They look up to these digital platforms for something as simple as discovering recipes or looking for product recommendations.


Here, influencers play a great role as they provide people with the kind of recommendations they are looking for. Additionally, because influencers have access to a larger audience, companies can make use of this to reach all key audience segments.


In addition, branded content has recently gained popularity and is proving to be quite advantageous for organisations.


According to industry experts, readers engage with branded content for an average of 36 seconds, which is much longer than the 1.6 seconds that they typically spend with banner ads.


Additionally, when delivered through well-known influencers, branded content increases brand memory more than other types of digital material. 
Consequently, it is essential for the brands to identify the appropriate influencers and decide what kind of content would be most advantageous to them in the long run.


Importance of picking the right influencer for your brand


The secret to a brand's effective marketing initiatives is partnering with the right influencer. Additionally, you must ensure that the influencer you are about to pick is genuine, compelling, and well-suited to your brand's beliefs and image in order for them to make a significant contribution to your campaigns.


How your brand is perceived by the general public is greatly influenced by the type of influencer you select for it. Additionally, you must determine whether the market you intend to target is represented by the influencer in question and what kind of audience it attracts.


In a word, how the public views your brand will be largely shaped by the influencer you choose.


Given how increasingly digitally sophisticated consumers are these days, it is imperative for companies to make the most of these online channels. Influencer marketing has shown to be an innovative and successful technique that engages the public, develops relationships with them, and informs them of the presence of businesses and the value of their products.


With the help of influencers' personal touches, brands can raise consumer interest in their products. However, it would only be the case if you get the right influencer on board for your brand.


(The author is the Head of Asia at DRIM, an influencer marketing platform.)


Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal.