People exercise an unconscious selection in being influenced. – T. S. Eliot
That’s hot. – Paris Hilton
Call it thought leadership or endorsement, influencer marketing is a viable digital marketing trend that continues to remain popular. Businesses that incorporate it into their overall marketing strategy stand to benefit by increasing their online brand presence, attracting customers through published testimonials, and selling more product or services. If you’re planning to launch an influencer marketing campaign, I have some words of wisdom. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself about the role your website plays in influencer marketing, along with some helpful tips.
Does your website influence the influencer?
I’m going to be really, really blunt. Ready?
If your website looks outdated, unprofessional, or just plain ugly, influencers will not want to work with you.
Sorry if that hurts, but it’s the plain truth. Influencers are a savvy crowd with discerning taste. That’s why they’re influencers! If your website looks like it was designed in 2004, expect them to snub your pitches to join your influencer marketing campaign. Before replying to any outreach communications you send the influencers you want to work with, know that they will investigate your brand and website.
Everything on your website will be judged by influencers, including:
- Fonts
- Colors
- Product/service landing pages
- Imagery
- Shopping cart
- Overall design and style
- Security
- Blog content
- Website performance
Prior to contacting influencers, you should tidy up your website. It has to look fresh, modern, and on-trend. Plus, your website’s performance has to ‘wow’ them, too. Make it your goal to inspire your potential influencers to feel eager about joining your influencer marketing campaign.
Is your website optimized?
The whole point of an influencer marketing campaign is to increase sales. Is your website prepared for an onslaught of web traffic? Influencers have their own brand reputation to think about, too. The last thing they want is to send their followers to a website that crashes. That would be embarrassing for them.
You also want to ensure that your website is optimized so that product or service landing pages load quickly. If anything on your site takes more than three seconds to load, more than likely, that visitor will bounce. Congratulations. You’ve just lost a sale.
Is the user experience (UX) impressive?
People follow influencers because they feel connected to that person; they feel engaged. These same people need to feel connected to your brand and engaged with your website, too. This is essential if you want to keep them around. Give them a website experience that knocks their socks off!
Present these new visitors with an impressive UX that makes them forget that it was an influencer who brought them to your website, and give them an experience that makes them return for more. The most dynamic UX can win them over and make your brand the new influencer on the block.
Is your website 100% secure?
As is the case with a website that crashes, a website that is easy to hack and allows for personal information to be stolen would be mortifying for any influencer. Now that you have garnered the attention of your influencer’s followers and converted them into customers, prove that your website is a reliable, secure place of business by providing a rock-solid, safe payment gateway.
Influencer marketing is a proven marketing strategy that every business should consider, no matter the industry. Don’t jump the gun before you launch your campaign. Get your website in proper shape first, and when you decide you need a trusted partner for that, contact WebDevStudios.
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