Influencer marketing – An ideal opportunity to enhance sales during the festive season
Businesses eagerly anticipate good sales during the year-end festive season as lives have finally reverted back to normal after two years due to the pandemic. The festive season is usually that time of the year when buyers go all-out on a shopping spree. With the dramatic increase in the number of active social media users, digital platforms play a crucial role in driving sales and generating revenue. Considering this, brands need to formulate marketing strategies in line with social media trends.
Influencer marketing offers brands robust ways to prioritise customer engagement and retention through user-generated content (UGC). No wonder, it is the fastest-growing marketing channel, surpassing other online marketing strategies like affiliate marketing and paid advertisements. Brand spending on influencers has increased by 25-30 per cent in the last year, and influencer advertising in India is expected to reach USD 289.30 million by 2027.
Influencers like vloggers, bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, and celebrities with high follower bases, increase brand reach and awareness and convince the audience to buy products.
Maximised Impact During the Festive Season
The year-end festive season is one of the busiest times for influencer marketing professionals, as 93 per cent of brands’ campaigns aim to deliver festive-centric, clutter-free content through influencer marketing. Since 48% of consumers are likely to spend more during the festive season, Christmas and New Year is a great time for businesses to tap a wider audience.
Businesses intend to maximize engagement with their followers around the year-end festivals. And influencers can help enterprises to enhance sales by organically spreading word of mouth, endorsing, and promoting business products on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., making them stand out from the crowd.
HDFC Bank last year aptly leveraged Instagram’s #AddAnAd influencer marketing campaign during the festive season. Celebrity influencers like R Madhavan, Ali Faizal, Radhika Apte, and Yami Gautam joined the bandwagon explaining how to shop with HDFC Bank’s “Festive Treats” using easy EMIs to purchase their dream homes, cars, bikes, gadgets, etc. The well-appreciated marketing campaign garnered more than 1 million interactions and 20 million impressions in just 48 hours.
Leveraging Influencer Marketing for Enhanced Sales and ROI
The shoppable influencer content impacts the purchasing intent of buyers, enticing the audience to buy products. About 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations on social media to make buying decisions. Thus, influencer marketing offer businesses an opportunity to increase conversion touchpoints, consumer retention and enhance product awareness.
According to 60% of marketers, influencer-generated posts outperform branded posts. Compared to other digital media strategies, the ROI of influencer marketing is 11x higher. Businesses generate an average of USD 6.50 for every USD spent on influencer marketing, indicating an ROI of 650 per cent. Since most influencers are already trusted by their followers, they get their followers to trust the business, building credibility amongst the followers.
Bottom Line
In India, over 2 million content creators work across various industries, enabling brands to engage with the audience and seamlessly establish a strong online presence. Brands leveraging influencer marketing strategies to generate leads witness promising results, as 61.2 per cent of brands acknowledge the power of influencer marketing and its ability to onboard new customers.
As businesses plan to increase their revenue and outreach through influencer marketing, now is the most appropriate time, as people are more receptive when festive cheer is at its peak. Influencer marketing offers businesses the perfect opportunity to drive sales effectively, boost brand awareness, and enhance customer loyalty at lower costs.