Brands
Influencer Marketing
Influencers are online personalities with specialized knowledge or insights into a specific subject and an engaged audience.
Influencers have the ability to influence potential customers buying decisions, therefore influencer marketing is a powerful way to get brand awareness and exposure—opposite to Affiliate Marketing, a channel for customer acquisition.
With over 420 million people using social media in North America—think Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok—the opportunity to target niche audiences is virtually limitless.

Section Summary
Influencer marketing VS Affiliate Marketing
Even though influencer and affiliate marketing involve creator commissions, compensation models are different. Depending on the marketing objectives and budgets brands may choose one or another.
Influencers are great for creating brand awareness and increasing web traffic, or cold lead generation. As their name states, they can influence their audience into buying something and have deep knowledge of specific topics. The compensation model for this channel includes commission, gifts, flat rate fees, or a combination of all the aforementioned.
Affiliates, on the other hand, are mostly used because they drive traffic to the brand’s website to complete a transaction. They are deeply trusted by their audiences, experts in their niche, and have relevant industry insights. This is the type of channel brands should invest in when in need of a bottom-of-the-funnel strategy. They are only paid for conversions, which gives brands more control over their online marketing spending.

Why is influencer marketing important?
Do you recall the last time you made an important purchase or decided to try a new technology product? Chances are, you either heard about it from a friend or family member, an influencer or content creator you follow on social media, or you went online in search of reviews.
Data shows that consumers read an average of 10 online reviews before feeling able to trust a local business. 72% of customers won’t act until they read reviews and 91% of millennials trust online reviews as much as friends and family.
So, while you can’t directly control what people may say about your brand, you can use your marketing strategy to help shape the narrative by working with influencers that are trusted voices in their communities.
Key considerations to start working with influencer marketing
- People are more inclined to listen to third parties that seem to have a more objective voice—that’s where the success of influencers lies.
- So how do you incorporate this channel into your broader marketing mix? Keep these key success factors in mind:
- Set clear goals
- Set goals that are realistic, measurable, and attainable. Have open discussions with your influencer partners and have defined metrics of success, such as the volume of opened accounts from a campaign.
- Have a clear value proposition
- Think about what makes your bank’s products attractive. How do you stand out from the crowd and your competitors?
- Make the journey to becoming a customer easy
- Ensure that your account opening process—or whatever you’re offering—is timely and accessible. Users appreciate efficiency and rapidness. Be able to measure those goals you set
- Make sure you can measure end-to-end, from the first click to opened account. Partner with the right tools and technology to access the data and analytics that will show you the success of your marketing campaign and how to better allocate your budget.
Scale your brand’s new customer acquisition with a complete partnership solution and specialized network of financial influencers.
Resources

How Influencer Marketing Can Win Over the Next Generation of Members

Master the Growth Mindset: 4 Tactics to Drive Performance
