By A Correspondent
In 2018, 92 percent marketers are expected to launch at least one influencer campaign. The popularity of the influencer marketing to drive brand awareness and reputation can be gauged by the insight that 89 percent of marketeers have found the medium to be effective and 62 percent are planning to increase their budgetary allocation towards engaging social influencers, according to the latest India Influence Report2018.
The survey results indicate that more than ever, brands are recognizing that influencers help in leveraging the exposure of the company’s product and can increase brand recognition as a result of consumers leaning on these reviews to make their purchasing decisions. The continued widespread adoption of influencer marketing shows that the channel is becoming an integral part of the marketing mix. In fact, one of the major revelations of the India Influence Report2018 points towards the gradual maturing of influencer marketing in India with 14 percent of the marketeers suggesting an always on-mode and 16 percent planning to integrate influencer marketing within their marketing strategy.
The findings of an exhaustive survey conducted by Zefmo, a leading influencer marketing platform, have indicated that top marketeres are of the opinion that consumers are more likely to make a purchase decision based on influencers because of the authenticity and affinity elements. In addition, an overwhelming number of marketeers feel that increasingly consumers are influenced by their peers when it comes to making a purchase decision.
“Influencers have high gravity of credibility and their medium is fundamentally social. Besides providing exposure to a brand, influencers lend their credibility to it,†said Irfan Khan, CEO, Zefmo. “Today’s consumer can tell the difference between an advert and a personal recommendation. Therefore, influencer marketing is fast changing to become more of an intrinsic part of the marketing strategy. In 2018, we can expect brands to become more sophisticated with the data around influencer marketing strategies.â€
Veteran communications professional and former journalist Irfan Khan passed away in Mumbai on Sunday (Jan 22). Khan, 76, worked with several publications and news agency Press Trust of India before moving to corporate communications in 1975 at Hindustan Unilever. He stayed on at HUL for 25 years and retired from the FMCG major in 2000 as vice president and head of corporate communications. He later worked with Coca-Cola and was also invited as an advisor to several large organisations and consultancies. A few years back, for instance, when there were concerns about the safety of the Tata Nano, the Tata Motors top deck asked Khan for his advice.