Tracey Ellison and Preeta Agarwal, top jewelry influencers share their thoughts and offer tips and guidelines on how retail and B2B brands can leverage influencer marketing in 2023 to expand their reach and drive sales.
Today, everyone and anyone in business is talking about the value of influencer marketing. The influencer marketing industry has grown from $9.7 billion in 2020 to $16.4 billion in 2022. Influencer Marketing Hub anticipates the market size to touch $84.89 billion in 2028.
So, what’s all the fuss about? Brands that have invested in influencer marketing have seen better results than their paid advertising campaigns to boost awareness, engagement and sales. Data shows that businesses are making $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, on an average. The top 13% of businesses are seeing revenue of $20 or more per every $1 spent, according to an Influencer Marketing Hub report.
Influencers have emerged as key opinion leaders in the digital space. They have become an authentic source of discovering new brands and products for consumers. Statistics show that 61% of consumers trust influencer’s product recommendations. Meanwhile, only 38% trust branded social media content.
“As traditional print media continues to downsize, influencer marketing is becoming more and more important. Those who are well known and trusted online are not your traditional models. It is influencers that have built their followings, and their followers trust them to make authentic recommendations, especially when it comes to jewelry,” shares Tracey Ellison, a USA-based top jewelry content creator who goes by the handle @thediamondsgirl on Instagram with 1 million followers.
“It’s not a commodity, it’s usually a significant purchase, and buyers want to know that the recommendation has been motivated by a genuine love for the item, not simply a big pay check!” shares Ellison who works with some of most high-end jewelry brands in the world. This is relevant not just for retail brands but for B2B brands as well. “Influencer marketing is as effective for B2B brands as it is for B2C because jewelry retailers are also online. Before any trade show they do their homework to see who has made new collection and accordingly plan their show visits. I know of so many cases where I have showcased a manufacturer’s piece of jewelry on social media and two days later a retailer has walked in with a screenshot and selected that product for their own stores,” shares Preeta Agarwal, a New Delhi-based jewelry specialist.
Influencers help brands gain access to a new audience. They direct potential consumers to the brand’s website/social media handles. They give personal testimonials, demonstrations and calls to action when talking about a brand. Thus, driving engagement and sales. “In some cases, brands have got up to 500 new followers after my post,” adds Agarwal who is a trained jewelry designer, photographer and content creator.
Picking the right influencer
When you are looking out for an influencer, don’t just go by the number of followers they have. Keep your current and future customers’ preferences in mind. At the same time, make sure that the influencer’s style of showcasing jewelry matches your brand’s aesthetics.
“When you decide to work with an influencer, talk to them at length about your product, its USP, the inspiration behind it and what output you are looking for and then let them do their magic,” advises Agarwal.
One of the most important prerequisites is to make sure that you have a strong digital presence of your own. “If your page barely exists or is not active enough, then the final result will be very average and not that effective,” warns Agarwal.
In order to amplify the benefits of collaborating with an influencer either through brand or product mentions, giveaways, store visits, etc. repost the content created by the influencer on other digital platforms like WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Twitter. This will multiply the reach of the same content, advises Agarwal.
Brands that are looking to strengthen their digital presence will do well by incorporating influencer collaborations in their social media strategy for the coming year.
