Going D2C? You may want to look at influencer marketing

The customer is the final boss and it is imperative to always keep them happy by eliminating any middlemen or bottleneck between them. That’s exactly what D2C brands have been doing so far. Long gone are those days where middlemen had the authoritarian wand and used to behave like demigods. With the revolution in technology, businesses have started savoring the taste of direct customer interactions and feedback rather than working through middlemen, and hence the D2C business sector is flourishing like never before.

What is meant by D2C Marketing?

Though D2C might seem like a flashy and encrypted term, it simply means direct to consumer marketing. Middlemen are flushed out in this process and brands directly reach out to customers like CRED or Mamaearth. Customers have always longed for a personal touch which can elevate them to the next set of experiences, and D2C is designed to provide just that! A D2C brand directly manufactures and sends to the customer and manages to share stealthy profit margins straightaway with their clients.

How do D2C brands leverage Influencer marketing campaigns?

As the ballgame is all about reaching out to consumers directly, what better leveraging tool would be than social media? As per Statista, India has witnessed a massive social media user surge. It has grown to 448 Mn social media users in January 2021, with a staggering 28% rise from 350 Mn users in 2019. People are spending more time on average on social media and traditional media is slowly backtracking.

This is where Influencer Marketing campaigns are gaining traction and eyeballs. Where hiring a film/ sports celebrity can cause a cash outflow of whopping millions of dollars, the same result can be achieved in relatively cost-effective methods with freebies and a small chunk of money as a token of appreciation.

Brands are leveraging micro and nano influencers, to acquire new customers, and the strategy is providing one of the most lucrative ROIs the brands have ever seen. Micro-influencers provide a 40% more engagement rate compared to the mega influencers and nano influencers are also gaining significant importance in terms of social media coverage.

The three most prominent ways Influencer marketing has become the best-chosen weapon in the arsenal for marketers are:

Establishing Human Connection with a Brand: People love to relate content with their lives, and an emotional connection is a crucial factor here. End consumers always cherish having a personal, friendly touch with the brands they would like to explore or interact with. Influencer marketing campaigns bring the brands closer to their target audience and aspires them to bridge the gap.
Brand awareness: To become successful, brands need to be heard first. Influencer marketing has paved the way for brands to bypass any bottleneck and reach out to the targeted customers directly. In a world where having an attention span of more than 7 seconds is a wonder, influencers can easily hook their audience with their charisma, knowledge, and fan following. As products today are bought only after thorough scrutiny of the brand and of the reviews left by other customers, influencers can become the brand ambassadors for the brands and promote, endorse, and review the products for the brands, saving them numerous hours and a significant amount of money.
Cost-effectiveness and scope of experimentation: Many brands couldn’t promote their products earlier due to financial restrictions and constraints. With nano and micro-influencers on their side, they can also leverage social media marketing with a few giveaways of their products. Also, brands can enjoy more freedom with content creation and marketing strategies by trying out multiple versions of marketing campaigns. It has successfully democratized the marketing scope for all the brands to reach out to their target audience effectively.