Influencer Marketing- How effective is it in the construction industry in Kenya?

When it comes to business, there are two kinds of people: those who influence and those who are being influenced. It’s almost impossible in a social media–centric culture to escape social media influencers — those celebrities and enthusiasts who populate our favorite feeds on social media.

Over the years, marketers from different industries have learnt how to utilize their “influence” to grow brands and drive sales. Influencer marketing is the most popular strategy for businesses seeking to achieve maximum brand impact and consequently increased sales.

Customers in the construction industry have always historically looked up to experts or peers for recommendations on their purchases. Clearly this shows that influence is something that has always been an integral part of consumers’ buying decisions. The only thing that has changed is the medium in which these recommendations are made.

Since influencer marketing is a global phenomenon (that is not going away anytime soon), can businesses in the construction industry utilize and benefit from it? Yes they can. However they need to be clear on certain areas such as :

• Know your target audience and know your customer on a deeper level (
• Which social media networks work best for you
• All your digital channels need to be well optimized, i.e. website, social media, email system, sms etc. In short, make finding and contacting your business as easy as possible.
• Have a crisis management plan. A company needs to be prepared for the worst.

So how can businesses in the construction industry utilize influencers?

1. Have one marketing goal for your business. Like brand awareness, sales generation, social media engagement, website traffic or reputation. This is because each goal requires different strategies.
2. Plan and execute a campaign( or several) with the help of influencers. This can be made even more effective if brands can collaborate or partner with other complimentary brands.
3. Allow influencers to take over your social media accounts. This works well for individuals who don’t know how to utilize social media networks or do not have content to post.
4. Have the right tools to track results.

Conclusion:

Influencer marketing is soaring, but many businesses may be turning to this channel without a true strategy. You need to know the market well , how you choose influencers to work with and (most importantly) how you manage and measure these campaigns.