Any form of marketing done well is arguably worth the effort. Particularly when using free or low-cost methods, targeting specific audiences – regardless of size – can yield meaningful results in a short period of time. Because of this, many businesses and brands have turned to social media, which allows a virtually limitless stream of consumers and many marketing customization options.

Yet so many brands fail to tap into the inherent value of social influencer marketing. By using one or more highly-respected and well-established leaders within various niches, brands can gain exposure for their products and services – with the results often being even better than other social media marketing techniques.

Let’s examine why social media influencer marketing is so valuable in an age of constant ads.

It’s Received Well

Social influencers are able to leverage their audiences as powerful marketing tools for many reasons. However, the end result is that they tend to be selective with what they promote, and their audiences know that. Influential social media personas have considerable power when affecting the buying and behavioral decisions of their followers because these followers implicitly trust them. Rather than pinging users with a constant barrage of unrelated content, these influencers pick and choose who and what to share. In the end, this implies a sense of quality and is received generally well by the audiences they control.

It’s Targeted

Any digital marketing effort is doomed to fail if it is too broad or generalized. It shouldn’t be surprising that virtually every digital marketing platform offers a plethora of customization options to customers, making it easy to choose exactly who is targeted. Social influencer marketing is highly effective because it allows brands to zero in on specific market niches that already have a specific, common interest (the influencer). If you are lucky enough to get mentioned by a social media influencer in the right niche, the number of qualified leads is substantial, making the clickthrough rates with this approach phenomenally better than through most mediums.

It’s Good for SEO

While social media influencers are highly active and effective on social media, most operate enterprises outside of platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. With many having their well-established websites as well, social media influencers can also be a vital component in link building. Given that very few social influencers these days are not going to have high-authority and high-ranking websites in their niches, this presents opportunities for brands to earn vital links that deliver both qualified traffic and PR juice for SEO endeavors.

It’s Affordable

Contrary to what some might think, most social media influencer marketing campaigns are relatively cheap. Rather than targeting a wide swath of consumers who may or may not find interest in your product or service, influencers have a well-honed audience that can be marketed to for as little or even less per meaningful click. With this option, it’s easier than ever to start pinging users with affordable yet effective marketing campaigns.

There are many reasons why brands may want to utilize social influencer marketing to boost their visibility, with some of the crucial points listed above. Whether you want more effective marketing solutions, lower marketing costs or some potential SEO benefit, turning to this solution makes sense in most situations.