No money for influencers? No problem. If your client has been interested in partnering with influencers, but can’t find room in the budget, it’s time you told them why content marketing works better than influencers for many marketing campaigns.

Why Content Marketing Works Better than Influencers

Influencers Are Losing Consumer Trust

One of the major pulls of influencer marketing is that it seems more genuine than stereotypical ads, like social media and TV ads. People trust influencers. Or so we thought. According to a report by The Drum, 81% of consumers say that influencer marketing has either no impact or a negative impact on their perception of the brand being promoted. Not only that:

51% scroll past influencer posts, ignoring them completely
62% have never purchased something an influencer was promoting
42% of those who have purchased a product/service promoted by influencers regret making the purchase

Influencers just don’t have the same pull over consumers the way they did a few years ago. Instead, 86% of consumers say that they’re “more likely to trust a brand that publishes user-generated content,” says The Drum.

So, the next time you’re meeting with your client and discussing why content marketing works, bring up that it doesn’t even have to be their own content. Pull from content consumers already make that sings the brand’s praises. TikTok may be a great place to start looking for review videos from real, unpaid customers.

Brands’ Trust in Influencers is Waning Too

It’s not just consumers who are losing faith in influencers. According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, the belief among marketers that influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing has plummeted by 7% in just one year. Belief in influencers hasn’t been this low since 2017.

Your Client’s Competition is Slacking in Content Creation

Marketing that stands out has a better chance of resonating with consumers than content that fades into the ether. That’s why traditional ads like out-of-home and direct mail ads are making a comeback in this digital age. But what may shock your client is that content marketing is slowing down.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, fewer marketers are increasing their content output this year compared to prior years. Additionally, only 55% of marketers even have a standalone content marketing budget.

What does that mean for your client? Their content will be easier to find by potential customers! If they continue to churn out relevant content that answers major industry questions and other information consumers will find helpful AND will establish your client as an expert in the field, they’ll be found by more consumers making searches. Yet another reason why content marketing works.

What Types of Content Should Your Client Use?

One of the reasons why content marketing is more effective than influencer marketing is because you can easily mold the content to reach consumers in a format and on the channels they want to interact with. Of course, the types of content and channels consumers want to interact with are different for every audience type. Do you really think influencers are going to take the time to do that research?

Luckily for you and your client, you don’t have to take too much time to track down that research yourselves either. You just have to look it all up in one place: the target audience’s profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. There, you can look up critical marketing information, such as:

What percentage of the audience took action after interacting with different types of ads within the last year
Their search habits
What they’re in the market for this year
And more

Photo by Brooke Cagle