If you’re a fitness entrepreneur and have been trying to step up your online marketing game, you must have come across the term ‘Influencer Marketing’. You must have heard about it’s mysterious and elusive properties, but you may not have decided whether this tactic is actually worth your time, energy and money.

Here’s a simple explanation of this futuristic marketing concept, and why it will explode in 2017 and become a key strategy towards online fitness business success.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is the concept of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive your brand's message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, you instead inspire or hire influencers to do the marketing for you.

So that you may have a better idea of how this exactly works in real life, here’s a typical example of a big brand using Influencer Marketing to promote their products.

When the 71 year old cosmetic brand Estée Lauder wanted to introduce a new spin off- The Estée Edit, to connect with younger clientele, they collaborated with the second youngest member of the glamorous and popular Kardashian family – Kendall Jenner.

Jenner, who commands an impressive figure of 75 million followers on Instagram, developed and promoted the brand to her audience and frequently appeared in Estée Lauder commercials, sharing makeup tips and advertising her favourite products from the brand.

Needless to say, the spin off brand was a raging success as Jenner’s numerous fans and followers rushes to stores to purchase products so that they could do what Kendall Jenner was doing. This is what Influencer Marketing looks like in the real world, and this is why it is going to be the most important strategy which makes a difference to your marketing campaign in 2017.

TARGETED EXPOSURE

Television commercials. Remember the time when they used to be the method of choice for advertising and getting your brand across to a large group of people? Well, they are now officially just background noise. Nobody pays attention anymore, and with good reason- It is simply not interesting to them. This is where the concept of targeted exposure comes in, and this is why Influencer Marketing is changing the very foundations of Digital Marketing. Targeted Exposure means extending your brand to targeted audience, who are already interested in your product. If you’re a fitness entrepreneur, you’d be looking to attract people in the Fitness Industry, and they become your target audience.

This is where Influencer Marketing eases the process of Marketing. If you hire a figure who already has influence over your target audience, and leave the marketing to them, it’s a sure guarantee that more people will be interested in your brand.

PERSONAL BRANDING

In fact, according to predictive market research, “influencer marketing” is really only the beginning. What’s truly happening is a general shift, as more and more people are discovering the art of personal branding.

When you have a personal brand, your audience see you as a leader in your specific niche or market and that is when you have acquire something which other people don’t have : you have people’s attention.

This, in itself, is highly valuable. Having a personal brand creates more windows of opportunity. To be a great influencer, you should try and integrate your brand into your personal unique stories without any effort at all. You should keep in mind that your  audiences are quick to lose interest and may quickly leave, so you should treat each and every word with care.

Most online surveys predict a gradual change in trend towards Influencer Marketing. 2017 is going to be a year driven by influencers, and if you want to keep ahead of times and abreast with the latest trends, you should consider investing time and energy towards a strong Influencer Marketing campaign.