Small businesses face a lot of obstacles in the early phases post-launch. A lack of capital, brand awareness, and an unproven business model are all potential pitfalls small businesses must overcome to succeed. Small businesses need to grow without having the money bigger companies have, which means that every dollar spent by a small business needs to be spent wisely.

In the years before social media, marketing opportunities for businesses in early-stage growth phases were limited. The primary options for advertising lay in television ads and billboards, which required significant investment. In the years since, digital marketing has taken off and has leveled the playing field, democratizing how brands advertise.

With the advent of influencer marketing, small businesses can receive the same amount of traction online as any brand with the right strategies. While influencer marketing still requires an investment from companies, it is a lower cost, more scalable solution tailored to a business’s unique needs. There are many different advantages to influencer marketing for a small business. Let’s dive into how it can help small businesses drive scalable growth.

Cost-Effective Marketing That Drives Growth

Stretching your marketing budget as far as it will take you is crucial to grow your business. Driving leads and conversions without spending a tremendous amount of money is difficult, but influencer marketing can do this if handled correctly. Many influencers work for low fees per post or only require free products in exchange for a post. This is known as influencer gifting. The ROI can be significant if an extensive campaign is composed of influencers receiving only products or low fees.

According to Social Industries, the majority of businesses see significant results from their influencer marketing efforts, with only 18% failing to generate revenue from their campaigns. This is because influencer posts receive more engagement for businesses than brand posts, with an influencer post getting 2% engagement while a brand post gets 0.5%.

Marketing with social media creators is a low-cost, high-return option. Through influencer gifting or low fee influencers, small businesses can attract a large number of creators to push out advertising messages at a surprisingly low cost.

Trackable Data That Informs Next Steps

The best tool at the disposal of any business is information. Learning what works and what doesn’t is pivotal to growth because it allows for corrections of mistakes and the implementation of proven practices. Every good business is reliant on data because it teaches them the best possible way to proceed. Business intelligence and data are tools a considerable number of businesses use and learn from.

According to a report by Deloitte, companies with CEOs that utilize data-driven decision-making are 77% more likely to significantly exceed business goals. Data-based insights are concrete ways to improve processes, and influencer marketing gives small businesses actionable information that can change how they market.

The typical campaign will have certain influencers that yield more clicks and conversion, with each influencer having their own discount code customers use to purchase the product. Businesses can learn which influencers work best for their product and which don’t, leading to changes in strategy for other campaigns. Companies can also target specific niches using niche influencers and find out which niche their product works best by tracking results from different niches. A ton of vital information can be learned from the data that comes from marketing campaigns that can lead to better results down the road.

Scalable Campaigns That Grow with Your Business

One of the great things about influencer marketing is that it’s not one size fits all. Campaigns are based on the decisions you make and the goals you have. Influencer marketing agencies will typically allow you to choose the size of the campaign, the type of creators you target, and the budgetary requirements. There is a lot of personalization involved in this process.

There are obvious benefits to creating customizable campaigns, but one of the major ones is that it makes influencer marketing infinitely scalable. If you are a small business and just starting in your industry, your marketing budget might be relatively small. Small influencer marketing campaigns target micro and nano-influencers at a low cost and still yield positive results.

As your business grows, having a marketing tactic that can grow along with it is essential. Influencer marketing can scale up with your brand’s marketing budget. More extensive campaigns targeting higher follower influencers, spreading campaigns across platforms, and other significant adjustments can continue the growth of your efforts. Influencer marketing is a digital advertising tactic with limitless scalability that allows your business to start small and elevate efforts as budgets increase.