Week 6: Influencers Compared to Brand Ambassoders

     When comparing influencer marketing and brand ambassadors, I believe that influencer marketing works best for my business. Influencer marketing works for my clothing brand business because many influencers already have a loyal following, which can benefit my brand if their audience sees my clothes on them. I do already see this type of marketing when scrolling through Instagram and TikTok. Many of these "fashion" influencers make videos showing their recent purchases and clothes that were sent to them by a clothing brand. I believe that this type of marketing benefits both sides because not only do these influencers get sent free clothes, but they also have new content to film for their followers, and for brands, they benefit by getting potential customers, a loyal following, and can increase sales.

    To succeed in utilizing influencer marketing for my business, I would focus on sending clothes from my brand to many micro-influencers who I believe align well with the image of my brand. I would contact many of them, asking them if they were able to promote my clothes in a future video before sending them clothes from my brand. I would also ask for their opinion on the clothes because some influencers are picky about who they work with. I also believe that sending the clothes out for free is more beneficial than them buying from the website because it allows me and the influencer to form more than just a business relationship. It builds trust and allows for future collaborations.

    As stated before, I would contact as many influencers as I can. Many of these influencers do have a loyal following; however, it's never guaranteed that the video where they have my clothes on will go viral or have a lot of interaction. It's also sometimes risky if the influencer doesn't post that promotional video. I would do as much research as I can to find influencers within the niche of what my brand represents.

    Overall, I believe that influencer marketing works and is more beneficial because it allows more freedom in who I want to work with, it benefits both the influencer and the business, and it's more organic. I think that brand ambassadors are beneficial as well; however, it doesn't align with the exclusivity and organic image for the brand I want to build.