One of the cornerstones of a successful ecommerce business is its marketing strategy.
As a newly minted online store owner, chances are that you won't be able to take on platforms like Meta ads and Google Ads without having your numbers take a dive into the red.
These require a pretty hefty investment in terms of time, energy, and money—especially if you're unfamiliar with advertising platforms. And that's a risk for any new business that has neither the revenue nor a steady enough cash flow as a financial cushion to back operations up should these strategies prove unfruitful.
That's where influencer marketing comes into play. Influencer marketing is a marketing strategy that has plenty to offer for new businesses with low starting marketing budgets.
In this article, we'll talk about why you should go with influencer marketing when you don't have much room for manoeuvre with your marketing budget and how to approach it.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
For those unfamiliar with the term, influencer marketing is essentially partnering up with content creators who have built loyal followings on social media. They showcase your brand, products, or services to their communities, giving you a way to reach a new audience. These collaborations usually involve some kind of payment or exchange, which could be anything from a long-term paid contract to simply giving them free products.
Why does it work? These creators have serious credibility in specific areas (or niches) and have developed big audiences around their personal brands. They make content across tons of channels, like:
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Blogs
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Twitch
- Snapchat
Why Choose Influencer Marketing Over Facebook Ads
The potential of social media marketing for businesses is undeniable.
But as the cliché goes, not all social media marketing strategies are created equal.
Most first-time ecommerce store owners turn to Facebook ads as their go-to marketing tactic.
And that's not surprising. Countless articles about Facebook ads for ecommerce stores have been written.
While certainly effective, there's a steep learning curve involved with Facebook ads. Coupled with its relatively high cost, these can be pretty off-putting for ecommerce entrepreneurs who are just starting out with a brand new store.
Influencer marketing, on the flip side, can deliver great results without draining your bank account. Often for a simple, one-time payment that is pretty affordable.
Just listen to ecommerce expert, Kamil Sattar (The Ecom King):
“You can't do Facebook ads, Google ads, unless you've got $1,000. People that are on $500, I get them to do X influencers, Instagram influencers.”
And here’s a bonus: If your product is exciting and interesting enough, some influencers will actually be happy to create content for free! They'll usually just ask to get the product for free or want a quick mention (a tit-for-tat promotion) in return.
Proven Influencer Marketing Strategies for New Businesses
But low-budget doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be approached strategically. Here are some influencer marketing tactics that ecommerce store owners have found success with.
Go Beyond Instagram
Most marketers turn to Instagram for their influencer marketing strategy. But with so many other social media platforms available, there's no reason why you should limit yourself to Instagram.
With such high demand for Instagram influencers, why not look elsewhere, where competition isn't as stiff and rates are lower?
That's a tactic that worked beautifully for successful entrepreneurs Kamil and Jasmine. The duo ditched the standard Instagram and reached out to influencers on X (formerly Twitter) instead.
The result? Over 14,000 likes and 2,000 retweets for the first tweet alone. Their strategy eventually translated to more than $22,000 in revenue in three months.
Avoid Being Too Salesy
If there's one thing and one thing only that entrepreneurs who've found success through influencer marketing agree on, it's the importance of selling—without looking like you're selling.
Authenticity plays a massive role in influencer marketing. Appearing too pushy and salesy runs the risk of generating distrust and turning users away.
As a matter of fact, most marketers turn to influencer marketing with the objective of boosting brand awareness instead of getting sales.
As British business owner, Suhail Nurmohamed explains:
“When it sometimes doesn't look like an ad, it will psychologically make your customers think that these guys aren't trying to sell me and it would pique their interest to look into it further.”
Choose the Right Influencer
Though influencers with a high following may appear attractive, micro-influencers have proven to be more cost-effective and can offer a higher return on investment (ROI).
That's because of their lower prices and more targeted following. They also tend to have a much closer and more genuine relationship with their audience, which ties back to our previous point on authenticity.
When selecting an influencer to work with, prioritize the engagement levels of their content over the number of followers.
Also, make sure that they're a fit for your product so that they can create the content that's right for your brand and resonates with your target audience.
To find influencers for your brand, check out Shopify Collabs or our free guide on how to find influencers in your industry.
Collect the Data and Scale
Influencer marketing is an excellent, low-cost way to get ready for bigger ad platforms like Facebook, or just build a reliable customer base.
Instead of just relying on sales data, you should focus on using your influencer campaigns to collect email addresses from the traffic they send you. This provides you with an asset you own: a solid list of engaged potential buyers! You can then retarget these customers with email campaigns or upload that email list directly to Facebook/Instagram to create a Custom Audience for retargeting or for building high-quality Lookalike Audiences.
This is a great—and much cheaper—workaround to getting that initial, high-value data to truly kickstart your paid advertising efforts.
Influencer Marketing: Low-Cost Marketing That Works
Facebook ads may be the established go-to marketing tactic for ecommerce stores, but they require a steep learning curve and a high starting investment.
When faced with a limited marketing budget, consider breaking away from this convention and opting for influencer marketing instead. It provides an affordable way to gain brand exposure, build an owned customer asset (email lists), and collect high-value data necessary to truly kickstart your paid advertising efforts later on.
By focusing on micro-influencers, promoting authenticity, and looking beyond Instagram to lower-competition platforms, you can leverage the power of social proof and achieve significant results—all without draining your bank account.
Low Starting Budget? Try Influencer Marketing FAQ
Why Is Influencer Marketing Better for New Businesses With a Low Budget Than Facebook or Google Ads?
Influencer marketing is often more cost-effective and has a lower barrier to entry. Unlike paid ads, which require significant investment and a steep learning curve, you can start with a simple, affordable exchange (like free product or a small fee) and achieve immediate brand exposure and trust through the influencer's built-in, engaged audience.
Should I Work With Big Influencers or Smaller Ones (Micro-Influencers)?
For a low budget, you should prioritize micro-influencers. They offer a higher return on investment (ROI) because their rates are lower, and they tend to have a more authentic, genuine relationship with a targeted audience, leading to higher engagement and better conversion potential for your new business.
Besides Sales, What Is the Main Goal of a Low-Budget Influencer Campaign?
The main goal should be brand awareness and data collection. Focus on getting the influencer's traffic to sign up for your email list. This allows you to collect a high-value asset—engaged potential buyers—which you can later use for cheaper retargeting campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Google.