It is no secret that influencer marketing is one of the biggest marketing channels in recent years. According to Bigcommerce, 65% of influencer marketing budgets increased in 2019 compared to the previous year.
Across industries, companies are using influencers as one of the channels with great ROI. It is no surprise then that new social media influencers are popping up left and right. For the average influencer, this means tighter competition and more work to get some of that marketing budget.
However, there’s a distinct way to stand out and gain even more followers – scholarships. Here is why setting up a scholarship can benefit you as a social media influencer.
Increase your following
No matter what your social media platform is, you always want more followers. After all, it’s one of the metrics that get you new influencer marketing clients. Scholarships have an inherent factor of virality to them and they inevitably get a lot of buzz going around them.
The average student today will apply to countless scholarships on a monthly basis. Today’s generations are just as likely to spend hours looking for scholarships as they are loitering on social media. The good news is – you can bring both to them. If you don’t believe me, just check out our Instagram profile – which has more than 16,000 followers at the moment. At the same time, our Facebook page has over 70,000 followers. Most of those followers came organically, with little to no promotion.
If you set up a scholarship in your name, you are practically guaranteed an increase in your follower base in the relevant age groups for college. However, you are just as likely to get the students’ family members on board as followers as well. If you consider the ROI, this is one of the better ways to get people to follow you on social media in terms of bang for your buck. Not only will you increase your following, but you will get lots of attention from Generation Z.
Show that you care
For most influencers, doing this type of work is a way to make an income, whether as a main job or a side hustle. No matter how close you get to your followers, many of them may think that at the end of the day, you’re just using them to make a profit.
By setting up your own scholarship, you’re dedicating a certain amount of money to help out a student(s) in need who can use it to pay for their education. It’s a noble cause that anyone can get behind, and you will show yourself as the philanthropist that you are.
You’re going to spend the money on advertising anyway, so why not spend it to help someone else and get an incredible marketing ROI at the same time?
Increase the loyalty of your followers
One of the upsides of spending money to help others is that you work on your own brand. People are more likely to identify with you and become more loyal to your brand (and profile). By committing to a higher cause, you will show a level of social responsibility that goes beyond what most influencers today offer to their audiences.
Since you will show yourself as a role model, you are sure to increase loyalty with your existing followers, as well as get some new ones along the way. There are quite a few celebrities doing charity work, but unfortunately, the world of influencers has yet to adopt this kind of noble behavior.
(Almost) free PR
The moment you launch a scholarship, you’ll notice one thing – you’ll get a lot of coverage. Scholarships are a pretty big deal and they get a lot of attention in the media. Starting from universities to website publications and magazines all the way to local companies who want to help their students, you will get a lot of coverage as an influencer.
Is this kind of PR coverage free? Not really, since you will be paying for the scholarship. On the other hand, consider this: you will be helping someone with their education and every bit of media attention you get on top of that is a nice extra.
Wrapping up
If you want to become the next big influencer in your niche, there is a variety of things you can do, but none with so many advantages as launching your own scholarship. If you’re wondering how to start the process, find applicants and promote your scholarship, make sure to give Scholarship App a try! You can launch a scholarship in as little as 15 minutes without any knowledge of coding, with as little as $1,000. In fact, the Scholarship App team will help you set it up, distribute it, host it and launch it – completely free.
