Using influencers for marketing purposes is nothing new in the corporate world. Many brands, charities and NGO’s have often relied on popular individuals for their advertisement campaigns. However, coming up with innovative approaches to seemingly ordinary topics can sometimes be difficult.
Rehashing old slogans and ad campaigns almost never works, especially if you are an up and coming brand. Influencers have to not only animate their followers but also to uphold their established reputation. Let’s take a look at some interesting new ideas you might want to explore with your influencers.
- Invent engaging hashtags
Everyone uses social media platforms to some extent. One of the most popular social media systems today is the implementation of hashtags. By simply putting a “#” symbol in front of your term or a phrase, you can identify that phrase with your brand.
Influencers often do this to promote products and services that they are under contract for. One of the most popular examples of this practice is Sprint with its famous #LiveUnlimited hashtag that promoted celebrities that are affiliated with their brand. They did not only succeed in bringing in new customers and media attention but also effectively made other celebrities join their brand initiative.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlOZYJ3l9SA
While lifestyle may not be considered a “product” in itself, keep in mind that Sprint offers services that make people feel like a part of a bigger whole – a Sprint family. Hashtags have a tendency to skyrocket throughout social media and be seen by hundreds of thousands before they die down. This is one of the simplest, cheapest and most effective ways of combining influencer’s advertisement with your brand.
- Cross-influencer collaboration
Who says that you should only rely on a single influencer for your marketing needs? Many companies employ multiple influencers to boost their sales and raise awareness of their brand. Creating cross-influencer marketing campaigns might just be what your brand needs to gain some traction.
One of the most notable examples of cross-collaboration can be seen in Nikon’s campaign with Warner Music Group. These two companies combined their forces in order to showcase the best both have to offer on an awards festival. The resulting press coverage and media buzz created a spark of interest in the public eye, effectively proving that cross-collaboration does indeed work. Nikon’s cameras and Warner’s music records sold more as products as a result of the collaboration.
Think of it as a marketing campaign akin to what Marvel Studios is doing with their movies. Combining multiple characters (influencers) into a single movie (campaign) combines the viewers and followers of both into one poll. This move can effectively raise conversion rates, revenue as well as brand loyalty.
- Emphasize brand values
People that identify with your mission statement and values are likely to spend their money on your products. Influencers often rely on brand statements and values to craft their marketing efforts. For example, Boxed Water’s campaigns always rely on green living and ecological preservation.
and sell. You can do the same with your products and services by pointing out their connection to your company’s values. While the company does sell water products, their mission statements far outweigh the simple product they bottle
Influencers can use your brand’s values to bring their followers to your fold. This is a great way to identify which people value the same things you do and which ones are simply there as onlookers. Don’t waste the opportunity to bring your mission and vision to the forefront of your influencers’ marketing campaigns.
- Influencer product showcasing
Sometimes giving your influencers free things to try out might be the best way to go. One of the best examples of product showcasing can be found in H&M, a company that specializes in fashion clothing. They effectively solved their influencer marketing problems by recruiting famous social media women to try their clothes for them.
Posting these pictures on Instagram and Facebook profiles with high follower numbers is an amazing way to showcase your brand and raise your revenue. If a famous influencer is satisfied with your product and says so on their social media profile, people won’t need another reason to buy your products or services.
- Products as influencers
Once you build up some brand recognition, you can move on to more advance marketing strategies by recruiting a different type of influencer. “Recruitment” might be too strong a word for placing your own product in the eyes of the public however.
If we take a look at the example of what brands such as Mercedes are doing, we can easily see that products can be as effective at being influencers as real people. Mercedes has always put an emphasis on their vehicles without any need for famous celebrities to promote them (even though that was the case sometimes). Mercedes starred a famous rapper, A$AP Rocky, who seems to be a perfect embodiment of luxury life and greatly represents the target audience of the company (well, at least, its part).
Placing your product in the center of marketing campaigns without almost any people present in the strategy can sometimes prove very beneficial. A$AP Rocky does appear on the video, but does not get a lot of highlight. However, this type of advertisement does require some form of brand recognition from your audience – otherwise they will see a product without any context behind it.
- Hand over creative control
There is no shame in having no idea what to do about your brand. Some companies focus on production and distribution to an extent that doesn’t allow them to think about marketing. However, influencers are always ready to implement their own ideas into your product marketing strategies.
One of the best examples of handing over creative control to influencers can be found in Zara’s Instagram campaign. The fashion clothing brand employed famous celebrities without any direction to go on other than “raise our follower base”.
Zara effectively raised over 4 million followers in just over eight months, which is quite the achievement. Giving a set of instructions and milestones to your influencer instead of forcing them to follow your guidelines can sometimes be the best way to go.
Power to the influencer (Conclusion)
We live in an age where it’s more effective to recruit social influencers rather than to spend money on ad campaigns. Don’t overlook the significance of using social media influencers as a means to promote your products and brand as a whole.
Your influencers will often know the best way to approach their audience and thus make your job as a brand a lot easier. Trust the people that work for you and make sure to reward them for the effort. A positive word of mouth is hard to come by in the digital age, so why pass on the opportunity to bank on it?
About the author: James Daily is a professional writer and content manager at Flash Essay. When he is not involved in career-related tasks, he follows his other many interests, including astronomy, psychology, and cinema. Feel free to contact him via his personal blog Brainished.