Influencer marketing helps your business leverage the expansive network of popular online personalities. Customers need authenticity and trust before they feel comfortable buying from you. It can take months or years of focused work to build a loyal customer base. Influencer marketing reduces this time by increasing brand awareness with content creation.
Influencers have always been around. For example, in the age of modern television brands have partnered with celebrities, athletes, and various influential professionals. Now, influencers can be anyone young or old regardless of profession.
93% of brands are doing some sort of influencer marketing with many earning $18 for every dollar spent. However, like any marketing channel, without a strategy, influencer marketing can be very costly while providing no tangible ROI.
In this article, we’ll outline 7 great strategies you can start today for increasing brand awareness with influencer marketing.
1. Choose the Right Influencers
One of the most important strategic decisions you’ll make as a brand is who you partner with. All influencers will not bring in the same results. For example, Macro influencers, or those with 10k to millions of followers may have a wide reach but low engagement rates. They are always promoting products to their audience, so their community is not necessarily more likely to jump on a deal.
However, micro-influencers, those with less than 10k followers, may have a highly engaged audience that buys anything the influencer promotes. Examining the influencer’s numbers is an important first step in choosing who to work with. Larger influencers are also more likely to charge a premium fee.
What’s most important is that you’re always tracking your data. Identify your goals for increasing brand awareness then determine the metrics you’ll measure them by.
Popular key performance indicators for increasing brand awareness include:
- Lead generation or sales
- Site visits
- Link clicks
- Social media mentions
- Branded search volume
2. Generate Content and Testimonials
85% of businesses use social media for brand awareness. Creating consistent content to serve your audience can be difficult and expensive depending on your content plan.
One strategy to work with influencers is to have them create content for your brand. You can then repurpose this content to your other channels and as part of your product promotions. Content created via influencers reduces the burden of creation on your team, allowing you to get in front of your audience faster and more consistently.
Having influencer-generated content works similarly to testimonials. Testimonials create more brand trust and credibility for your products.
Think about how it feels to see “As Seen On” badges on websites. You immediately have more trust because you recognize those channels. Influencers create a similar effect.
3. Partner for Promotions, Campaigns, & Giveaways
Providing signup bonuses or discounts to an influencer’s audience is a popular way to get your products in front of new eyes. Brands offer content creators a small percentage for every person who makes a purchase using their promotional code or signup link.
Tracking the success of your campaigns is vital to know how your marketing efforts are paying off. Promotional codes and sign-up links make it easier for you to see who is creating the most brand awareness and resulting in higher engagement and sales.
To promote your business with influencers, you can send gift products and promotional gifts like customizable coffee mugs and swag boxes. Swag boxes include items like pens, shirts, stickers banners, or other items content creators can display in their feeds and videos. The added benefit is each subsequent time they create content with your promo gift displayed, they create more brand recognition.
The key is to match the promotion and promotional gifts to what the influencer would actually enjoy.
4. Suggest Tutorials and Unboxings
Tutorials and unboxing videos are major ways to generate a boost of traffic to your website and/or social media channels. Internet users Google questions all the time and videos/blogs that describe how to use a product are answers to those questions. Just like other types of content you can repurpose these tutorials to your social channels and your own blog.
Tutorials and unboxing videos are also another great opportunity to send branded promotional gifts. Keep in mind that large influencers receive free promotional items often. Personalizing your gifts is the best way to set yourself apart and increase the odds of a positive tutorial/review of your products.
Alternatively, you can arrange a contract with an influencer where tutorials or unboxing videos are part of the deal.
5. Demonstrating Inclusivity, Aligning with Social issues
Nowadays people want to work with brands that are transparent about their practices and who they represent. Millennials and Gen Zer’s are emerging as the majority of the buying market. These groups will look up your company’s mission and ethical practices before ever buying from you.
Presenting your products through influencers of various backgrounds can help you access an audience that your products may serve well but you don’t necessarily know how to speak to. The key is to do it with authenticity and in a way that would make sense for your brand. For example, if your brand makes an effort to create sustainable products for women, then aligning with environmental/sustainable influencers of different races or as members of the LGBT+ community would make sense.
6. Brand ambassador programs
Brand ambassador deals are similar to sponsorship deals in that they help to create a buzz and community around your product. Rather than creating a one-off campaign or promo code, brand ambassadors programs are a long-term strategy. These programs range from offering free products in exchange for promotion to paying a fee to influencers to create regular content. Typically, ambassadors are an extension of your marketing team.
Brand deals can be as exclusive as you want them to be. This means you don’t have to worry about your influencers promoting your competition.
7. Brand-sponsored events
Finally, another strategy for reaching wider audiences is to sponsor an event. You may decide to organize the event yourself or partner with several influencers in exchange for brand mentions and product displays.
Events don’t have to be large scale to be effective. An online webinar or panel can provide tremendous value to your target audience as well as your business. For in-person events, branded tents, supplies, and/or event equipment are a must.
Increase Your Brand Awareness With Influencer Marketing
The most important thing to remember about increasing brand awareness with social media influencer marketing is that it should build authenticity and trust with your brand. You are partnering with a content creator to access their audience but the relationship should be mutually beneficial. At Myron, we understand the hurdles of marketing and building a business from the ground up. What we’ve found is that if you can build strong relationships, you can build a strong business. Strengthen those bonds with unique, customizable promotional gifts that wow.