One of the many perks of social media platforms is that they can be used to achieve almost any marketing goal. Do you want to improve brand awareness? Are you trying to increase sales? Do you want to get closer to your customers? … The list goes on, so let’s stop here, because we have some good news for you!
Thanks to influencer marketing, these goals can be achieved quickly and easily with the right strategy. This type of social media marketing has been around for about ten years and relies on the expertise of content creators. Advertising objectives haven’t changed: getting into the mind of the consumer remains a top priority and social media platforms are a great gateway to customers brands haven’t yet managed to reach.
It is, however, important to be thorough when planning, as numerous tools are available on these platforms. Indeed, results will vary depending on the content format: a feed post won’t lead to the same result as a story. So, what type of influencer campaign should you implement? To help you quickly find what’s best for you, we’ve broken the answer down into three main sections.
Brand sales goals
In the first one, we’ll focus on sales targets. According to a study by HubSpot, in 2021, over 60% of marketers measure the success of their content marketing strategy through sales. With Live Shopping features being implemented by Meta and about to be released on TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube, social media platforms are sending a strong signal: they’re positioning themselves as the perfect place for businesses to sell their products. In addition to live shopping, platforms have several easy-to-use tools at your disposal to help you sell even more products.
The first thing to do when looking to increase sales using influencer marketing is to use Instagram stories. Anyone can now add external links to their stories. Influencers like Zoella and Alexa Chung use this to share their favourites. They always add a link to a sales page when they promote a specific product. This way, followers are only one click away from the purchase. Others like Itsmarziapie regularly share links in stories to their own brands or shops. In this case, the links usually send you to an Instagram catalog. In both cases, users land directly on the product purchase page.
Usually, when influencers promote products they share promo codes. This sends a very interesting message: being part of the influencer’s community gives you great benefits including discounts. These promo codes are found everywhere: in stories, in posts, under YouTube videos, in captions on TikTok… They can easily be added to any content.
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Finally, to boost your chances of sales, you can create an in-store event. For example, Etam recently collaborated with several influencers for a capsule swimwear collection. These ambassadors came to promote the collection in-store. The first 50 people to buy a swimsuit that day received a gift.
If companies focus a lot on sales goals, it’s because influencer marketing is notoriously good for boosting sales. According to a Rakuten study, 80% of consumers say they’ve made a purchase based on an influencers’ recommendation.
To learn more about sales and influencer marketing, check out our article ‘Influencer marketing: what you need to know before getting started’.
Brand awareness goals
Influencer marketing can lead to increased sales but it’s not the only benefit. Indeed, you can also work on brand awareness. For such strategies to work, brands need their posts to be seen by as many people as possible while also attracting new followers.
To achieve these goals, brands can organise giveaways and other contests. Indeed, companies can partner with content creators and give followers a chance to win something. They usually ask people to follow the brand on social media in order to participate in the contest. These posts are quite popular. You’ll see lots of them around Christmas time as brands really want to increase their reach during the holidays. Here’s an example with beauty influencer Irina Odobescu.
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Contests are one way to increase awareness, the second being large-scale influencer campaigns. This type of campaign involves brands partnering with as many influencers as possible to promote their new product. Many brands use this type of campaign especially for new flagship products that needs to be advertised as quickly as possible. Others rely on large-scale campaigns to reach younger people. There are many ways to implement such strategies but bear in mind that originality is key. For example, fashion brand Isabel Marant wanted to showcase their new platform sneakers for Coachella. This was the first time the brand collaborated with influencers. Creators on the campaign, such as Mimiarr, were asked to post several shots of their new shoes. The sneakers matched perfectly with the aesthetics of the festival.
According to a study by Meltwater, 82.5% of companies surveyed want to increase brand awareness on social media. Influencer marketing can help them achieve this goal.
Check out our article ‘Why Influencers Are Key to Successful Communication Campaigns’ if you’d like to learn more.
Brand image goals
Last but not least, influencer marketing can help you develop or improve brand image. Influencer marketing campaigns are not meaningless. Most of them carry messages and values that the company and the influencer share with a community. Brands can make statements, carry out actions or even radically change their branding.
Nike is quite famous for their strong brand messaging. A couple of years ago they launched a three-week campaign aiming to fight childhood obesity and get kids moving. It featured several content creators who asked followers to engage in 60 seconds’ worth of exercise, and then share their own videos using the hashtag #60SecondPowerUp.
Brands can share their messages live in their stories, or in the caption of a post like Dove did to speak up about body dissatisfaction.
To learn more about how to improve brand image, check out our article ‘How to Create Brand Love with Influencer Marketing?‘.
You’ll find lots of tips and inspiration. So, are you ready for your next campaign?
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