September 3, 2020
Influencer marketing today is very different to what it was over a decade ago when it was largely celebrity appeal at the center of brand partnerships. Over the years we have seen influencer marketing strategies shift, pivot and adapt to the dynamic consumer. We’ve seen it go from out of reach aspiration to real-living inspiration, from celebrity endorsements to then being centered around bloggers’ representation. And that begs the question – where are we now?
Well – now we’re seeing a fair balance of both types of partnerships. What type of partnership brands decide to enter into, is shaped around objectives. For example, is the goal to stimulate Mum-to-Mum recommendations, or is it to position the brand a certain way. Often, the goals will guide the type of partners. Learn more about this topic here.
Regardless if that content is coming from a well known personality or a micro-influencer, we are living in a digital era whereby audiences are increasingly sceptical about inauthentic content that lack substance and a genuine connection.
What does this mean exactly?
Your consumer understands that your brand affiliations, i.e. #ad, #sponsered #sponsoredpost, #gifted is a commercial transaction between the brand and the representative, whereby the ambassador received payment or product to promote.
Is this bad?
The transaction itself is not deemed as bad – it’s now normal and an expected form of popular marketing tactics. However, if the content itself is lacking authenticity, and does not inform, inspire or empower than that is where it will be dismissed by the reader.
Effective Influencer Marketing is more about sharing stories and building long term relationships both between the influencer, the readers and the brand to mobilise and motivate people to action.
Now the “what” and the “why” are out of the way, let’s dive into the juicy stuff!
3 fast facts:
- Your potential consumers are mindful of brand choice and most motivated to connect with a brand that aligns with their values -brands that either reflect where they are or where they want to be in their own lives. Any influencers you partner with should reflect the same brand ethos and values to strengthen the messages they share – it’s more powerful story telling and fast tracks an emotional connection
- Consumers are not taking your brand at face value anymore. Now more than ever before, consumers are proactively researching and uncovering essential information, from many sources including brand assets, to make their own informed decisions before they purchase from you. Therefore, be proactive in your strategy to have an active share of voice, and also to repurpose any feedback others are sharing about you. This will make it easier for the consumer to gather research about your brand and faster for her to make a decision to purchase.
- This is another reason why driving education and awareness about your brand through a multitude of well-aligned advocates will boost your chances of success, given their role in sharing 3rd party, trusted and relatable recommendations. Mums trust the recommendations of other Mums, even if they do not personally know these Mums, simply because they can relate to their needs.
With all eyes on you, it’s important to get this right! Influencers vs Advocates:
A common mistake some brands make is when they treat all influencers as potential advocates, when the truth is, being a successful influencer does not always mean they can be an ideal brand advocate.
Let’s explore the difference:
Influencers: Influencers typically have a niche area in which they focus on and attract a certain type of follower, and potential customers. These influencers have authority in the area and have a great reputation with their followers. They hold the cards when it comes to influencing and empowering readers to action as they have a strong connection with their engaged and active audience as they are a trusted voice in the space.
Brand Ambassador: An influencer can also become a ‘brand ambassador’ on behalf of brands, products and companies she is well aligned to. This ambassador becomes a cheerleader for the company – beyond transactional purposes, they truly love and use your brand/product so they passionately become an online voice for your brand, embodying your ethos and core values. This connection ultimately comes through in content she creates and messages she is sharing.
An influencer’s relationship with a brand may begin as a short term contract with a brand to produce hype, content and awareness for the company. However, this relationship between brand and influencer can quickly emerge into a longer-term, mutually beneficial ambassador partnership between the two.
Therefore..
There are great influencers out there that talk to your direct market and create outstanding content. However, they might not be perfectly aligned with your brands messages and product. And that alignment can water down the effectiveness of the post and message.
The message for brands is clear: By applying that extra level of due diligence to screen to ensure each potential advocate organically embodies similar ideas/content/products that your brand sells, your potential customers will be more receptive to the message coming from someone who really believes in it (to put it more simply, you wouldn’t have a fitness expert promote a McDonalds campaign).
Yes, of course we have the solution!
Here are the key steps to best collaborate with influencers vs advocated and what it means to your success:
- Take the time to reach out to influencers and identify the advocate. A way to identify authentic advocates is to identify what they are passionate about, what they naturally talk about when they are NOT promoting a brand and get to know how their audience engages with certain topics. The importance of pre-screening influencers to find a influencer who has an authentic connection to the brand rather than just focusing on vanity metrics. Ensuring the content has more power behind it
- Once selected, invest in longer term story telling instead of a one off post – these influencers/advocates will be able to take potential customers on a journey with this brand. Mobilise and motivate people. It takes time for customers to get to know you, like you and trust you before they will buy. Therefore, if the brand spokesperson shares different messages, more often it will increase brand appeal.
- Consider what is happening in the community. Our world today is going through many demanding, overwhelming and life changing and sensitive issues, from financial pressures, health concerns, equality, racial tensions and more. Depending on what is happening this can totally either shift your customer’s expectations/motivations to buy your product, or drown out what you want to be promoting. By listening to what is happening and partnering with your brand advocates to respond accordingly, it will help you elevate, pause, or divert your campaign to best appeal to your customers needs, without hindering results.
And there you have it, tips and tricks to improve your influencer marketing strategy with real Advocates.
