Influencer marketing has become popular as companies seek new ways to reach customers who have begun blocking ads. Influencer marketing is a form of paid advertising in which brands partner with social media “influencers” to drive awareness, engagement and sales.
There’s a challenge!
Even if influencer marketing is not direct advertising, customers can still sense when an influencer’s message feels overly branded like a traditional ad and scroll pass it.
42.7% of those who use the internet regularly have installed ad blockers on their computers or mobile devices. Internet users do not want to be bombarded by advertisements when they are using the internet.
To reach audiences without feeling intrusive or spammy, and maintain their trust in both your brand and creator, you must run authentic influencer marketing campaigns.
Authentic influencer marketing campaign?
You’ve probably seen a well-known public figure endorsing a product and wondered how they got that sponsorship. You can tell that the influencer is promoting something that doesn’t align with their lifestyle, contradicts her public persona, or both.
This kind of endorsement will come across as insincere. It’s awkward and uneasy, and it makes you wonder about the brand’s and the endorser’s intentions. This kind of campaign is not authentic.
Influencer marketing will be a two-way advertisement when it is authentic. This means that your campaign must share material that accurately represents the brand. It also implies that its content should not feel like just one person trying to sell something.
2 rules to run an authentic influencer marketing campaign
SELECTING SUITABLE CONTENT CREATORS
Authentic influencer marketing campaigns are built on the foundation of creators who naturally align with the brand’s voice. Finding this kind of influencer is not always easy because brand-creator alignment is not limited to desire, the number of followers, or the niche. It is very dependent on whether the creator shares a similar audience, value and goals as the brand. Just because your brand is in the finance niche doesn’t mean every finance influencer fits your brand.
Your influencer marketing goal also matters. If it is to create awareness, the right influencers won’t always be the ones with the largest following. Sourcing the right creative partners comes down to having an existing network of relationships and the technology to discover relevant creators.
GIVING INFLUENCERS ROOM TO BE CREATIVE
Once you have chosen a creator for your brand, it is important to put your trust in them and avoid being overly controlling of the content they create. Most brands always emphasize prescriptive points or specific instructions about how content should look.
The content won’t feel like an ad if creators are given the flexibility. They would be able to create content according to what their audience wants and expect to see. Even if you tell them you want them to paint a picture of a lovely landscape, they won’t be able to do their best job if you dictate the colors they should use or the scale of the painting.
The same holds for influencer marketing. if guidelines are too rigid, creators won’t be able to produce their best work, and their content won’t perform as well. At the core of successful, authentic influencer marketing campaigns is letting a creative partner who has a natural connection with your product speak to their audiences.
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