Influencers have a large followers base and play a crucial role in influencing the purchase decision of the younger generation – millennials and Gen Z-ers. A recent market survey by Unbox Social reveals that 51% of marketers who use influencers for marketing agree that influencer generated content performs better than brand-created content.
In this guide, we look at four proven strategies to boost brand awareness with influencer marketing.
1. Use Influencers to Add Variety to your Content
The primary reason why influencers are an incredible force on social media is that they provide their followers with useful and engaging content. Influencers know the pulse of their audience and create content based on the 3Rs – resonance, relevance, and reach. Influencers establish a sense of connectivity and trust with their audience.
With that said, audiences today are astute and savvy. They can easily spot the differences between a sponsored post and a regular post by an influencer.
How to make this strategy work?
- Identify and partner with the right influencer – someone who is the ideal fit for your brand persona and values.
- Once you bring the influencer on-board, give them the creative freedom in your partnership. You may know your product best, but the influencer knows his/her followers best.
- Provide the influencer with the necessary guidelines and leave the rest to him/her.
This way, the influencer remains true to his/her audience, while adding variety, engaging, and authentic content to your feed.
2. Get Interactive – Get Influencers to Host Giveaways and Contests
Giveaways and contests are great ways to create a positive buzz for your brand. Brands can increase social media following and drive traffic to the site by hosting contests.
How to make this strategy work?
- Get influencers to incite curiosity among their followers for your brand by promoting contests and fun giveaways.
- Make sure that the influencers you partner with engage with their followers to spark conversations regarding the contest.
- Make the contest simple to increase participation.
- You can also create a specific #hashtag for the event and get influencers to promote it.
3. Consider Starting a Referral Program
According to a market study by Twitter, there was a whopping 88% increase in customer purchase intent, when a trusted influencer promoted a product.
How to get started with a referral program?
- Create and share a unique referral code with each influencer.
- The influencer can then share this code with their audience.
- When a customer purchases a product using this code, he/she enjoys an instant discount, and the influencer earns a percentage of the sale as commission.
How to make this strategy work?
Peer recommendations, especially from trusted influencers play a crucial role in impacting purchase decisions. So, make sure to ask the influencer to mention your brand name on their social media channels and blog, while promoting your referral code. It increases brand awareness while generating trust for your brand.
4. Publish Guest Posts from Influencers
It’s another strategy to boost brand awareness. When a well-known influencer contributes a guest post to your blog, it drives the influencer’s followers to check your blog and site. It creates both brand recognition and boosts brand value.
How to make this strategy work?
- Not all influencers work for your brand. You need to identify the right influencers whose persona and values match your brand.
- You can make use of tools like iFluenz to zero in on the right influencers for your campaigns.
- While choosing influencers, remember engagement matters more than follower count. Large follower count without reasonable engagement rates implies that either the followers are fake or the content doesn’t resonate with the audience.
Use Influencer Marketing to Drive Brand Awareness
Influencer marketing, when used right, has the potential to amplify brand awareness and visibility significantly. But, to reap the benefits, brands must be conscious of getting the three crucial factors right.
Right influencer + right strategy + right platform = influencer marketing success. Make use of the ways listed here and amp up influencer marketing campaigns.
