Influencer Marketing has taken the reins as the most effective forms of marketing in the new digital era. Social Media Influencers have the ability to gain consumer trust through their creation of organic content and the communities that they have built on their platforms. Through Social Media Influencers, consumers form emotional connections to the influencers forming trust which ultimately leads them to buy products that are promoted by the influencer. Influencer Marketing allows businesses to connect to their target market more organically as well as reach new clients through the various forms of content on social media channels.
Businesses are constantly looking for ways to target their audiences in order to create brand awareness. But as the consumer becomes smarter and aware of being targeted, businesses need to create more organic and authentic content. Using influencers as a marketing strategy creates a bridge between the business and the consumer. The influencers create organic content that resonates more with consumers and helps them feel less targeted.
Key Tips To amplify and Activate Better Influencer Marketing Campaigns
- Authenticity
Influencers have the power to target consumers and create brand awareness, but with great power comes great responsibility. Authenticity is an important element that consumers look for when looking to influencers for purchasing products or services. Consumers are aware of being targeted and are constantly looking for genuine content before making decisions to purchase products or services. According to digital marketing institute, statistics show that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations before purchasing products, so it is imperative that businesses find the right influencers who will authentically relay messages.
2. Community
Businesses use influencer marketing as a way to connect to a variety of audiences. Influencers build a relationship with their followers, and community built on mutual trust and interests. Community marketing is another important element in influencer marketing. Once a relationship is built between the influencer and the consumer, an automatic bond is created between all consumers who follow the same influencer. The community created under influencers connects consumers from various parts of the world and backgrounds. When businesses use influencers to target audiences, they have access to the community that the influencer has built from their platform.
3. Diversity and Inclusivity
Diversity and inclusivity are important elements that consumers look for in influencers. Consumers look for influencers that they admire, inspire them, but also share similarities in appearance. When businesses use influencer marketing as a way to target consumers, they must be aware of the diverse groups of consumers they have access to. When businesses choose influencers for social media campaigns it is important, they choose a diverse group of influencers to represent their business. Having a diverse set of influencers not only shows consumers that the business takes into account the diversity of their audience but also allows different voices to be heard.
Pretty Little Thing Pride 2020 Campaign -Putting Authenticity, Community, and Inclusivity To The Test.
Pretty Little Thing (PLT) is a fast-fashion brand known for using Influencer Marketing in order to promote their products. This marketing strategy has worked well for the brand having over 12.4 million followers on Instagram and a revenue of 300 million GBP.
Pretty Little Thing connects to its consumers by using influencers in the majority of their campaigns and collaborations. In the recent Pride 2020 Campaign, PLT uses a diverse set of influencers to pay homage to the LGBTQ+ community. The campaign uses Annie Drea, Black British Youtube star who identifies as sexually fluid, Alexis Stone who is a makeup artist and famous drag queen, and Brana Aluna who is a makeup artist and openly transgender woman. In Influencer Marketing, the most successful campaigns are authentic, diverse, and bonds the brand to the consumers. This PLT campaign shows a diverse set of both men and women to clearly communicate the message of equality for all and human rights even in the fashion industry. The influencers in this campaign have built a community on their platforms, have an organic relationship with their audiences, and each come from unique and diverse backgrounds on social media. By choosing this set of people for this campaign, it shows that Pretty Little Thing made efforts to accurately showcase the LGBTQ+ community. This advertising campaign is a great example of the success of influencer marketing because it successfully targets its audience and clearly relays its message authentically by using a diverse set of influencers.
Using influencers in campaigns is a great marketing tactic because consumers build a foundation of trust with influencers, so if they see their favourite influencer using a product from a trusted source, they will be more willing to purchase the product.
