How to drive authenticity through influencer marketing

It’s no surprise that consumers are craving human interaction more than ever. Throughout the various restrictions we’ve experienced over the past year, technology has been our only source of connection with the wider world. As people are turning to their digital environments to bring typically human experiences to life, it’s crucial for brands to tap into this to build and foster a better relationship with consumers. 

That’s where the power of influencer marketing comes in. Influencers create a personal connection with their audience, leveraging this appetite for interaction. While the digital landscape is becoming increasingly saturated by brand advertising, influencer marketing is a great way to harness a more authentic approach to marketing through advocacy.

How often have you purchased a product off the back of a recommendation from a friend? Reports have shown that 92% of consumers say they trust people over brands – influencers can help give your message more credibility, without being forced or too obvious, and drive those all-important conversions.

That being said, brands must take a strategic approach to any influencer marketing activity. Working with influencers who don’t align with your audience, values or passions is likely to have the opposite effect. Consumers are savvy – it’s very clear if an influencer is pushing a product that they don’t use or believe in.

So, this leads us to our three key steps for developing an authentic influencer marketing strategy.

Find the right influencers

First things first, you must find the right influencers for your brand. Consider your objectives – are you looking to reach a niche, highly-engaged audience? If so, a micro influencer (between 10k – 100k followers) or even nano influencer (between 1k – 10k followers) might be the best option. Or alternatively, if you’re hoping to increase brand awareness amongst a diverse audience, a macro influencer (between 100k – 1 million followers) is the way to go.

Once you’ve identified the right level of influencer, it’s essential to find someone whose audience, voice and values align with your own. If you know of any influencers who already love your brand or products, that’s a great place to start. The key to building authenticity is not to force it – it must feel like a natural fit. 

Create valuable content

The second step is to decide what kind of content you want the influencers to create. Providing audiences with valuable content that aims to educate, entertain or inspire ensures you’re gaining trust and not overwhelming any potential customers with obvious ad messaging.

Although it’s important to provide the influencers with clear guidelines, it’s also important to give them creative freedom to develop content which will complement their feeds. This way, you’re gaining something unique, while still being in-line with both your brand and the influencers’ existing content to build credibility.

Not only that, but influencers are often the driver behind social media trends, so working together with them can help your brand keep on top of the latest content formats, styles and tools.

Keep the conversation going

Don’t end the conversation with your new audience after one post. The more regularly an influencer talks about a brand or a product, the more their audience is going to believe in it. If you’re seeing positive results with a particular influencer, it’s worthwhile considering whether there’s an opportunity to develop an ongoing brand partnership to generate consistent visibility of your message.

It’s also important to remember that influencer content isn’t limited to social – repurposing content across your brand’s other digital platforms ensures cohesion between channels and gives you a constant stream of fresh content – win-win! You can also increase the longevity of influencer activity by advertising their posts, reaching a broader audience with effective and authentic content. NB: just make sure you have the influencer’s permission before repurposing or advertising their content.

Thinking about introducing influencer marketing to your mix? Get in touch to find out how we can help.