Why Social Media Influencers Are Important and Two Brands Who Used Them Successfully
Social media has impacted brands completely and given them different platforms than ever before. With the developments of social media platforms such as: TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, social media influencers have created quite a buzz for different brands and increased their exposures by a massive amount.
In fact, according to 4 Ways Influencers Can Build Brand Awareness — And Why They Work, out of 81% of marketers that use influencer content, 51% said it outperforms brand-created content. Pretty crazy, right? But how exactly do influencers impact brands and why does it work so well? Let’s dive in and discuss it.
The article mentions that with influencers having such a large platform, it is easy for people to take their word, and buy the same products when it comes to what they promote. Influencers seem to have more of a direct connection with their fans, and share their everyday lives, therefore making their word seem almost more credible than celebrities themselves. The article also mentions that 69% of marketers spend the most budget on Instagram, as their target audiences seem to spend the most time on it.
The arguments below are made by the article, and explain how influencers are beneficial to brands.
- Leverage Influencers to Create Engaging Content
Influencers have the opportunity to benefit their followers by sharing content that might be useful or relevant to them. Oftentimes, followers have the same interests as the influencer, so the products seem almost catered to them.
2. Run Contests With Influencers
Marketers use contests to increase their own social media platforms and drive more engagement to their websites. Influencers use contests to start conversations and engage with their audiences. This will usually spark interest for the product, and encourage their audiences to participate.
3. Run Referral Programs for Influencers
Oftentimes, brands will create promo codes that are personally directed towards influencers. Influencers then share their promo codes, giving their audiences a discount on the brand’s products. Having a discounted price encourages people to test the product out and engage with the brand.
4. Invite Influencers to Contribute to Your Blog
Influencers have the ability to submit a guest post to a brand’s blog, creating trust among their followers, and brand recognition towards the brand that they are posting about.
As you can see, influencers have many different ways to create brand exposure for the brand that they partner with. The use of influencers has become more and more popular over time. But which brands have successfully used influencers? Let’s find out.
Brands That Have Successfully Used Influencers
According to 15 Examples of Brands That Nailed Their Influencer Marketing Campaigns, influencer marketing can be extremely helpful for brands and has made them grow an insane amount. One of the major examples used was Zara. Zara became one of the most successful influencer campaigns in 2015 and generated $2.3 million in annual profits. Zara decided to work with top Instagrammers, who were well-known for working with fashion. They wanted to advertise their newer products in a new light, making them seem more accessible than high fashion clothing.
Zara’s campaign was centered around working with “real people”. For their campaign, they chose influencer Teesh Rosa, which resulted in getting more than 335,000 views on Zara’s Instagram Page. As shown on Teesh Rosa’s Instagram page, her following seems to be somewhat smaller, with 19.2K followers.
If the goal for Zara was to center their campaign around working with “real people”, then their choice of using Teesh Rosa was simply brilliant. Her platform is indeed focused on interacting with her followers, as well as showing interest in fashion, which was a good choice for Zara. It can be imagined that using smaller influencers was a good move for Zara, because it matched their theme and made the posts seem more real and genuine.
Another campaign mentioned by the article was Target and their collaboration with Laura Izumikawa, a mommy vlogger. Target worked with 10 influencers total, ranging from fashion to mommy vlogers. Each influencer posted 1–4 photos showcasing pieces from Victoria Beckham’s Target Line and used #VBxTarget.
Izumikawa’s Instagram Page displays her following of more than 570,000, and her posts with her children, Casey and Jojo. The campaign created a total of 547,000 likes and 4,000 comments with the help of its influencers. Target used influencers like Izumikawa to “build hype” for its product launch, and inform others of the collaboration.
The collaboration with Izumikawa on its own seemed to be very successful, with more than 39,000 likes on the post. Their choice in a “mommy influencer” was very smart because of her target audience. Her audience was other mothers as well, which connected directly with that Target was trying to go for. Overall, the collaboration seemed smartly chosen.
It is important to note that Target has now used influencers for quite some time now to create campaigns. In addition to the campaign discussed, Target has also created a body positivity campaign to promote one of their swimwear lines as well.
Additionally, the article mentions other brands including but not limited to: Daniel Wellington, Loot Crate, Audible, Leesa, Lynda.com, Adidas, MVMT Watches and more.
In 9 Brands Who Nailed Influencer Marketing and Got Amazing Results, other brands who have successfully nailed marketing are mentioned, along with their campaigns. This includes: Bach Flower Remedies, Bigelow, Bonobos, SmarTrike and more.
