Marketing, which has been moving more and more online, has taken a giant leap in that direction, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of in-store demos and sampling, brands are turning to influencers. These online personalities promote products they support, primarily through Instagram, but also through other social media sites and their blogs.
“Influencers can become long-term brand advocates,” says Mark Doskow, managing director of BeyondBrands, which this spring launched Cool Beans, a frozen burrito company.
It’s important to find the right influencer, Doskow says. “At Cool Beans we look first and foremost for individuals whose very being is already aligned with the essence of our brand. Once that’s established, we look for influencers that through their energy and vibe, create natural and organic engagement on their page.”
Tami Nealy is vice president of communications and talent relations for Find Your Influence, a company that helps small businesses find the right influencers.
“Influencers are really popular because they’re real people and their content is authentic and relatable,” she says. Even if viewers know they’re being marketed to via an influencer’s content, they don’t care, she adds, “because they trust them and feel they have a relationship with them.”
Jane Ko launched her blog, A Taste of Koko, in 2010, and says that 90 percent of her inquiries are from ad agencies; the remainder come directly from brands. Most commonly they want a sponsored Instagram post that includes a static image, stop-motion animation, or video, but some want multi-post campaigns that include a blog post and several social media mentions.
Influencers come in every shape and form and so do the working arrangements with them. Sometimes brands pay them, which gives them more control about what the influencer will say; sometimes they simply give them free product.
For the best results, brands need to give up some control, Nealy says. “They need to give the influencer the ability to fit [the product] into their own lives.”
Ko agrees. “Too many times agencies and brands give me a 10-page brief of how they want the product presented with multiple rounds of revisions.”
And these online personalities promote product in different ways. Sometimes it’s overt, telling, or showing viewers they like a specific product. Other times it’s more subtle, working a food product into a recipe, for example.
A huge plus to working with influencers is the return on investment is pretty fast, Doskow says. And, says Ko, the analytics are also immediate: “Within 24 hours I can share with the brand how many impressions and click throughs" a campaign recieved.
Related: E-Commerce Sales Reach $7.2 Billion; Dawn Food Products Launches E-Commerce Platform.
Photo: Jane Ko
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