How can influencer marketing help get the word out about your business? This article explains.
The world of marketing continues to get flipped on its head — and businesses that are turning to celebrities, public figures or online personalities to market their products and services are attracting high-quality customers in a more widespread, efficient manner.
Not only does influencer marketing use — and primarily rely on — the power of social media, it also offers businesses the opportunity to be creative, target specific audiences, and build a strong brand following that can foster more meaningful relationships with consumers. That’s why most marketers are looking to double their investment in influencer marketing in 2017, according to research conducted by eMarketer.
Still not convinced influencers should be part of your marketing strategy? In a recent poll, marketing company Tomoson found that businesses make $6.50 for every $1 they spend on influencer marketing — a whopping 600 percent return on investment. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at. So if you’re looking to get started, then take a look at these top influencer marketing campaigns to see which strategies would best suit your brand.
1. Gigi Hadid for Tommy Hilfiger
The partnership between Tommy Hilfiger and international supermodel Gigi Hadid exemplifies how influencer marketing provides countless opportunities for replication. If you’re unaware of Hadid’s appeal, perhaps the following will paint a clearer picture: She has a massive social media following, with more than 9.8 million Instagram followers, and is the face of fashion amongst millennial women, making her the perfect candidate for reaching Tommy Hilfiger’s key demographic.
After crowning Hadid as the global brand ambassador for its fall 2016 line, Tommy Hilfiger was able to reap the benefits of influencer marketing: reaching Hadid’s strong following, aligning the clothing retailer’s brand with her superstar status, and building the trust of consumers through the supermodel’s flawless reputation.
Tommy Hilfiger then further developed its business relationship with Hadid by collaborating with her to create a capsule collection, and then having the Los Angeles native tour the world to promote the company’s fashion line. In the end, not only is it important to partner with a personality who will complement your brand, it’s also incumbent for any business to build upon this relationship in order to promote more unique and creative marketing campaigns in the future.
2. Beats by Dre
What is Dr. Dre best known for? That all depends on whom you ask. But creating beats — both literally and figuratively — would be a solid answer. When it comes to producing music — and headphones — the hip-hop mogul’s millions of fans have complete trust in his name and brand appeal. And it’s this knowledge that made the influencer marketing tactics behind Beats by Dre so effective.
But first, a little history: Before Beats By Dre was even a pipe dream — and much less a multi-million dollar business venture — Dr. Dre originally floated the idea by longtime associate Jimmy Iovine to get in the sneaker game. That’s when Iovine, a sharp, intuitive record producer and entrepreneur, who had already been in talks with Apple, kindly pushed back and convinced Dr. Dre to pursue a venture a little closer to his heart and passion. And voilà — Beats By Dre was born.
Candidly, why not use Dr. Dre’s renowned expertise and prowess in the studio to develop a pair of headphones that his already loyal followers would want to purchase? When finding influencers to partner with your brand, getting someone who already has considerable industry expertise and street cred is a great way to instantly win over a new, loyal fan base.
3. Ungrounded Campaign by British Airways
While traditional influencer marketing campaigns involve public figures endorsing your products, it can also be a great method of building a brand image and reputation that will help a company see an uptick in customers. British Airways’ “Ungrounded” campaign involved getting 100 of the top Silicon Valley innovators on a flight to London to discuss ideas about how technology can help solve world issues.
During the flight, 22 concepts were initiated, and the winning idea was eventually presented to the UN. So how did this help British Airways? Intuitively, the airliner’s executives noted how technology and innovation were hot topics at the time — and they knew they needed to get involved. Additionally, providing a means for some of the brightest minds in technology and innovation to exchange ideas would help showcase British Airlines as a progressive company looking to institute change.
Influencer marketing is a unique and valuable strategy for companies looking for new ways to shake things up in the hopes of creating a stronger brand appeal. Thus, if your company is looking to target new audiences — and build bigger industry cachet in the process — assess some of today’s current influencer marketing campaigns to see how this strategy could potentially benefit your bottom line.
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