Piwik

By Megan D’Arcy and Claire Eden

 

This week we headed along to a Social Media Week event held by Takumi, a unique influencer marketing platform. It was a really interesting panel debate discussing how brands can and should work with influencers and why this activity should be considered and planned into the marketing mix.

 

At Publicasity, we have been working for influencers for nearly eight years  and always strive to keep up to date with how things are changing, and it was really interesting to hear how the relationships between brands and influencers are changing and the growing importance of this channel vs more traditional media outlets.

 

At a time when the average person spends around two hours a day online on their smartphone, whether that’s flicking through their Facebook newsfeed, looking at your favourite Instagrammers or chatting to friends on Whatsapp. Successful influencer campaigns prioritise authentic, quality content and conversations that will ultimately excite and engage their target audience.

 

So why should brands connect with influencers, and how should they go about it?

 

  1. Working with influencers is a great way to deliver your brand messaging in a genuine way, but the crucial thing is to select the right people from the outset.  It’s all about matcing the influencer’s following to your brand’s target audience, with the right content.
  2. It’s important to have trust in the people you’re working with. They will deliver your message to their audience in their own voice and brands need to relinquish control. Although key messages are important, at the end of the day, people will connect with the product if the content feels true to the influencer’s overall online personality. Ultimately, taking a human approach to this type of marketing will help you to foster strong relationships with these individuals that go beyond a single campaign.
  3. Don’t ignore micro influencers! They will offer a brand a wider breadth of content and often give a more creative output, as well as having a highly engaged audience

 

Takumi has predicted that spend on Instagram influencer marketing alone will increase by £2.4 billion next year, so it’s never been more important than now for brands to take notice and jump on this online rollercoaster while business is booming.

If you would like support or further insights into how you could run a successful Instagrammer / influencer campaign, make sure you get in touch today.