A LOT came up when we sat down (virtually) for our influencer marketing webinar. With our chosen five creator experts, we covered what works, what doesn’t, trend predictions for this year, the list goes on. So, we thought it would be rude not to share all this useful information, so you can nail your influencer marketing in 2024 and beyond.
Keep reading for the inside scoop from talent agents, brands working with influencers, and creators themselves…
“Working with influential voices that people already have a trusted relationship with is beneficial, leveraging that trust they have with their audience.”
– Alex Saker, Head of Consumer PR & Content, Experian
Across the board, our panel agreed that a strategy based on community-building was key to their success. But that’s not all, there were some other key ingredients they shared to creating an influencer strategy that delivers results. These were…
Creators spend good time building a relationship with their followers. They’ve earned a level of trust with them over years, sometimes even decades – and continue to work on this. When they vouch for your brand, you’re leveraging that trust. At the same time, it’s important to make sure you’re engaging influencers that won’t harm the trust your brand’s built.
This is a must-have. After all, “followers know when something isn’t authentic” – Isobel Perl, Founder of Perl Cosmetics. So, how can you make sure authenticity sits at the heart of your strategy? To start, work with people who genuinely use and understand your brand, and who will talk about it more than just once, where it won’t feel out of place on their social channels.
For Alex Saker, Head of Consumer PR and Content at Experian, creators help his team step away from business talk. Brands can sometimes “get caught up in their own jargon”, but a well-chosen influencer can translate a complicated, jargony, business-focused message into one everyone can understand.
“…that’s the most important thing – ensuring things come across in an authentic way to your community. I think talking about them in multiple places helps to build on that.”
Isobel Perl, Founder, Perl Cosmetics
Looking at the bigger picture and building a long-term partnership with a creator can be much more rewarding than a one-time activation – for both brands and creators. As Laura Dove, family influencer and mum of five puts it: “We’ll often work with brands… for a year or two, not just as a one-off and never mention them again.” Laura recognised the need for her collaborations to be authentic, and for her audience to understand that her and her family genuinely use and love the products they talk about – not just once, for an ad.
“It’s that movement from throwing money at a one-off campaign, to thinking about the long-term benefit for the brand.”
Jessica Joseph, Founder, Season25
You might not need to search far and wide to find an influencer who’s right for your brand. Something we’ve seen a lot of this year, and which will be sure to continue into 2024, is brands taking a DIY approach – or turning their execs into creators. One easy way of doing this is through exec social thought leadership programmes, which our clients see huge success from on LinkedIn. As Kinda Jackson, our MD of Digital, Social and Influencer, puts it: “LinkedIn is the place for B2B.” So, having your very own “LinkedInfluencers” who know and love your brand, and connect with their audience on this platform, could be the ultimate influencer move for your B2B brand.
Nailing your creator marketing strategy doesn’t need to be complicated. Brands should focus on getting these key ingredients in the mix: authenticity, trust, speaking a common language, and choosing the right person. But it’s also about staying relevant with the content you’re sharing by tapping into (the right) trends.
To summarise…
If you’d like to chat about how Brands2Life can help you roll out a stellar influencer marketing strategy, using our unique influencer identification service, drop me an email at [email protected].