I’m pleased to share another guest post by Lexie Lu of Design Roast.
Influencers help people better understand the product you’re selling. The customer sees videos and photos or gets tips on how to use the item before purchasing it. This information provides a mini-training session on how to use the purchase and improves the customer experience (CX) because consumers go into the situation with prior knowledge.
In the State of Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, researchers surveyed 4,000 different marketing agencies, brands and professionals in the industry to get some insight into using influencers for promotions. They discovered 68% of marketers want campaign-specific events rather than an always-on situation.
The most successful campaigns tap into the exact target audience you want to reach and offer creative word-of-mouth events. Here are some ways influencer marketing impacts customer experience, plus examples of companies tapping into its potential:
1. Meet Interactive Needs
As humans, we crave engagement with other people. Influencer marketing offers an opportunity to chat with the person providing the information, to share your own experiences, and to meet new people with the same interests. The best campaigns combine the influencer explaining their experience with using your product and engaging users to share their own perceptions.
Dyson teamed up with several pet influencers to spread the word about their new Cyclone V10 Absolute, which has enough suction power to clean pet hair and messes. One of the influencers was Forrest and Jameson, a pair of Goldendoodle brothers with more than 77,000 followers. People feel comfortable commenting on how cute the dogs are, creating opportunities to interact with the product.
2. Relate to Real People
Think about the type of people you choose to represent your products and services. Non-celebrities have about 10 times the influence of celebrities. Consumers like to hear from people living lives somewhat similar to theirs. The ordinary person does a better job of getting into the target audience’s mindset and relating to the issues people face daily.
3. Choose Likeability
Some influencers are just likable personas. People recognize their names and want to connect with them. They trust what the person says because they already like the person. Even though non-celebrity influencers garner good results, there is a time and place to seek a spokesperson who is highly recognizable.
Diamond Mowers teamed up with former pro football player Brett Favre to show how their mowers are top class. He shares a testimonial about the equipment he uses on his property in Mississippi. He compares the two machines to football offense and defense, and the video shows the products in use. Favre is real and likable, and consumers trust he means what he says about the products because he uses them himself.
4. Reduce Discovery Effort
When consumers have a problem, they seek a solution. What if you could present the answer before they even realized they needed one? Deep product insight is where influencers come in. They show consumers about interesting products that are currently available, with the idea that now, or some point in the future, their followers may need these items.
5. Increase Understanding
Product videos add a new level of understanding regarding what’s in your inventory. When consumers understand a product, they have a better experience with it. They also tend to retain more of a video message than a text-based one. According to Social Media Week, users remember about 95% of a video message after seeing it. The visual medium has a strong and lasting impact on viewers.
Sprint started a #LiveUnlimited campaign to show people how they have even gotten Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” actor to come over to their side. The idea of living unlimited is that you can explore the world, play music, try new things, and still have access to your mobile connection. Gerard Adams is one of several influencers touting the #LiveUnlimited message.
6. Have a Conversation
Most influencers interact with their followers on social media. This is a chance to start a conversation about your brand or product and its benefits. Look for an influencer whose fans often comment on and share their posts. How do they interact with other campaigns the influencer participates in? You want people who’ll ask questions, try the product, and then share info on it themselves, growing word-of-mouth buzz exponentially.
7. Start a Movement
Is there a cause you care about and stand behind as a company? People may support your brand simply because you support something they also care about. Think about how you can impact the world and get people involved at the same time. Create your own hashtag for the movement. Get one or more influencers involved or use nano-influencers, such as your customers, to spread the word.
Tom’s of Maine teamed up with some micro-influencers and regular customers to inform people about their products and their kindness campaign. The example above comes from a mom of three boys and a micro-influencer, Tiffany. She shares them getting into her charcoal toothpaste from Tom’s of Maine. She then segues into teaching her boys kindness and expands on why she’s proud to represent a company like theirs.
Influencers Expand Your Reach
Teaming up with others expands your reach to consumers who otherwise might not ever hear of you. People are much more likely to believe someone they already trust than a sales pitch from a company they don’t know. Pay careful attention to the core audience of each person you team up with and try different types of campaigns until you find just the right mix for your promotional needs.
Lexie is a web designer and typography enthusiast. She spends most of her days surrounded by some HTML and a goldendoodle at her feet. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and follow Lexie on Twitter.
