Showcase your products in action with creator videos, showing real-life use cases and seamlessly fitting into student lifestyles. Ultimately positioning your brand as the back to school hero they’ve been searching for.

Chapters: 

1. Unlocking the impact of social media videos this back to school shopping season
2. 10 creator-led, video campaign strategies
3. Easily find creators with AI tools

Unlocking the impact of social media videos this back to school shopping season

Back to school shoppers will be hitting the stores soon, but what’s becoming the go-to for finding cool stuff? Social media platforms! It’s like the new Google, helping shoppers discover products and making it easy to buy them immediately.

A survey in November 2023 found that over 67% of folks aged 16 to 24 in the USA stumbled upon a product or service through a social media video that randomly popped up on their feed. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

And when it comes to back to school shopping, social media is where it’s at. Over 62% of shoppers turn to platforms like Instagram and TikTok to snag those sweet deals (compared to 56% last year).

More so, going by the Bazaarvoice data, over half of consumers, at least 57%, have hit the “buy now” button after watching a product video on social media.

So, what’s driving it? It’s all about showing real people using the product, giving tutorials, or doing live demos. And, of course, content creators play a big role too! Seeing an influencer rave about a product or watching a brand video can seal the deal.

Let’s dive into some brands that have nailed it with their awesome video strategies blending the latest trends. 

10 creator-led, video campaign strategies 

1. Leveraging product placement in a school supply haul video on YouTube

In 2023, Casetify partnered with influencer Zhirelle for a shopping haul video, hitting Target for her school supplies. Zhirelle meticulously breaks down each stationery item she snagged, elaborating on why she chose it and how it’s been a game-changer for her. 

Seamlessly, Zhirelle incorporates product placement, highlighting Casetify’s durable phone cases tailored for students, all while emphasizing their support for art students and creators by showcasing their designs. This strategic move not only amplifies Casetify’s product visibility but also serves as a savvy incentive for the content creator.

Why it works:

• You get access to a wider audience than it might reach through your marketing channels
• Integrating your product into the video can capture the audience’s attention and potentially increase engagement for your brand
• It makes it easy for shoppers to purchase the product directly after watching the haul, as the video description often includes affiliate links or discount codes

2. Authenticity in action with behind-the-scenes videos on Instagram and YouTube

With behind-the-scenes videos considered highly engaging, American Eagle teamed up with influencers Maddie & Kenzie to craft a genuine narrative for their campaign. The goal? Connect with their customer community personally and inspire students to rock AE jeans in their everyday looks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by American Eagle (@americaneagle)

The sisters got hands-on, trying out samples and putting their spin on the pieces. They shared feedback with the AE team, highlighting which outfits resonated most with their vibe. And it wasn’t all about pushing products — behind-the-scenes videos offered a peek into the real story behind the polished content, giving viewers a glimpse of the genuine effort that goes into it all. 

Why it works: 

• The raw, unedited moments during attire trials reveal the genuine person behind the scenes, making recommendations believable
• Witnessing the effort behind the scenes fosters community, trust, engagement, and inspiration
• You can offer unscripted, diverse content across multiple platforms

3. Integrate back to school videos with the latest TikTok trends

TikTok’s “For You” page has changed the game regarding shopping on social media. Whether serving up outfit inspiration with Get Ready With Me (GRWM) videos or showing off styling tips and room decor, content creators are shaping what’s hot and what’s not.

You’ve got to jump on those trends like the 2024 ins and outs list or dive into the silent reviews trend on TikTok. And for clothing, footwear, and makeup brands, it’s like hitting the jackpot! You can get your products reviewed while riding the wave of the latest viral trends on TikTok and Instagram. It’s not just about copying and pasting. You must seamlessly blend these trends into your back to school content in a fresh, creative, and relevant way.

Why it works: 

• Keeps your content relevant
• These viral trends are relatable to students, sparking major enthusiasm for your brand or message.
• Increases brand visibility and awareness

4. Embracing rawness with unpolished video content for YouTube Shorts and TikTok 

Jansport, the famous backpack brand, decided to switch things up for their back to school sales. Instead of heavily curated photos and images, they used raw, unedited, quick videos. 

They jumped on this viral trend of less polished content. With icons like thrift queen Emma Rogue, indie band DWLLRS, skater Eunice Chang, and gamer girl Krystalogy, they grabbed their iPhones and filmed videos all about school life and friendship.

It’s not just about what happens in the classroom — it’s about those moments outside, hanging around in cafes, stores, or skateboarding with friends. Jansport’s “Always with you” campaign perfectly captures how their backpacks are there for all those lifelong moments.

Why it works: 

• Unfiltered moments capture the essence of reality
• They could cut through the noise with the unscripted look, raw videos away from the polished veneer of traditional content 
• Featuring real people in real-life situations made them stand out as the target audience could relate to it

5. How-to and tutorial videos on prepping for back to school shopping

Sadie Aldis, a content creator with over a million YouTube subscribers, teamed up with Amazon last year to bring some serious value, especially during this crazy back to school shopping season. Her how-to and tutorial videos speak directly to students’ needs and interests.

Her 26-minute video covers everything from organizing school files to jazzing up your school bag, setting goals, and even keeping your skin game on point for prepping for back to school. 

But Sadie’s video isn’t just about giving tips — it’s about building a community of people looking for organization hacks, DIY projects for spicing up your school supplies, and even some fashion inspiration to make you stand out in the halls.

Tutorial videos like Sadie’s are a powerful way to showcase your products in the most natural way possible. It’s all about weaving them into a bigger story — giving viewers valuable content while subtly showing off some excellent products.

Why it works: 

• Increases the likelihood of getting into the DMs of your potential customers as how-to or tutorial videos have a high chance of shareability
• The informative and valuable content not only reaches the established follower base but has the potential to go viral as viewers share it with their friends, family, and followers, who may also find the content valuable
• In-depth product demonstrations, reviews and tutorials keep viewers engaged

6. Let your employees be the face of your video content on social media

Do you know what’s hot in the creator marketing world? Putting your employees at the front and centre to discuss your brand and products. In 2023, the footwear brand Foot Locker hopped on that trend by rolling out its “It’s Sneaker Season” campaign right at the heart of the back to school shopping season.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Foot Locker (@footlocker)

The video starred their staff — the Foot Locker Stripers — alongside sneaker shoppers, especially Gen Zers, hitting the store for fresh kicks. It was like the ultimate sneak peek into sneaker heaven, as you could see them smell those sneakers in all the videos. 

Why it works: 

• Highlighting employees as influencers adds credibility to the social video, as they possess specific knowledge or skills related to the topic
• Employees act as nano-influencers within the company, well-versed in the products and features
• Through their social media networks of friends, family, and acquaintances, it’s easy to broaden the reach of the videos. People tend to be more engaged with content shared by individuals they know, resulting in more likes, comments, and shares, ultimately boosting overall engagement

7. “Shop with me” is the new “GRWM”

Check out The Wads, a mom influencer promoting Target with her “Shop with me” video on YouTube. So, she heads over to Target to scope out all the back to school gear for 2023. And she picks up so much cool stuff that’ll have the kids going wild. She even swings by the office supplies and dollar spot sections.

If you’re unfamiliar, “Shop with me” videos are like a twist on haul videos. YouTube creators bring their cameras along on a shopping trip and then dish out all the deets on their finds when they get home. This trend has blown up big time! In the past few years, watch time has shot up over 10 times on mobile alone. It’s like everyone’s hooked on watching other people shop.

Why it works: 

• It gives audiences a chance to experience their products in a fun, familiar way, leading to higher engagement than traditional ads
• Viewers see how products look and function in real-life settings 

8. Product giveaway videos featuring YouTube content creators

Everyone’s on the hunt for discounts and killer deals when it comes to back to school shopping and sales. Teaming up with content creators to shout out those value-packed deals feels way more authentic than just pushing ads in people’s faces. It’s like getting a friend’s recommendation — it hits home with viewers and increases the chances of turning them into customers.

Princess Polly, an Australian online fashion boutique, partnered with influencer Paige Kaiser to hype up their back to school giveaway — $1000 cash, a $2000 wardrobe, and a $500 UberEats voucher. They partnered with Paige with some gift products to feature in her videos while spreading the word about their giveaway to connect with their target audience.

Why it works: 

• Giveaways incentivize viewers to watch the entire video
• Amplifies the reach and impact
• It creates more UGC as viewers can share content in comments or social media posts 

9. Shoppable livestream events

As part of their One Walmart initiative to make shopping seamless, retail giant Walmart teamed up with suppliers Skin U by Neutrogena and consumer health brand Kenvue for a livestream event on Talk Shop Live. This social selling network helped promote Walmart’s back to school in-store and online shopping campaign.

During the event, beauty influencer Mei Mei and a Neutrogena R&D scientist shared tips and tricks for healthy skincare routines, boosting shoppers’ confidence for the new school year. 

Why it works:   

• Shoppable videos provide an interactive experience, enabling viewers to click or tap on the video, seamlessly directing them to purchase pages
• Witnessing others use and endorse products makes them more appealing to viewers, creating a sense of social proof
• Allows viewers to transition from discovery to purchase within seconds of finding a product they like, ultimately shortening the marketing cycle
• You obtain  valuable first-party data insights on which products garner the most interest and clicks, allowing for future influencer partnerships and product development based on that information

10. TikTok Shop

Social media is exploding as a product discovery hub, and TikTok’s shoppable videos, “TikTok Shop”, take it to the next level. It seamlessly blends e-commerce with engaging content, allowing viewers to instantly discover and purchase products within the app. 

Shoppable videos integrate clickable hotspots, such as product tags or links, directly into the short-form video. These hotspots can reveal product details and reviews or whisk viewers to the purchase page.

Partnering with content creators who resonate with your target audience unlocks a powerful marketing strategy. Their voices and personalities build trust and excitement around your products, driving viewers to explore and purchase effortlessly.

Why it works: 

• Removes the friction of leaving the video to find and purchase a product — significantly boosts conversion rates
• Seamless buying journey, keeping viewers engaged throughout the entire process
• Valuable data on viewer behavior and product interest

Easily find creators with AI tools

For businesses like yours operating within tight marketing budgets this back to school shopping season, finding the perfect content creators for these videos can be a game-changer. Are you curious to know more? There’s a simple solution waiting for you!

That’s mainly because the right influencer marketing platform saves time, reduces overhead costs, provides you with metrics extending beyond just brand awareness, and streamlines your end-to-end campaigns. Emerging AI functions can also keep you from drowning in a sea of tedious manual outreach.

But with so many platforms available, choosing the right one can seem pretty daunting. Here’s everything you need to know about finding the perfect solution for your brand’s unique needs.

Chapters: 

1. What is an influencer marketing platform?
2. Key features of a great influencer marketing platform 
3. How to pick the right influencer marketing platform 
4. The best influencer marketing platforms to get you started
5. Scale your campaigns with influencer marketing platforms‍

What is an influencer marketing platform?

An influencer marketing platform is automated software that helps you find relevant influencers, facilitates campaign management, and provides analytics to measure campaign performance.

Considering the sheer volume of influencers and content generated on social media, finding, filtering, and connecting with influencers of your choice can be a challenge. Not to mention managing them and evaluating their performance. 

Influencer marketing platforms are a powerful tool to streamline this process. They’re a centralized hub for everything influencer marketing-related to help you run a data-driven campaign effectively and efficiently. 

Key features of a great influencer marketing platform 

A specialized influencer marketing platform addresses solves for the above pain points head-on, ensuring you spend less time on execution and measurement and more time on overall brand strategy.

‍1. Find on-brand real creators in less time 

Influencer marketing platforms provide a range of filters such as age, gender, location, language, interest, and follower range. These options allow you to select creators that best suit your preference. 

For example, you’re a vegan makeup brand looking for a niche beauty creator whose content resonates with your target audience. All you need to do is apply filters and generate a list of influencers that fit your requirements within seconds. 

Some platforms may claim to have a massive database. But here’s a piece of advice: for many traditional influencer marketing approaches, a large database can pose problems. Their search functionality is often limited, clunky, not intuitive, and ineffective. Therefore, the database’s size isn’t crucial. What matters most is the ability to search and discover the best fit.

Some platforms let you dig deeper by showing you a content creator’s brand affinity, the growth in their follower count over the years, and the number of paid and organic posts they have shared. These filters are pivotal in selecting the right influencer for your campaign.

2. Global reach

Gone are the days when influencer marketing was confined to regional boundaries. Today, influencer marketing platforms provide access to a global community of content creators. It enables you to engage influencers beyond your regional confines, facilitating international campaigns tailored for targeted audiences concentrated in specific regions.

Consider this scenario: If you’re a US-based brand seeking content creators in Dubai, utilizing the location filter on these platforms allows you to swiftly compile a list of those based in Dubai. This effortless global outreach helps you reach a wider audience.  

3. Spot fake followers

How can you identify those who have authentic, loyal, engaged followers from those who have mainly fake or ghost followers? Influencer platforms have a vetting process, employing advanced algorithms to identify and filter out suspicious accounts.  

They can spot fake influencers by analyzing their follower growth, engagement timeline, and fake or ghost follower profiles in their follower list. You can also evaluate on your own if you see rapid spikes or irregular patterns in follower acquisition over the months.

4. Streamlined campaign management

After helping you finalize the list of influencers, an influencer marketing platform works as a centralized communication hub connecting brands, influencers, and other stakeholders. You can consolidate all your influencer management needs into a one-stop solution:

• Easily distribute campaign briefs and track all conversations with individual influencers in one place, saving time and resources
• Save time using recommended email templates and automate email scheduling and other repetitive tasks, such as sending reminders and managing contracts
• Manage product gifting by integrating the platform with your e-commerce stores on Shopify, Magento, and more. Easily create gift/sample orders and manage payments from one dashboard without creating a spreadsheet to track your product deliveries

5. Real-time monitoring of content 

Influencer marketing platforms can actively monitor influencer content across various social media platforms in real time — eliminating the need to manually scour through individual influencer profiles on different channels to keep track of content. 

Imagine eliminating the need to constantly hop between platforms, piecing together the puzzle of influencer activity. Instead, you gain access to a comprehensive view of influencer content across social media channels with a single click. Platforms can scan for mentions of your brand or campaign hashtags, providing instant insights into how your campaign performs and how influencers represent your brand.

The significant impact of real-time monitoring is that you can tweak your strategy midway through the campaign, allowing for better campaign targeting and messaging.

6. Track and monitor sales

To monitor conversions driven by creators, influencer marketing platforms incorporate a built-in feature that generates distinct custom codes and links (affiliate links) for each influencer engaged in a campaign. These links are used to identify the traffic and sales generated from each influencer’s audience.

You can also create custom promo codes unique to each influencer, allowing seamless sales tracking attributed to their promotional efforts.

7. Evaluate overall campaign performance 

Utilize sophisticated metrics such as earned media value (EMV), estimated reach, impressions, sentiment analysis, and others to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign, as influencer marketing platforms come with these in-built features. 

You get access to downloadable reports for in-depth analysis of campaign performance. You can leverage the data to evaluate consumer feedback and make informed, data-driven decisions for upcoming campaigns. 

8. Manage creators’ payment effectively and securely

Eliminate manual invoices, multiple spreadsheets, and chasing payments — influencer marketing platforms do everything. Payments are automatically triggered on campaign completion or have flexible payment options as performance-based incentives. Plus, you can easily set up recurring payments for ongoing collaborations. 

Since many platforms facilitate global influencer collaborations, they have features boasting global payment capabilities and secure payment gateways. Transparent transaction records are also provided, allowing for easy payment tracking.

This transparency fosters trust and confidence between the brand and influencer, potentially paving the way for long-term partnerships.

How to pick the right influencer marketing platform

With so many influencer marketing platforms out there, each offering unique features and functionalities, it can be tricky knowing which is right for your needs. What key questions should you ask before choosing an influencer marketing platform?

Evaluate platform features

Strength of influencer search engine. Evaluate the platform in helping you identify influencers that resonate with your target audience:

• How many influencers does the platform have in its database? 
• Are the influencer profiles vetted? 
• What social media channels does the platform cover?
• Is the platform easy to use?
• What type of features does the platform provide?

Ability to vet content creators and their audience. Focus on in-depth insights about influencers so you can make informed decisions and grow your roster of influencers accordingly. Check if the platform can help you find the following information about influencers:

• Does the platform provide data like audience location, age, interests, etc., to match with the potential customers? 
• Do I get an influencer’s follower breakdown on each social channel? 
• Can I check the creator’s influence across all social media channels?
• Does the engine have measures to identify influencers with inflated follower counts or inauthentic engagement?
• Can I get detailed performance metrics for potential influencers (engagement rates, reach, audience demographics)?
• Can I track the influencer’s follower growth and engagement timeline over the last few months?

Ease of influencer relationship management. Ask about built-in features in the CRM to easily connect with shortlisted content creators and how it can help manage a large number of content creators in one go or if you plan to run multiple campaigns simultaneously with different sets of content creators:

• Does the platform offer built-in messaging tools for seamless communication with creators?
• Can I share campaign briefs, assets, and content guidelines with creators within the platform?
• Can I send personalized messages or broadcast messages to groups of creators?
• Can I create and manage contracts directly within the platform, including standard terms and custom clauses?
• Does the CRM integrate with other marketing or social media management tools you use?
• Does it offer robust security measures to protect your brand data and influencer information?
• Does the platform provide training resources or tutorials on using the CRM effectively?
• Does the provider offer dedicated customer support to assist you with questions or issues?

Content approval and monitoring. Content tracking in an influencer marketing campaign is crucial for measuring success and optimizing future efforts. Ideally, find a platform that reduces lengthy email chains and minimizes the risk of miscommunication:

• Does the tool give you access to send campaign briefs? 
• Can I evaluate the mail open rate? 
• Does it allow influencers to submit draft content for review? 

Product gifting management. Product gifting is one of the activities that can consume a lot of your time if not automated: 

• Do I get to integrate my e-commerce store like Shopify to send influencers products of their choice? 
• Can I send gifts to influencers without hopping between platforms for timely product delivery?

Affiliate program management. An affiliate influencer program is one where you pay the creators based on their performance in sales, leads, conversions, engagement, or reach. When running such a campaign, there are capabilities that you must check for in a platform:

• Does it create unique affiliate links for individual creators?
• Is the tool equipped to track sales through affiliate links?
• Can it be integrated with an e-commerce platform to track purchases?
• Does it streamline the process of attributing sales to the influencers?
• Is the process to automate the payment in-built? 

Analytics to measure ROI. Lastly, you must be able to evaluate the impact of the campaigning and prove the ROI in terms of revenue generated:

• Can I measure the impact using KPIs like reach, engagement, conversions, leads, or more?
• Does it track the content creator’s performance and the campaign performance?
• Can I analyze audience sentiments (positive or negative) toward my campaign? 
• Does the tool give a wide dashboard view and downloadable reports in Excel or PowerPoint formats to share with the team? 

Research and compare platforms

Tailor your selection process by identifying influencer marketing platforms that align with your specific needs. Begin by shortlisting a handful of platforms for a thorough evaluation. Delve into G2 reviews and case studies, extracting valuable insights into how diverse brands have successfully leveraged each platform.

Make the most of free trials and demos to experience the platforms firsthand. This hands-on approach allows you to gauge user-friendliness and assess whether the features meet your requirements.

Additionally, pay close attention to the platform’s customer support options. Understanding their onboarding process and the assistance provided can be crucial to your decision-making process. 

Prioritize user interface

Opt for a platform featuring an intuitive interface that is effortlessly navigable for you and your team. Evaluate whether the platform extends mobile access, enabling convenient management while on the move.

Verify that the platform offers ample training resources and provides continuous support, ensuring you can optimize its full potential over time.

Transparency and security 

Choose a platform that prioritizes data security and complies with relevant privacy regulations. Verify that the platform provides clear, precise data on campaign performance and influencer activity to ensure transparency. Scrutinize the platform’s contractual terms.

Future scalability 

A platform that provides flexibility to adjust to evolving campaign needs and strategies, allowing for the addition of more influencers as per your campaign requirements, can make your influencer marketing game stronger and adaptable.

The best influencer marketing platforms to get you started 

Upfluence

‍

Upfluence is an influencer marketing platform headquartered in New York. The platform enables you to discover influencers, manage campaigns, carry out payments, send products, and analyze campaigns with the platform. You can connect the software with other tools like CMS, mailing software, and more. 

GRIN

‍

GRIN is a creator management platform that helps manage influencer campaigns, customer advocacy, branded content, athlete marketing, affiliate marketing, etc. It allows you to find influencers, handle payments, send products to creators, and analyze their performance as an influencer marketing platform.

Aspire (formerly AspireIQ)

Aspire is one of the leading influencer marketing platforms headquartered in San Francisco. The platform features all the functions of an influencer marketing platform, like finding influencers, communicating with them, managing relationships, creating content, and measuring the ROI. The platform has created numerous content resources for customers and a course for influencers and brands.

Bazaarvoice affable.ai

Bazaarvoice affable.ai is redefining influencer marketing with an AI-driven platform that scales creator marketing efforts, saving up to 80% of the time spent on campaign management. This all-in-one solution empowers brands, retailers, and agencies to seamlessly source, manage, track, and measure creator and ambassador programs, using groundbreaking Generative AI-powered search, stands out.

PSA: The platform also integrates with the Bazaarvoice Social Commerce solution, enabling brands to maximize the ROI of creator marketing by strategically repurposing influential content across marketing, e-commerce, and retail channels. 

Scale your campaigns with influencer marketing platforms‍

You now have the answer to what an influencer marketing platform is. You are ready to go platform shopping and create world-class campaigns to persuade your audience.

If you’re still confused, though, we can help you out. Get a product tour with Bazaarvoice affable.ai to clearly see how a creator marketing platform works.

LEARN MORE

Masterclass: How to update your influencer marketing program for 2024

Watch here

Chapters:

1. What is influencer analytics?
2. 7 types of influencer analytics metrics
3. Benefits of using influencer analytics tools
4. The best influencer analytics tools on the market
5. Influencer analytics tools FAQs
6. Getting started with influencer analytics

What is influencer analytics?

Influencer analytics is the process of analyzing performance metrics like audience demographics, engagement rates, reach, impressions, and conversions to evaluate the impact of an influencer. Influencer analysis allows marketers to make data-driven decisions, assess the return on investment (ROI), and make adjustments to achieve better results.

‍Influencer analytics can be carried out using various tools and platforms that provide data and insights, allowing marketers to track and analyze influencers’ performance on social media channels.

Robust influencer analytics tools offer influencer search engine, engagement metrics, audience insights, fraud detection, and more such features to help marketers measure and enhance the success of their influencer campaigns.

7 types of influencer analytics metrics

Having a tool to assist your influencer marketing strategy is all well and good, but it’s a bit pointless if you don’t know the metrics you should be addressing,

1. Reach

The context of reach falls under two categories. First is the number of times social media users view a post or a story on Instagram or Facebook — a higher number indicates higher engagement. You can also gauge reach through the follower base of an influencer.

There’s different types of influencers, ranging from nano to mega, based on their follower count.

2. Impressions

Impressions is a metric highlighting the number of times a particular reel, story or post is displayed on a user’s Instagram feed, indicating the relevance of the content among its followers base.

3. Engagement

Engagement highlights how an influencer’s followers base interacts with the content. It includes clicks, comments, shares, questions and likes. Getting high impressions but low engagement (there’s no comments, likes, or shares) reflects on the influencer’s authenticity. Engagement hints at how people interact with the influencers and want to learn more about the product.

4. Earned media value

Earned media value (EMV) is an overall estimate of the engagement and interaction driven by each post published by an influencer mentioning your product. It measures word-of-mouth generated by the influencer and tells you what kind of content resonates positively well with their audience.

5. Conversions

The consumer journey ends up in a conversion, where the shopper has made their mind to purchase the product. You can track conversions through referral links and customised discount codes. These automated influencer analytics tools help track the interactions done through these links and sales driven by discount codes.

6. Audience demographics

An insight into the influencer’s followers, including their age, gender, location, interests, and other relevant information, helps businesses determine if the audience aligns with their target customers. With such data, you can reach out to influencers who can connect with the brand’s desired customer segment.

7. Competitive Analysis

Metrics like competitive analysis give marketers an edge over their competitors as they can view influencers working with similar brands. You can choose to work or not work with influencers who work with competing companies.

Benefits of using influencer analytics tools

1. Data-driven decision making. Influencer analytics tools remove the guesswork from creator marketing by providing detailed data on influencer profiles. Decisions like which influencers to collaborate with, how to optimize campaigns, and where to allocate the resources for maximum impact become more accurate with data to back them.
2. Recruiting the right creators. Many brands struggle to find relevant influencers to run a campaign. The right analytics tool can easily find the right influencer for you to collab with.
3. Audience Insights. Paint a clear picture of your audience’s interests, sentiments, engagements, and more. Having a clear understanding of your audience helps you create better content that resonates.
4. Evaluate influencer performanceI. Influencer analytics tools allow you to share affiliate links and promo codes that help track creator performance across social media in terms of traffic, leads, and conversions.
5. Budgeting. You save countless man-hours and resources using influencer analytics tools to identify the right influencers aligning with your brand value, preventing you from spending your marketing budget on manual execution.
6. Brand Safety. Ensure brand safety by spotting fake influencers or those using follower bots to show a higher follower count. Tools vet influencers, using several filters, to check negative sentiments found in their posts.

The 9 best influencer analytics tools on the market

Here’s a list of, in our opinion, the best influencer analytics tools on the market.

GRIN

Grin’s creator performance tracks the performance of every post, such as engagement, clicks and conversions. Grin calculates credibility scores based on influencer engagement and other key metrics to confirm a genuine social media account to identify the right talent for a brand. This process helps connect brands with talents having a highly engaged follower base.

Yoloco

Yoloco provides advanced analytical reports by rating the audience base of an influencer. It targets the location of the influencer and its audience. Through their algorithm, they find out the approximate coverage of the post and what the brand’s influencers have already advertised. They have an Instagram analytics app for marketers giving fake or real followers details.

Upfluence

Like other platforms, Upfluence helps you analyse other performance metrics on social media channels by calculating their engagement rates, comments, likes, views, shares and comments. It lets you understand how their engagement has increased or decreased in the last few years.

With their Chrome extension, you can upload a new influencer you might have spotted on social media and easily add them to your list. It also enables you to easily import a list of previous influencers to the platform you have worked with.

Hypeauditor

HypeAuditor conducts influencer analytics for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch to help you choose the perfect creator. Besides audience demographics like location, age, gender and interest, Hypeauditor uses AI to detect low-quality audiences by analyzing the follower growth and engagement authenticity.

Their influencer marketing analytics tool calculates audience reachability. The engagement analysis checks comments’ authenticity and detects engagement pods. It also looks at suspicious growth patterns and whether influencers use follows/unfollow to grow their audiences.

Keyhole

Keyhole ensures transparency by highlighting fake followers and negative sentiments. It believes in generating credible data and discovering influencers relevant to your industry. Through their tool, you can figure out authentic conversations, engagements and sentiments to find those aligning with your goals.

Their influencer analytics tool unlocks insights about influencers’ social media accounts. You don’t have to take screenshots or update spreadsheets to analyse results. You can easily find out which posts resonate most with your audience and drive impact through data.

Modash

Modash is an influencer analytics tool that helps brands and agencies identify and analyze relevant influencers for their campaigns. With Modash, users can search for influencers based on criteria like audience demographics, engagement rates, and content themes. The platform provides detailed analytics on an influencer’s performance and helps users track the success of their campaigns by monitoring key metrics such as reach, impressions, and engagement.

Some of the platform’s key features include campaign management, audience insights, content management, and competitor analysis. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for users to navigate and manage their campaigns.

trendHERO

trendHero is another influencer analytics tool helping businesses and agencies find and analyze influencers for their marketing campaigns. trendHero offers a range of features, including influencer comparison, audience insights, data analytics, campaign management, and a customizable dashboard.

The platform’s AI-powered recommendation engine can automatically suggest influencers and content ideas based on a user’s campaign goals and target audience, saving time and effort for users who are new to influencer marketing or looking for fresh ideas.‍

Bazaarvoice affable.ai

Bazaarvoice affable.ai is an all-in-one, AI-powered influencer marketing platform with an in-built technology to vet millions of influencers based on their age, location, gender, language, follower count etc. We use multiple metrics to analyze how influencers can impact your objectives — by spotting fake influencers and those with low-quality audiences.

With Bazaarvoice affable.ai, you’re easily able to find creators, manage your collaborations, track campaign metrics, and measure your performance.

Celisse Ng, Marketing Manager, L’Occitane

Our influencer analytics tools give an estimated engagement, reach and an estimated media value of a content creator by scanning through their posts. You can also check audience interest, influencer’s brand affinity, and the number of branded and non-branded content and get a graphical representation of their followers’ growth.

Influencer analytics tools FAQs

Getting started with influencer analytics

Undoubtedly, identifying the right influencer is the greatest challenge for many brands. Perhaps due to a lack of knowledge about the right influencer analytics tools required to get started.

So, before you strategise for your next influencer marketing campaign, evaluate a tool that will aid your specific needs. Or better yet, try a tool that covers the whole influencer marketing spectrum.

If you’re not sure where to begin, turn to these three influencer marketing case studies to guide your strategy.

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Finding these content creators might feel a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack because, let’s face it, they’re everywhere nowadays. And then there’s the challenge of figuring out if they’re legit, if their followers are genuine, and how well they’ll align with your brand values. Not to mention identifying who has the potential to connect with the most significant chunk of your target audience — all crucial factors to consider when you’re looking to find a squad of content creators.

But let’s simplify this whole process of how to find the right content creators, who can weave an outstanding tale around your product or service, all in their authentic storytelling style.

Different methods and tools are available to unearth these influential voices and vet them based on their social presence, audience demographics, brand affinity, and more.

Chapters:

1. What are content creators?
2. Why you need to find content creators for your brand
3. Define your creator marketing goals
4. Where to find content creators
5. How to assess whether a creator is right for you
6. ‍Don’t just find content creators — build long-term collaborations

What are content creators?

Content creators are a small set of individuals who have the potential to let your idea, product or service diffuse through a population. They can make a trend go viral and spark purchase decisions by opening new engagement channels.

Every year, we’re further witnessing this shift toward valuable, authentic content that’s driven by creators. It’s kind of a big deal. The creator economy, valued at $250 billion this year, is expected to almost double, reaching a whopping $480 billion by 2027.

Reason being: research shows that we believe in the recommendations given by our peers before buying a product. For example, 89% of shoppers consult ratings and reviews before making a purchase. Content creators play a similar role because of their objectiveness and authenticity.

Why you need to find content creators for your brand

Content creators are persuasive and organically create word-of-mouth marketing that inspires purchases. They can easily reach out to the most significant number of your interested customers. And here’s the kicker. These content creators are stepping up their game as they emerge as a full-funnel marketing channel. They create a shortcut in the purchase journey that leads shoppers directly to purchase.

What does that mean for you? Your potential customers get to decide on your product in a snap, thanks to the seamless experience of social commerce. 

Define your creator marketing goals

You’re probably wondering where to kick off the journey to find the right content creators to work with. Your broad marketing strategy is the anchor, but it has to trickle down to having well-planned content goals, and good clarity on your target demographics that must match content creators’ follower base. And above all, a budget that gives you enough brand-ready content.   

It all starts with clearly defining your content goals. Content aligning with your objectives is more likely to convey authenticity and build trust, especially when you can pinpoint content creators whose style, voice, and audience align with your goals.

When content creators grasp your content goals, they can craft content that resonates and connects with the specific demographic you’re aiming for. This is because they’ve already built trust with their followers. Also, you can narrow down your options by focusing on content creators with a more specific and engaged audience.

But neglecting to align your target audience with the creator’s content and audience compromises authenticity, and you may not get the desired results. A content goal coupled with a well-defined target audience is particularly crucial if you’re looking to establish a strong brand identity across various channels. 

Determine the content type

Various types of content are like tools in your marketing kit, each serving a specific purpose based on your objectives—be it boosting brand awareness, driving sales, or increasing engagement. The key is to nail down your content goal and then match it with the right content type.

Whether it’s an in-depth educational YouTube video or a quick 30-60-second clip for a product mention, ensuring it aligns with the overarching story narrows down your creator search pool. It saves you time and effort and optimizes your search for creators who excel in crafting the precise content you’re after.

Set budget constraints 

Being clear about your content requirements from the get-go is a game-changer. It’s not just about saving time; it’s about budget efficiency. When you know exactly what you need, you can allocate your budget smartly, making sure your investment aligns perfectly with your goals. 

Why does this matter? Well, different content formats come with different production costs and creator fees. By defining your content needs upfront, you can find influencers whose rates match your budget, steering clear of inflated or unrealistic expectations. 

Where to find content creators

Finding the right content creators largely depends on how you plan to execute a marketing campaign. But whatever your strategy, there’s a number of ways to easily find content creators to work with.

How to assess whether a creator is right for you

Once you’ve tracked down where to find your content creators, don’t just go picking anyone based on flashy follower counts or a perfectly curated Instagram grid. You need more than that — you need creative partners who not only resonate with your brand but also amplify your message effectively.

When choosing these partners, you’ll have to drill down on vetting. It’s like your authenticity check. You ensure these creators have real followers and deliver content that hits your brand standards and gets your message across just right. 

Audience profile analysis 

When you vet audience profiles, you’re ensuring that your creator’s content lands well with folks who are genuinely into your offering. Trust is key here. When a creator’s audience already trusts their content, they’ll trust the recommendations and shout-outs they do, making your influencer marketing campaign a success.

But some influencers may resort to purchasing fake followers to appear more influential than they actually are. Plus, a massive follower count doesn’t necessarily mean the influencer hits your target audience or pulls in genuine engagement.

According to our research, mega influencers (1M+ followers) have an engagement rate of 1.6% whereas nano-influencers (1K-10K followers) have an engagement rate of 8.8% — that’s 5x more!

Their social presence 

While clicks, likes, and comments on posts may seem like ideal vanity metrics, the real question is whether creators ignite genuine conversations and interactions. To truly assess this, you need to look deeper into a creator’s content. Start by questioning their passion for the topics they cover – are they genuinely invested or merely chasing trends? Even if trend-chasing is their forte, does it align with your content goals?

Beyond quantitative metrics, focus on qualitative aspects. Assess their transparency and authenticity, especially in brand collaborations where disclosing sponsored content is crucial. Also, consider the consistency of their posting schedule.

Certain platforms (like Bazaarvoice affable.ai) can offer advanced features to evaluate and monitor these nuanced aspects of social presence. These tools efficiently gather engagement data by scrutinizing comments, emojis, user tags, and other data-centric elements, providing a more comprehensive understanding of an influencer’s impact.

L’OCCITANE, a renowned beauty brand, wanted to showcase their special edition Christmas gift sets of body wash and hand creams in Singapore.

To amplify the visibility of these festive offerings, L’OCCITANE strategically partnered with high-performing micro-influencers in the beauty and lifestyle niche. This collaboration aimed not only to attract more customers but also to enhance L’OCCITANE’s presence in the Asia Pacific region.  

Leveraging Bazaarvoice affable.ai, the brand efficiently discerned between authentic and counterfeit influencers, analyzing profile data, sponsored posts, and other metrics. Subsequently, they identified and engaged 53 micro-influencers for the Christmas campaign which led to an earned media value (EMV) of $23,000.

L’OCCITANE’s success in running an effective influencer marketing campaign was attributed to their evaluation of content creators. By ensuring an authentic social presence aligned with their content goals, the brand unlocked the creator economy pathway. 

Brand affinity 

When we dive into creator marketing, brand affinity is about how much the content creator vibes with your brand or product. It’s like their natural connection in a specific niche. So, the key is figuring out if they’re just in it for the paycheck or if they genuinely dig the industry and know their stuff about the product or service you’re pushing.

One easy way to assess a creator’s brand affinity is to check if they’ve previously worked with similar brands. Keep tabs on how the influencer audience interacts with the content featuring your product or expressing interest in learning more. You can easily find all these details using the right influencer marketing platform. 

Glossier, a prominent US beauty brand, has successfully positioned itself in the competitive billion-dollar market, primarily focusing on skincare and makeup products. A significant aspect of Glossier’s innovative approach lies in its extensive use of creator marketing within its e-commerce setup. 

The brand strategically collaborates with influencers who align with its core values, leveraging their reach and influence to convey messages and promote products to dedicated followers. This approach isn’t merely about marketing but involves capturing an engaged audience that resonates with the brand’s identity.

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A post shared by Kiki Ransom (@kiki.ransom)

Through her static posts and makeup tutorials, beauty content creator Kiki Ransom consistently showcases her affinity for Glossier products, including the latest additions to the brand’s collections. Her genuine endorsement in her makeup tutorial videos on Instagram amplifies Glossier’s reach and contributes to the brand’s goal of expanding its community.

More so, fostering customer engagement goes beyond influencer partnerships. The brand actively promotes user-generated content, encouraging customers to share their experiences and post pictures with Glossier products. Glossier has recognized the power of genuine connections by facilitating a community-driven approach and transformed satisfied customers into passionate advocates. This community-building strategy helps the brand create a strong and loyal customer base.

Aligned content, styles and values

Picture this: enlisting a tech content creator to endorse a beauty product. It might fly if they’ve been loyal to your product, but can it really capture the essence of style and value that a beauty influencer brings to the table? Likely not. Pinning down the ideal content creator boils down to your preferences in style, diversity, sentiments, and values — all of which need to sync up with your marketing KPIs.

For example, Canon’s collaboration with YouTuber Emma Chamberlain. She shared her journey of using Canon cameras during her early days of content creation. Canon chose Chamberlain wisely, aiming to connect with budding content creators as their target audience.

The strategy works because content creators with aligned values and styles are likely to have followers with similar interests and demographics. It ensures that the content reaches the right target audience, boosting the chances of meaningful engagement and conversion.

Expanding beyond their partnership with Chamberlain, Canon recently teamed up with three other creators — Karl Ndieli, Kirsten Titus, and Alisa Marie — to shed light on how each incorporates Canon products into their respective careers.

‍Don’t just find content creators — build long-term collaborations

If you’re a brand willing to run multiple campaigns, time and time again, then starting from scratch every time is certainly not the answer. In the long run, look for creating a talent pool by building long-term relationships with creators. 

Choosing those who genuinely connect with your brand can result in ongoing collaborations with sustained success. Not only that, it will also reduce the overall cost, time, and energy spent finding the content creators. Sustained collabs also increase the speed of campaign execution and reduces the competition from other brands wanting to work with the same creators. 

Now that you know how to find the right content creators for your brand, it’s time to learn how to reach out and get a “yes” in return.

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Every day, hundreds of millions of posts appear on social media. Consumers are often inundated with content from brands, while retailers and brands find themselves shouting into the void. 

To stand out among the marketers jostling to be heard on social media, you must be smart, not loud. The best strategy is leveraging user-generated content (UGC) creators from your ideal customers. This approach will help you go beyond the once-and-done buyers and reach consumers who shop again and again. Let these loyalists become your brand advocates. 

Consumers want to build relationships, connect emotionally, and support the brands they cherish, especially during a tough economy. You just have to guide them. Here are some strategies for targeting and nurturing loyal customers to become your brand advocates. 

What is a brand advocate?

A brand advocate is an individual who shares their positive sentiment and experiences about your brand with their followers and friends.

Brand advocates are true loyalists. They enjoy your products, interact with you on social media, and appreciate opportunities to share feedback with you. It’s more than just whether people are spending money with you — it’s about emotion and identity.

According to Leonie Brown, Qualtrics XM Scientist, “True loyalists understand your product and brand, believe your offering to be good value, and identify with your product on a personal level.” 

Why you need brand advocates

Brand-generated marketing is important in a healthy marketing mix, but it’s impossible to meet consumers’ demands for content with traditional marketing messages alone, especially when your marketing team has a lean budget. Consumers also actually prefer UGC created by their peers. 

Brand advocates, who are real customers and love your brand, are the mouthpiece you didn’t know you needed. Because brand advocates are just regular people and not affiliated with your company, they’re highly influential. 

Consumers trust other consumers more than anyone else. 100% of shoppers say they’ve purchased a product based on a recommendation from another shopper that they saw online, and 78% trust everyday social media users just as much or more than they did a few years ago. 

Most shoppers say they won’t buy anything without consulting UGC first. They especially seek out customer reviews and photos or videos from other shoppers. 

Encourage a peer-to-peer recommendation environment by tapping into your brand advocates. 69% of marketers today are working with smaller creators, like everyday consumers and social media users. Partnering with these creators brings higher engagement, trust, and authenticity than traditional marketing — and, it’s cost-effective, scalable content. 

The creator economy is booming and is currently valued at $16.4 billion. Over half (53%) of shoppers consider themselves to be UGC creators, according to the Bazaarvoice Shopper Experience Index. 17% of these creators actively create UGC, and 36% will do so when asked. 

5 ways to find brand advocates

Both shoppers and marketers are tightening their budgets these days. Activating brand advocates makes other consumers feel more confident shopping with you, and this strategy offers a high return on investment when marketing teams need to do more with less. 

Consumers are leaning more into the expertise of everyday social media users and subject matter experts to discover new products, learn about how something can meet their needs, and purchase with confidence. 

We’ve found that about 1% of your community — your loyalists — can produce about 90% of your content. You just need to target your brand advocates and harness their power. Here’s how to find them. 

1. In-person events

Events like in-store holiday activations, sports-themed contests, or awareness month campaigns are a fun way to engage shoppers in real life. In-person events can help you stand out by offering something unique and memorable. 

In-person events also help you get to know your most loyal shoppers. Pay close attention to those who show up, as well as consumers who make an effort to speak to you, ask questions about your brand or products, and purchase from you. 

Loyalists tend to show up organically to an in-person event. But, you can reward them and make them feel extra special by peeking into your shopper data and personally inviting them to attend. This approach will build and nurture relationships with brand advocates. 

Another way to leverage in-person events is to see who usually attends similar activations. For instance, we spoke to digital creator Marina Mitrakos, whose passion for fashion and beauty led her to create content for brands. One way she’s developed her business is by attending fashion and beauty events and posting about them on social media. 

2. Email list/newsletter

While people enjoy receiving messages from brands in their inboxes, sending a mass blanket email to everyone on your list isn’t the best way to find brand advocates. People stay on email lists for years and never actually interact with brands. 

So, go beyond the people that are simply on your email list. Instead, track engagement on email content, like clicks on coupons, responses to polls and surveys, or email replies. These interactions showcase the consumers who are genuinely interested and invested in your brand. 

Emails are also a great way to ask customers for feedback and collect UGC, ultimately turning them into brand advocates. Our Shopper Experience Index revealed that 43% of consumers prefer brands and retailers to use emails to ask them for their opinions on products they’ve purchased. 

Sending an email after someone purchases from you to say thanks and ask for reviews and other UGC yields big results. We’ve found that review request emails increase review content by 4x to 9x, and sending a follow-up may lead to a 50% increase in review volume — or much more. Clothing brand MeUndies, for example, has seen a 218% increase in review collection since optimizing review request emails.

When requesting UGC, consumers like it when you tell them exactly what kind of content you want. For example, 60% will take a photo if you ask them to. 

Shoppers appreciate it when they feel like brands care about what they have to say and are listening and responding to their needs. They’ll be more than willing to respond to your request, create UGC, and become a brand advocate. 

3. Cause-related marketing campaigns

Cause marketing refers to marketing strategies that strive to increase revenue, while also taking action to improve society in some way. This might involve raising money or awareness for an issue or charitable organization or highlighting your sustainability or corporate responsibility initiatives. 

If your brand values a specific social, environmental, or humanitarian cause, be vocal about it — and take note of who’s interacting with content related to your cause. Consumers want to support and advocate for brands and retailers that also support the issues they care most about. 

For instance, if being eco-friendly matters to your brand, share your sustainability efforts and regularly promote that you’re cutting down on boxes and shipping to target customers who prefer to shop with sustainable brands. These efforts pay off. 

According to a Bazaarvoice survey of the Influenster community, 78% of shoppers said they prioritize using sustainable products across categories, and 77% will pay more for products promoted as “sustainable” or “clean.” 88% will purchase from new brands if they claim to be more sustainable. 

4. Pay attention to your social channels

Who are your most engaged followers? Most shoppers do follow their favorite brands on social media, but you should hone in on the followers who interact with you most. 

Knowing who frequently comments on your social posts, shares your content, enters giveaways, tags other users, and talks about your brand on social is crucial. These social media users make compelling brand advocates!

Social media is an amazing platform for starting conversations and getting noticed. Nearly 60% of shoppers discover new products and services on social media, where they research items and make purchasing decisions. Most shoppers also buy things directly from social media. 

Keeping tabs on who’s talking about you on social media is important, but don’t neglect people who are sliding into your DMs. Direct messages are an excellent place for one-on-one conversations and connections. 

Responding to any DMs, posts, or other customer feedback is crucial for relationship-building. Consumers expect a response from brands when they offer feedback, and responding heightens trust and showcases your authenticity. 

5. Targeted shopper communities

Using a product discovery and reviews platform like the Influenster App, gives you the opportunity to target the largest community of everyday consumers and skilled creators to generate the highest-quality UGC — including reviews, photos, videos, and social content. This, in turn, increases brand awareness, lets you reach new audiences, and helps you convert more customers across brand and retail. 

Influenster matches your product to your ideal audiences based on over 1,000 data points for each of the community’s 8 million global members. You can activate unique segments, such as loyalists and competitive users, members who shop at key retailers, and consumers with specific skincare or dietary needs. 

The ability to hyper-target consumers based on behaviors and other characteristics beyond typical demographics was a key benefit in choosing Influenster

Elizabeth Northrup, Associate Brand Manager at Kraft Heinz

Influenster members are also prolific content creators. Based on Bazaarvoice Sampling Community data from June 2023, here’s a look at what these members bring to the table: 

• 500,000+ new pieces of UGC each month
• 73 million total monthly impressions for Influenster social campaigns
• 34,000+ posts for Influenster social campaigns
• $5.5 million total monthly earned media value for Influenster social campaigns

One of the most effective ways to tap into the Influenster community and reap these benefits is through product sampling. This strategy gets your products into the hands of your ideal customers. In turn, they create authentic content about your brand in the form of social posts, reviews, photos, or videos. 

Beauty giant Rimmel sent its new Wonder Ombre Holographic Eyeliner out to target consumers through sending custom sampling boxes. This helped the brand collect over 1,200 product reviews, which are displayed on Influenster, the brand’s website, and syndicated across its retail partner websites. 

Rimmel’s sampling campaign generated real impact for the brand, including: 

• 44% higher sales lift versus benchmarks for average digital campaigns in the beauty category
• 69% higher sales life versus benchmarks in the product categories of the sampled products
• 73% of samplers said they would likely purchase something from Rimmel in the next 6 months 

Targeting your ideal customers to be brand advocates

One-time or some-time customers are great. But, marketing to all-the-time customers is a winning strategy. These shoppers are your ideal customers, who love your products, your mission, and the experiences you provide, both online and in-person. 

Finding and building relationships with your brand advocates builds trust with other consumers — helping you stand out and helping them feel confident and appreciated.

If you’re struggling to find advocates for your brand or you don’t know where to look, Bazaarvoice affable.ai is an AI-driven influencer marketing platform that lets you easily find your creators, manage collaborations, track your campaigns, and measure your performance.

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• For every dollar spent on influencer marketing, brands can earn $5.78
• 63% of consumers say they trust what influencers say about your products more than what you say about them
• The global influencer marketing industry had a market value of $16.4 billion, as of 2022

Such numbers are possible as consumers continue to engage with influencers on a daily basis, often across multiple platforms. This level of engagement helps brands promote their products and services to consumers faster and more effectively.

Finding the perfect influencers to partner with is the first step, then comes the challenging part of getting in touch with them and ensuring a positive reply that leads to a successful collabaration.

So, how do you do it? There’s two main ways to go about it. Either you or your team can send a personal message on social media or reach out to them through email. The ideal way would be to do both, but email is a far more reliable way of getting a reply. When drafting your outreach emails, remember that an influencer receives dozens of emails daily so your message might get lost.

You need to make sure you cut through the noise by writing an email that immediately catches their attention. With that in mind, we’ve compiled this guide of the best strategies and templates you can use to write influencer outreach emails that elicits a positive response.

Chapters:

1. How to write a perfect influencer outreach email
2. Influencer outreach email templates
3. Save time on your influencer outreach emails with AI

How to write a perfect influencer outreach email

Follow these five simple steps to master your influencer outreach email(s) that guarantee a positive response.

1. Know your goals

What do you expect to achieve from the collaboration? Is it increasing brand engagement and reach or increasing brand awareness? Why do you want to partner with this particular influencer? What do you want the influencer to do for your brand? Give free giveaways, a product review, or post photos or videos of your products?

By answering these questions up front, you’ll be able to articulate your ideas and write an influencer outreach email that encourages your prospect influencer to work with your brand.

2. Write a catchy subject line

Digital celebrities are busy people, who receive multiple emails a day. If you want them to read yours, your outreach email needs to have a catchy subject line that draws attention.

Put across the main idea of your email in one short sentence or phrase. Seven or so words, or around 41 characters, is the ideal length for your subject line. Examples of a punchy subject line for your influencer outreach emails include:

• [Name], we want you as [brand name]’s VIP
• Love your Instagram aesthetic, [name]!
• Looking for a new collab, [name]?

Keep in mind that your subject line is like your “resume,” so to speak. If you don’t make an impression with it, the chances of your email getting opened could be slim — a third of recipients will open an email based on the subject line alone! So don’t underestimate the power of a strong subject line and give it a lot of thought to create a few versions before you finalize one.

3. Personalize your messages

Make sure you tailor every outreach email to each specific influencer you message. Personalization should begin with the subject line itself and should most certainly reflect in the greeting, and then must be spread across your email content where possible. Always use the influencers name to your advantage and these opportunities where you can add a touch of personalization to your outreach emails:

• Express admiration for the content the influencer generates. Be specific and share a link to a post that the influencer has published, and talk about what you love or appreciate about it
• If you or a colleague has met the influencer in person, make it a point to say so in the email
• If anyone from your brand has participated in an event/activity hosted by the influencer, don’t forget to mention this in the email
• If you’re reaching out to an influencer from a different country, try to speak their language. You don’t need to write the whole email in their language, but the greeting, subject line, or a few words here (“Bonjour!” instead of “Hello!”) and there make a strong impression. But make sure the usage is accurate — consult with someone who speaks the language or make sure you verify what you’ve written is accurate

4. Keep your email short and to the point

Influencers have busy schedules and other priorities ahead of reading outreach emails. If you want your email to be read, make it easy for them to scan it. Be concise and to the point. Although personalization in the email is essential, don’t overdo it to a point where it gets too lengthy:

• Introduce yourself and your company: Let them know about the brand and industry you work in, your mission, and the product or service you offer
• Connect your brand values to the values of the influencer: Tell them why they’re a perfect fit for your brand. Use some of their content that resonates with your brand to establish a connection where possible
• Let them know the offer: Give details about what you’ll offer, whether it’s free products, collaboration, or an affiliate program. Only when they show interest in your offer, talk about the monetary compensation

5. Give them creative freedom

Influencers run their business the way they want it and they’re successful at what they do. Give them the freedom to create content the way they like it. Don’t give them strict prerequisites that limit their creativity, as this will likely turn them off and make them not consider associating with you.

Influencer outreach email templates

With the above points in mind, you’re all set to start drafting your own influencer outreach emails. But to help you further, here’s a few influencer outreach email templates for different business scenarios for you to copy and paste.

Example #1: The first outreach email

The first email is to figure out the influencer’s interest in collaborating with you. In this email, state the purpose and make it clear that collaboration is mutually beneficial. Take a look at this example:

Subject line: [name], we love your TikTok content!

Hi [name], I’m [your name] and I work as the [job title] at [brand/business]. I’ve been following your content for quite some time now and I must say that it’s impressive and in line with our brand. Your recent post, [title or description of the post – hyperlinked], was really well done [the reason]. I shared it with our social media followers as well, and they really appreciated it! I’m writing to you because I wanted to discuss if you’d be interested in collaborating with [brand/business] to help us reach your audience. We’d love to send you our products and are open to other forms of collaboration as well.   Is this something you’d be interested in? If so, I’d love to begin the collaboration and bring value to both our followers!  Many thanks, [Your name]

Example #2: Brand ambassador pitch email template

If you want an influencer to work with you for the long term as a brand ambassador, follow this example:  

Subject line: [name], we want you as our new brand VIP

Hi [name], I’m [your name], I’m the [job title] at [brand/business]. I’ve been following your content for a while and I love it — especially your post on [example of a post that resonates with your brand]!  I’m writing to you today as I think you’d be a great fit for our brand so I’d love to start a conversation for us to work together by establishing a long-term association. Would you be interested in an ongoing collaboration with [brand or company name]? We’re [describe what the brand or company does]. Let me know if you’re open to discussing this further and I’ll send over more details to you. Excited to get started! [Your name]

Example #3: A new product launch  

Influencers can generate a huge buzz online for your new products or your latest features. This example is perfect for your prospective influencers:

Subject line: [name] x [your brand name] collab?

Hey [name], I’m [your name] from [brand/company name].  We’re launching a new product, [name of product/feature], this month, which is helpful to [who finds your product useful and why].  I’ve been following your content for a while now and I noticed that you post about similar products. I strongly feel that your audience would benefit from learning about our products, especially our latest launch! Please let me know if you’d be interested in promoting [new product/feature]? You’ll be adequately compensated with [list perks like new features, free samples, the pay rate, etc.] for your time.   Hope to hear from you! Kind regards, [Your name]

Example #4: Free samples template

Influencer outreach emails don’t have to be focused solely on collaborations. It’s also a good idea to reach out to influencers and let them know that you’d be sending your products for them to talk about if they’re interested and like your product. Consider this direct, short email example:

Subject line: Loved your latest Instagram post, [name]

Hey [name], I’m [your name] from [company name]. I loved your latest Instagram post and wanted to let you know that your work is very impressive! I’m reaching out to you because I have a product that I think your niche audience would absolutely love. I hope you’d be keen to test out [product name] and share it with your audience, if you like it. Keep a lookout for free samples too – I’ll also send a few extras in case you want to do a giveaway with them.  Let me know what you think! Thanks for your time, [Your name]

Example #5. The affiliate marketing template

Affiliate programs are payment or commission-based programs that depend on the number of leads the influencers pass on to you. Here’s an excellent template of an email for that purpose:

Subject line: We want you as one of [brand name]’s featured creators!

Hey [name], I’m [your name] from [company name]. I really enjoy the content you create for your audience! I’m reaching out to you because I feel you would be a great ambassador for our brand. With that, I’d love to invite you to join us as an affiliate partner.  We’ll provide you with a number of free samples for you to use and share with your loyal community. We’d also love to offer an affiliate code that you can share with your audience so you can earn commission from your influence.  Would you be interested in joining us as an affiliate partner? Please let me know – we’d love to have you on board! Many thanks, [Your name]

Save time on your influencer outreach emails with AI

These tips and influencer outreach email templates are an easy way for you to get started on your influencer marketing strategy. But there’s an easier way too — letting AI do it for you.

With Bazaarvoice affable.ai, you can reach multiple influencers at once using several ready-to-use influencer outreach email templates, saving you and your team substantial time and effort.

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An effective budget is part and parcel of every marketing campaign. Regardless of the size of your department’s budget, it’s always important to justify your marketing spend by determining the ROI of your marketing campaign. In other words, you need more bang for your buck.

The good news is, on average businesses can see an ROI of $6.50 in revenue for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. And it should be noted that according to Influencer Marketing Hub, 49% of brands still pay influencers a flat rate, but now 42% of brands are by paying a percentage of any sales made as a result of the influencer’s content, which obviously differs from their rate cards.

Influencer rates aren’t always transparent and brands can often struggle to find the right influencer to work with. Firstly, you want to make sure that you’re not charged unfairly or paying above market rate.

And secondly, to run a cost-effective campaign it’s not only important to find the right influencer to maximize your marketing spend, but also one that falls within your budget. Which is why influencer rate cards exist.

What is an influencer rate card?

An influencer rate card is a document that calculates the price of all services an influencer provides. Sometimes known as influencer rate sheets, these cards tend to list price per post, the platforms they use, and the types of brands they’re willing to work (or not work) with.

The first thing you should know is how to get the conversation started on price. Similar to traditional advertisers, an influencer will usually have a rate card to indicate what services they offer and how much they charge.

Prices usually vary depending on the number of followers influencers have as well as the type of content they’re expected to produce. Other factors shaping influencer rates include:

• Industry. Prices can vary hugely between apparel and travel and health & beauty, even with the same follower count
• Re-usage rights. Depending on where you plan to use your influencer’s content will affect the price. Re-using an image on your product page might be cheaper than using it on a billboard, for example
• Channel type. Bigger social channels like TikTok and Instagram are (usually) a much different price to smaller channels like Snapchat
• Engagement. Prices will vary based on an influencer’s engagement (more on that to follow)

The basic rate is roughly $100 for every 10,000 followers worldwide and this naturally increases as we go up the influencer tiers. 

Rates are also generally higher and when more time and effort is needed to create quality content, as well as the actual length of the content. Hence, while videos generate impressive results, they inevitably come with a heftier price tag too.

Niche influencers as well as influencers with high engagement rates also command more bargaining power as they have a unique and engaged community of followers. For example, prices for tech and gaming influencers tend to be lower as there are fewer available influencers. 

Factors that affect influencer rate cards

In spite of the figures shown above, keep in mind that there’s no “one size fits all” rate card when it comes to influencer marketing. The beauty of influencer marketing lies in the diverse content formats and channels for brands to choose from. With the rise of multi-channel influencers, you can also choose to promote your brand on more than one channel at the same time.

Influencer package rates  

As well as considering multiple platforms, it’s also worth considering multiple types of content to create a holistic influencer marketing campaign for better engagement rates. 

Most influencers tend to offer package rates for social platforms, like on Instagram. The most popular combination is Instagram Posts together with Stories, while some custom packages also include Instagram Videos. So, should you consider package rates? Absolutely.

Given the popularity of Instagram Stories, brands who can engage consumers via Instagram Stories will stand to have additional touchpoints. Not only so, package rates are just slightly more, or even comparable, to individual posts. For example, a lifestyle influencer with around 19k followers on her Instagram shared her specific rates which includes different package options:

IG Post: $151 – $200

IG Story: $51 – $100

IG Post + IG Story: $151 – $200

FB Post: $151 – $200

IG Post + FB Post: $151 – $200

While it may come as a surprise, the price range doesn’t alter significantly with additional services for some influencers. After all, sharing the same content on other channels just takes a simple click. Hence, brands can try to negotiate a better deal by leveraging on other channels offered by an influencer and reach a wider target audience at the same time.

Social channel

Speaking of channels and rates, specific channels have an influence on how much an influencer costs. The same influencer may charge different prices for posts on different platforms. But another influencer may charge the same amount per platform, regardless of follower count.

Work with the right influencers 

The rule of thumb generally is that “The lower the influencer tier, the higher your marketing ROI.” When it comes to the size of the influencer you should approach, micro-influencers are a dominant force driving influencer marketing and serve as key opinion leaders in their community. Nano- and micro-influencers have proven they can engage audiences and deliver high ROI, allowing businesses with smaller budgets to run influencer marketing campaigns.

According to Instagram research of over 800,000 accounts, the engagement rate for mega influencers is 1.6% whereas for nano-influencers is 8.8%.

Nano-influencers are actually the most popular tier of influencers and have the highest engagement rate. With a well-defined niche and real influence in their community, they’re a great option to work despite lower follower counts. 

Moreover, they are also more likely to accept in-kind influencer campaigns which can help to increase your brand awareness by offering your products or services to them for free. For smaller businesses, working with nano-influencers can help to save costs and reach your target audience more effectively.

How to find an influencer within your budget

Not sure where to start or confused by the numbers? Influencer rate cards have the answers you need. But if that’s daunting or you don’t have the time to handle it, Bazaarvoice affable.ai can help you to simplify things. Get price estimates for influencers around the world and determine your campaign’s effectiveness by knowing the earned media value. 

More importantly, we all know how important it is to work with the right influencers who can deliver results. With an AI-driven Instagram analytics platform, you can now choose the right influencers based on audience demographics and engagement rate who will deliver you the best possible ROI. Read more about it here or get in touch below to learn more.

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1. They wield the power to impact the purchasing decisions of their followers due to their authenticity, credibility, knowledge, and relationship with their audience
2. They have followers in a specific niche with whom they actively engage

This yearning for more finding authentic and influential social media voices makes it all the more important to recognize different types of influencers, categorized based on their follower count, which can be further segmented based on their content/niche. 

Breaking down influencer categories opens up distinctive avenues, allowing you to engage with demographics using contextually relevant content. 

For example, when you categorize influencers based on their niches, you’re crafting a personalized strategy, ensuring your content resonates with your audience’s interests and preferences. Similarly, it’s essential to consider factors like follower count, content format, reach, and visibility to fine-tune influencer screening and make it more effective.

Chapters:

1. Types of influencers based on follower count 
2. Types of influencers based on niche 
3. Types of influencers based on brand affinity
4. Types of influencers based on channel format 
5. What to look for in influencers before collaboration 

Types of influencers based on follower count 

The ideal way to get started with influencers is by looking into their follower count (though it’s important to note that a higher follower count doesn’t guarantee a higher engagement rate). It’s the most straightforward measurable way to assess how a creator’s reach and visibility aligns with your goals.

Let’s break down the different types of influencers and make it a breeze for you to sort through and streamline your selection process.

Types of influencers based on their niche 

Fashion influencers

Bet you’ve come across #GetReadyWithMe or #GRWM — it’s like the ultimate trend showcasing how fashion influencers are owning the creator marketing scene. They’re not just throwing together outfit ideas and style tips but diving deep into the world of trending clothes, accessories, and all things fashion.

And they are not just talking about products, they’re showcasing them. Picture this: stunning posts, engaging personal stories, and killer videos, all seamlessly featuring the latest and greatest from various brands. It’s not your typical ad. It’s like your fashionable friend casually sharing their favourite finds. 

Many fast fashion brands like Shein have effortlessly connected with their target audience using these micro or mid-tier fashion influencers. And it’s not just fashion brands jumping on this train – even beauty and skincare labels are sliding into the DMs of these fashion influencers for some prime product placement.

Example: Romee Strijd x Naetur 

Naetur, the US-based clothing and jewelry brand, has driven enormous success with fashion influencer Romee Strijd. The brand collaborated with the influencer for over two years to promote their products, which has helped them build credibility with the audience. By consistently posting about the brand, the influencer created a positive and reliable brand image. 

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A post shared by Romee Strijd (@romeestrijd)

This partnership enabled the brand to reach over a million consumers. Their strategy extends beyond social media posts and videos. Naetur leverages the influencer’s content to enhance its website, featuring Strijd’s images prominently on the brand’s homepage and product pages to attract customers at the bottom of the sales funnel.

Technology 

Technology influencers specialize in reviewing gadgets, spanning from smartphones and cameras to computers. They have established a thriving community. And if you utilize their experience and expertise, they can serve as a solid bridge between your brand and their dedicated followers.

But collaboration with them goes beyond sending samples and sponsoring a post on their social media account. Many brands like Apple invite these influencers to product launches so they can start a buzz about it on social media and get the audience interested.

Their popularity has led them to move beyond long-form content on YouTube to short-form videos. They share tech hacks, quick tutorials, unboxing content, and more on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok. 

Unbox Therapy x Shark Clean 

The French tech brand Shark Clean teamed up with tech influencers on YouTube and Instagram to showcase their products to a wider audience. One of their recent collaborations was with Unbox Therapy, the tech YouTube channel owned by Lewis Hilsentger. He crafted in-depth tutorials about Shark Clean’s latest vacuum cleaner, delving into its advanced features.

Highlighting the product in action is key when dealing with tech products, providing consumers with insights into how their purchase will play out. The video not only listed the benefits but also demonstrated the level of convenience achievable with the cleaner, grabbing the attention of 298,000 users.

Food and beverage 

Be it Chipotle, Dunkin’ Donuts, or McDonald’s, these fast food chains are totally in sync with influencers. They go all out, even dropping dishes on the menu that influencers rave about, enticing customers to give them a try and finally boost their sales. 

Food and beverage influencers have a serious sway over what we think about recipes, restaurant reviews, food products, diet tips, and more. And it’s not just the cooking pros or food bloggers. We’re talking about anyone from the mid-tier to mega influencers. They’ve got the goods to make us crave those influencer-approved bites!

Emelie Hebert x HelloFresh 

HelloFresh is a direct-to-consumer brand that sends meal prep boxes to customers’ homes. To promote their services, HelloFresh collaborates with food bloggers and different types of influencers who share images and videos of the prepared meals.

Their content highlights the convenience of subscribing to their services, appealing to the brand’s target audience — customers with a busy lifestyle desiring a healthy meal. 

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A post shared by Pooja Verma | PEEK A POO (@peekapooxo)

For their latest campaign, HelloFresh collaborated with multiple nano and micro-influencers in the food and nutrition niche to talk about their products and build hype around the holiday season. The campaign helped the brand leverage the connection these influencers have with their audience to build credibility for its services. 

Health and beauty 

In the post-pandemic world, putting ourselves first with a bit of self-care has become a must, and health and beauty influencers are stealing the spotlight. It’s not just about perfecting that smokey eye or sharing beauty hacks anymore. These influencers are the real deal when it comes to clean beauty products, self-care routines, and all things beauty and makeup. 

But they are not just beauty enthusiasts, they are also the go-to peeps for promoting cool lifestyle products and giving the lowdown on healthy food items. They’re like our personal gurus for living our best lives—inside and out!

L’OCCITANE 

L’OCCITANE, a renowned brand in organic hair care, body care, and skin care strategically partnered with high-performing micro-influencers in the beauty and lifestyle niche to promote special edition Christmas gift sets in Singapore.

Using Bazaarvoice affable.ai they identified and engaged 53 micro-influencers for the campaign, who generated: 

• 80 stories and seven posts on Instagram
• An estimated reach of 418.10k
• Earned media value totaling USD 22.75k

L’OCCITANE nailed it with their influencer marketing game by pre-vetting content creators. They ensured these different types of influencers onboard had a legit social vibe that matched their content goals. 

Home and improvement 

All those mommy bloggers, interior designers, architects, and craft influencers you see are so popular because they aren’t just selling products — they’re selling a whole lifestyle! They’re all about sharing cool DIYs, giving you the lowdown on how-to tips, dishing out styling advice, and recommending awesome home furnishings.

It’s like they’re on a mission to inspire everyone to step up their home game. Their best tips come in handy when you want homes to look more festive around Halloween and Christmas. 

Julia Berolzheimer x Pottery Barn

In August 2023, Pottery Barn, the U.S.-based furniture retailer, teamed up with Julia Berolzheimer to showcase its kid’s product line. With a whopping one million Instagram followers, Julia wields influence over millennial moms, designers, and folks keen on home decor. Exactly the audience Pottery Barn aimed for.

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A post shared by Pottery Barn Kids (@potterybarnkids)

Julia’s aesthetic videos and images on Instagram, combined with some cool product giveaways, got her followers hyped up and engaged. The campaign was such a hit that it prompted the brand to dive into a second collaboration with Julia, hitting an even larger audience this time. One of her posts raked in over 13k likes from her followers.

Parenting influencers

Curious about what it’s like to get advice from someone who’s navigated the parenting mayhem you’re currently diving into? That’s where moms and dads step in. Your go-to influencers dropping nuggets of wisdom on tackling the parenting game, easing your workload, and juggling the whole work-life gig.

Interestingly, these parenting influencers are everywhere in travel, fashion, finance, or any sector targeting millennials. 

Tabitha Brown x Target 

Target, a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, collaborated with parenting influencer Tabitha Brown to reach out to a female audience, primarily moms, to promote their products like kitchenware, home essentials, and more. Brown boasts over four million followers on Instagram and is a big hit among moms.

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A post shared by Tabitha Brown (@iamtabithabrown)

As a part of the collaboration, Brown would pop into Target from time to time to meet the customers, sign products, and create content to build online buzz. She even launched her product collections, including outdoor furniture, candles, vegan food items, and more, and promoted them through this partnership.  

Sports and fitness 

From sports brands to diet plans, workout programs, and all things health and wellness – social media is currently dominated by sports and fitness influencers. It’s a crazy competitive scene, and brands are going the extra mile, reaching out to health-conscious folks and running clubs to spread the word from the ground up.

These influencers are highly effective in promoting fitness products as their audience mimics everything they do to look fitter. Whether it’s what they eat, the exercise routines they swear by, their workout outfits, or even simple hacks that make gym life easier. You’ll see their followers want to know everything. 

Asics X Michelle Pillepich

Asics strategically joined forces with micro-influencer Michelle Pillepich, an intuitive eating dietitian for runners. Michelle curates compelling content, sharing everything from nutritious lunch ideas to pre and post-run snacks tailored for early-morning runners and insights on why individuals shouldn’t stress about food during the holidays.

While Asics has historically been synonymous with athletes, the brand is undergoing a transformative shift, recognizing the contemporary fusion of sports and fitness into our daily lives.

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A post shared by Michelle | Intuitive Eating Dietitian for Runners (@michellepillepichnutrition)

Beyond that, Michelle offers valuable insights for those navigating mental health challenges, advocating for the transformative impact of small, consistent actions. She seamlessly integrates Asics into this narrative, portraying the brand as an embodiment of holistic well-being.

Types of influencers based on their affinity with brand 

Everyday shoppers 

Everyday shoppers are the people who love to share their opinions about their favourite products and services. They can be your family, peers, or existing customers who talk about their genuine experience after using a product. 

What makes them stand out? They are authentic as they are truly interested in your brand and have been buying your product for a long time, compared to professional influencers introduced to your brand at the time of collaboration. They might not have a zillion followers, but people rely on their product reviews and ratings. 

Everyday shoppers x Kraft Heinz

The multinational food company Kraft Heinz taps into the community of everyday shoppers to generate authentic product reviews. In 2020, the brand sent samples of its eight newly launched dressings to the shoppers on Bazaarvoice’s Influenster and asked them to share their experience. The brand knew getting customers to talk about the product was the best way to gain traction. 

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A post shared by Stephany J | Dallas Beauty + Lifestyle (@its.stephj)

By doing so, the brand created massive awareness, reviews, visual content and social buzz for its new dressings. The result: 

• 20,000 reviews 
• 369,000 social posts 
• 98,000 pieces of UGC
• 39 million impression 

“Hearing directly from consumers about their experiences is a powerful way for us to identify specific attributes that people enjoy about our products and to make changes and improvements based on their feedback,” said Elizabeth Northrup, Associate Brand Manager for the three brands — Kraft Dressings Vinaigrettes, Twisted Ranch and Bitten. 

Employees 

Turning your employees into influencers is like having your team step up right in front of the brand logo. Because people trust human-to-human connections more than just dealing with a logo. Plus, when you add up all your employees’ social media reach, it’s likely way bigger than the brand on its own.

When your employees are out there boosting engagement on social media, it’s all about authenticity and credibility. That can set you apart from the competition because the real people behind it are making waves

Fitness instructors x Peloton 

At-home-fitness brand Peloton doesn’t spend on influencer marketing, technically. Instead, they leverage the influence of their fitness instructors to build hype on social media. The Peloton instructors are no less than influencers, as they have a significant following on social media to promote Peloton at-home fitness classes and online coaching to build solid customer relationships.

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A post shared by Jessica King (@jesskingnyc)

“It’s a very important way to connect with our members in real-time,” Alex Toussaint, a senior Peloton cycling instructor, told BusinessInsider. “For certain rides where you have thousands of members, it’s hard to give shout-outs to everyone. Social media is another way you can connect with those members.”

Product collaborators

Product collaborators are influencers that partner with your brand to launch products. They give their insights on packaging, design, and production of the product so you can create products your audience would be interested in. 

Take Dunkin’ Donuts, for example. They’re bringing in these different types of influencers to get the expert scoop on what products would hit the sweet spot with the audience. Whether it’s a fresh new drink, a menu game-changer, or something that’s already an influencer favorite, these collaborators are the real deal.

Molly Mae x Beauty Works 

Molly Mae, a prominent beauty influencer, initially served as the brand ambassador for Beauty Works, a UK-based hair extension company. Later, she was elevated to the role of a product collaborator. With a substantial follower count exceeding seven million, Molly Mae effectively connects Beauty Works with a specific audience passionate about beauty and haircare. 

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A post shared by Molly-Mae Hague (@mollymae)

Leveraging her extensive following, she furnishes the brand with valuable audience insights, allowing Beauty Works to tailor products precisely to customer preferences. A single post by Molly Mae generated over 100k engagements, showcasing her significant impact on the brand’s reach and engagement.

Types of influencers based on channel format 

Game streamers 

Gaming influencers are an obvious choice for gaming brands selling products like gaming chairs, laptops, consoles, etc. But non-gaming folks like GrubHub, Domino’s, Spotify, and Samsung are also jumping on the gaming bandwagon, teaming up with gamers to spread the word about their products.

Hershey x Ninja and DrLupo

Let’s take Hershey’s, for instance. They’re not your typical gaming company, but they got clever at Twitchcon, a big gaming sports event. They partnered with top gaming creators Ninja and DrLupo to hype up their Reese’s Pieces chocolate bars. As part of the partnership, both the creators did a collaborative live stream where they played games together. The live stream was to share the message that Ninja and DrLupo are amazing duos, just like Hershey’s and Reese’s. 

Source: YouTube

Podcasters 

Unlike your usual influencers, podcasters dive deep into specific topics, giving you a real talk experience. They have a tight-knit community of folks who love audio content, a prime spot for brands to shine.

Podcasts aren’t restricted to having big names on the show but are also about laid-back chats with other types of influencers or experts in the field, forming real connections with the audience that’s totally into it. 

The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast x Fabletics 

Febletics, the yoga wear brand founded by Kate Hudson, sponsors episodes by The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show. The podcast, founded by lifestyle blogger and influencer Lauryn Evarts Bosstick and her husband, Michael Bosstick, covers various topics including business development, wellness and more.

Fabletics sponsors the episodes and offers exclusive offers to podcast listeners to boost its sales. The brand’s partnership with the podcast helped it tap into the community of 183k listeners on Instagram alone. 

Key opinion leaders (KOLs) 

Cchefs, doctors, nutritionists, authors, and journalists. These aren’t your average Joe’s. They’re the go-to experts, the Key opinion eaders (KOLs) in their game. They are good at what they do and have a solid fan base backing them up.

Think about tapping into that goldmine of credibility and positive vibes they’ve got going on. It’s about turning their expertise into a powerful connection with customers.

Journalists x Squigs Beauty 

Squigs Beauty rolled into the scene in 2023 with their beauty products. Founder and CEO Nikita Charuza pitched the brand to influential beauty editors and journalists who are also social media stars. Beauty editor Phoebe Bain joined forces with Squigs Beauty, dropping an article and featuring the brand on her socials.

If you haven't read @notnotphoebe's series on Challenger Brands for AdAge you are missing out!

This installment features a cool brand and a cool expert, my friend and colleague, the one and only @emcho41. https://t.co/dinul6EpJj

— Natalie Sportelli (@N_Sportelli) February 15, 2023

The move took Squigs Beauty to the top of the DTC (direct-to-consumer) beauty space.  

What to look for in influencers before collaborating

With a sea of influencers out there, how do you pick the right one? Here’s the scoop: check their core audience, past collaborations, real and ghost followers, engagement, brand affinity, audience distribution, follower growth, and what falls within your budget.

Better still, AI-driven influencer marketing platforms like Bazaarvoice affable.ai give you detailed insights about these different types of influencers, letting you know if they’d be a good fit for your brand.

FEATURED MASTERCLASS

How to update your influencer marketing program for 2024

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This doesn’t mean influencer marketing is dead or that it’s no longer a solid strategy, not by any means. It simply means it’s evolved in a new direction.

Chapters:

1. Who is an influencer?
2. What does influencer collaboration mean?
3. Why you should collaborate with influencers
4. Factors to consider when collaborating with influencers
5. How to collaborate with influencers
6. Brands nailing their influencer collaborations
7. Collaborate with the right influencer(s) for best results

Our research shows that social media stars and celebrities no longer have as much influence over consumer purchasing behavior as they used to. Instead, shoppers are more likely to trust smaller influencers and everyday creators to share authentic brand reviews, and would rather buy products they promote over recommendations from bigger accounts.

Specifically, we found that 42% of customers would buy products recommended by everyday social media users (like them). Flip the script, and only 7% would purchase items recommended by celebrities.

The takeaway? Your influencer collaboration efforts will drive more results if you feature user-generated content from regular social media users more often than their celebrity counterparts. Done right, and influencer marketing helps you reach a wider audience, improve brand awareness, and generate demand for your products and services.

Who is an influencer?

An influencer, or a creator, is a social media personality with in-depth knowledge, credibility, or understanding of a particular topic and an audience of dedicated followers, who create content that’s shared via social media.

As more people grow distrustful of big accounts though, the individuals consumers look to as sources of influence are changing. 

Regular social media users (like you and your peers) now have the capacity to “influence” others as much as — if not more — than typical influencers. And as our research suggests, anyone who can convince potential customers of a brand by advocating for it on social media is an influencer (regardless of their follower count).

What does influencer collaboration mean?

Collaborating with influencers is all about paying them in cash or in kind to create user-generated content (UGC) — social imagery, product reviews, and videos created by an individual rather than a brand — promoting your brand’s products and services. 

As of 2022, the global influencer marketing industry had a market value of $16.4 billion. But influencer collaboration isn’t always effective for brands, especially if you choose them without truly understanding their potential impact or considering factors like your target audience and niche. 

Build successful influencer collaborations by learning why they work and applying best practices — like product sampling and affiliate marketing — to your campaign plan.

Why you should collaborate with influencers

Influencers have loyal followers and fans, and can have a wide reach. Collaborating with them gives you the opportunity to convert their audience into your customers and brand advocates. 

Influencers → sales + brand awareness + wider reach + authenticity

To generate sales

The right influencers improve your overall sales because they can convince their fanbase to buy your products or services.

Say you sell gym wear and are looking to drive more purchases and improve recurring revenue. If you partner with an Instagram influencer whose content is centered around working out or playing sports, their followers will be interested in buying your gym wear.

To improve brand awareness

Aside from purchases, which aren’t always immediate, influencers help you improve your brand awareness — so customers remember you when they have to recommend a product or are ready to buy.

Take travel influencers, for example — tourism brands frequently work with them to promote trips. But traveling requires some planning and saving, so most people can’t just hop on a plane and call it a day. 

Instead, many potential travelers will save the posts and follow the brand’s page until they’re ready or send it to friends who are planning vacations or a honeymoon.

To reach a wider audience

Digital marketing is a numbers game — the more people you reach, the wider your pool of potential customers. So, when you’re expanding into a new market or launching a new product, working with influencers is a quick way to introduce your brand to a pool of new people and grow market share. 

Influencers are also perfect for amplifying your brand message during a holiday or festive campaign because they’ll be riding the wave of an occasion that many people appreciate.

One post from the right influencer in your desired niche and ideal customers you could never have reached through your brand’s account will begin to flock to your page.

To provide authenticity

Your brand is no longer what you say it is. As much as you might like to think you control your messaging and reputation, your brand is what consumers say it is. Shoppers want to see authentic content from other shoppers, which is where influencers come in.

Influencers, especially the micro influencers and subject matter experts on niche topics, are creating unfiltered, unpaid, hoenst content. They’re wearing clothes they like, because they like them. They’re taking photos of their homes because they enjoy the decor. Consumes are seeing real products, used in real life. It’s the UGC they want to see — there’s a 135% increase in conversion rate when shoppers engaged with content from their peer

4 factors to consider when collaborating with influencers

According to Oracle research, 37% of customers trust social media influencers over businesses, so working with them is a great way to get people interested in your brand offerings. 

But just as the right influencers can build your brand equity, the wrong influencers can mar your business reputation. Choose the best influencers to collaborate with by considering these four key factors. 

1. Ideal customer profile

Studies have shown that humans are drawn to people with similar interests, and this explains why there’s so many social media influencers in the first place. We all want to connect with people we relate to.

So, when selecting influencers for your brand, keep an image of your ideal customer in mind. Make sure there’s an overlap between your target customer, the influencer(s) you plan to use, and their audience. Consider demographics like age, interests, location, gender, and more.

Also, look out for the channels an influencer is most active on to see whether they align with where your potential customers spend most of their time.

Influencers already contribute a great deal to campaign success — they help you expose your brand and products to a wider audience (their fanbase). With a great customer-influencer fit, though, you will be doubling down on the relatability factor, leading to better engagement and conversion rates.

This dynamic explains why an influencer dedicated to movie reviews would be better for promoting a new show vs. a content creator who creates style inspiration posts. The movie reviewer already has a loyal audience of fellow movie lovers and critics who will likely be on the lookout for their next watch — unlike the style content creator, whose followers will be more fashion-oriented.

2. An influencers’ values and belief system

According to Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer, 58% of customers will buy or advocate for brands that align with their beliefs. What this stat shows is that, to reach and convert your ideal customers, you need to show that your brand values align with theirs — and influencer collaboration is one way to do that.

Choose influencers that reflect your brand values and those of your target audience, from their approach to family life to shared faith to their stance on social issues, equal rights, and more. Also, prevent brand image dissonance by aligning your marketing messages and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities with your target audience’s belief systems. 

Like customer-influencer fit, influencer-value fit aids relatability and contributes to higher engagement and conversions. It helps you meet customers where they are via the influencers they follow or consider familiar.

3. Follower count

It’s easy to assume that the more followers an influencer has, the more results they’ll be able to drive. But that’s not always the case. Both mega and nano influencers are beneficial, but as we’ve learned before, in today’s world of distrustful customers and big influencers with disengaged followers, smaller influencers yield better results and are more trustworthy. 

According to our influencer research, engagement rates are lower for bigger accounts (1.6%) than for smaller accounts (8.8%), so you should consider ditching them for their less popular counterparts. You can also explore a hybrid model — using both mega and nano influencers.

Your company goals, budget, and campaign ideas should also influence whether you collaborate with a small influencer, a big social media star, or a mix of the two. 

4. Budget/payment

Before reaching out to any influencer to create content for you, always consider your budget and how much they’ll be looking to collect as payment.

Some influencers have rate cards, so you can pick the package that works best for your campaign and budget. You can also share your campaign budget with influencers — and they’ll accept your offer if they like it.

It’s also up to you to decide and agree with the influencer to pay all at once, in installments, or with a combination of cash, products, lifestyle experiences, and referral bonuses. And lastly, determine whether you want to use influencers for a short-term campaign or long-term brand ambassadorships so you can negotiate a payment plan that works for all parties.

How to collaborate with influencers

A good brand influencer collaboration begins with a good strategy. Considering how much value it provides, collaborating with influencers is definitely a smart choice for brands. But there’s a few best practices to keep in mind to ensure you get the most ROI out of the relationship. 

1. Set clear campaign goals

The first and most critical aspect of influencer collaboration is determining the specific business goals you want to achieve from the partnership. 

Are you a small business looking to grow your social media following? Do you want to drive traffic to your online store? Do you want to grow your brand ambassador program? Are you trying to launch a new product line or establish your brand in a new location?

Whatever your marketing goals are, clearly outline them and use them to inform every decision you make — from choosing influencers to drawing up a budget and establishing a project timeline. These goals will help you track the progress and results of your campaign and show you when it’s time to change strategy or double down on an activity. 

2. Find the right influencers for your brand

Finding the most relevant influencer to collaborate with is a huge determinant of whether or not your influencer campaign will be successful. Choose wrong, and your campaign may fall short of expectations.

There’s many ways to approach the great task of finding and contacting the right influencers for your brand, but here’s what works best for our customers:

• Leverage an existing community. The Influenster App for example is a dedicated community of over 7.5 million everyday creators and shoppers, who are always ready to help create authentic UGC for your brand in exchange for product samples
• Explore influencer management apps. For example, Promoty and Afluencer let you search their robust influencer directories, select your top picks, collaborate with them, and track their performance 
• Search social media platforms. From Instagram to Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, you can find influencers and everyday users that match your brand, goals, budget, and campaign ideas — start by searching hashtags or your tagged photos
• Study the competition. Check out your top competitors and see which influencers work for them, so you can use it as a jumping-off point for your own campaign(s)

While picking an influencer sourcing strategy, make sure to remember the top considerations: changing customer expectations, your target audience, influencer niche and follower count, and your budget.

3. Sample your products with influencers and collect their feedback

Product sampling allows your influencers to test your products and services first, so they’re not promoting items they know nothing about or haven’t used themselves.

After they’ve sampled products, get your influencers to rate them and make text or video reviews, which they’ll post on their pages. These ratings and reviews will serve as social proof and go a long way in giving potential customers (new and returning) confidence in your product quality. 

After your influencers rate cand review the products you send them, prompt them to post on their pages and create a plan to reuse their content on other channels.

4. Engage and amplify your brand influencers’ content

Engaging and amplifying the branded and user-generated content your influencers create will improve its reach and help you get the most value from your partnership.

Like, comment, and share their posts on your official social media via Instagram Stories, retweets, and more. Also, reply to questions and comments about your brand from their followers — these give a more organic feel to the influencer content.

Another strategy you can use is to run sponsored ads with the content. Or get permission from your influencer(s) to turn their content into galleries on your product pages. You should also syndicate their content across all your sales platforms (website, reseller sites, social media shops, and more) to inspire purchase decisions everywhere shoppers are.

5. Offer your influencers affiliate links and signup codes

Give influencers more incentive to promote your brand by offering them affiliate links and discount codes (along with their regular payment). They’ll earn a commission if their followers make a purchase using their links or codes.

If you attach a discount to the affiliate link or signup code, you’ll also encourage customers to take advantage of the bargain while simultaneously supporting their favorite creators. This strategy works especially well when tied to special celebrations like holidays or anniversaries. 

Say you run a retail chain, and December is just around the corner. You can partner with a family life influencer to promote a Christmas decoration discount code for 10% off each purchase for a limited time frame. Throw in an offer for the influencer, like a 5% commission on each purchase made using their code, and you have yourself a golden goose — a recurring revenue model that works like a charm.

6. Collaborate with influencers to promote special offers and campaigns

If you’re running a special offer or campaign, collaborating with influencers will help increase its reach and drive sales because their fanbase will be incentivized to engage with it.

Some effective options to explore include:

• Discounts. Say you have a lot of old items in stock and need to sell them out so you can restock newer, fresher items. You can slash the price of the old stock in half and promote the sale by bringing an influencer on board. Everybody loves a good bargain, so you’ll be sure to convert a good number of their followers into buyers or prospects at the very least
• Branded hashtags, social media challenges, and giveaways. This strategy tends to have a wildfire effect, especially when paired with mouthwatering giveaways like free products or cash prizes. People love to jump on trends when they see their friends joining and winning interesting gifts, so it works very well across different industries
• Exclusive product launches, whether online or offline, drive FOMO and use scarcity to drive demand and sales
• Social media account takeovers give you the opportunity to transfer followers and engagement to your brand page based on your influencers’ goodwill and reputation
• Special product lines exclusive to influencer relationships are also a good approach to take. For example, in 2019, PrettyLittleThing collaborated with Love Island star Molly-Mae to release her own clothing collection. The partnership was a huge success, with some of the items selling out within 24 hours

In the end, you can’t try every single tactic all at once. Your original campaign goals and budget will help you streamline your activities so you don’t get distracted or sucked into every “interesting” trend.

7. Ask for your influencers’ creative and strategic input on campaigns

A successful influencer collaboration is a partnership, not a dictatorship. The last thing you want is for your influencer content to come off as forced or out of touch with reality. Avoid this outcome and create campaigns that resonate with your target audience and align with trending issues by collecting creative and strategic input from your influencers. 

Discussing campaign ideas with your influencers also prevents rookie mistakes regarding what people find offensive or acceptable. 

Also, it’s important to give influencers the flexibility and freedom to create in their own element so the content they produce is authentic and relatable because authenticity is what today’s shoppers demand.

But first, educate each influencer about your brand and offerings so they’re giving suggestions from an informed perspective. 

Depending on your business type, you can send your chosen influencers product samples or give them access to test out your software so they can get familiar with it. You can also host them at your office or in a virtual forum to give them a brand crash course. Whatever you choose, the goal is to get the influencers’ most creative, strategic, and on-brand advice to make your campaign as effective as possible.

8. Nurture influencer and customer relationships beyond work and sales

All work and no play is really not fun. Gain the loyalty of your influencers — and by extension, their followers — by strengthening the relationship outside of work and sales-oriented activities. 

For example, you can send them messages and flowers, cards, or gift boxes on their birthdays or during holidays. If you’ve worked with an influencer for a while, you can also sponsor their community events or celebrate your partnership anniversaries — monthly, quarterly, or yearly. 

And the best part is that they can also use these celebrations to create content, showing customers the humane side of your brand.

In late 2022, fast-rising social media star and Crocs influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa invited young men in his community to a party tagged #EnisBrunchWithTheBoys. To support the event, Crocs gave every attendee a pair of Crocs.

9. Review your influencer collaboration consistently

A particular influencer might make a good collaboration for your business today but then be above your budget or misaligned with your positioning tomorrow. The lesson here is that maintaining the effectiveness of your influencer relationships hinges on regularly auditing them.

Ask yourself these important questions regularly to identify when it’s time to make changes to your current processes:

• Am I collaborating with the right influencers for my brand’s target audience?
• Budget-wise, can we afford to keep engaging this influencer on a long-term basis?
• Has this influencer said or done anything recently that constitutes bad PR for my business?
• Do I need to add more influencers or reduce their number?
• Should I be working with smaller creators with a more niche audience or larger influencers with a wider reach?

Remember, stopping work with an influencer or pausing all your influencer marketing activities isn’t always a bad thing. It could simply mean that they’re no longer a fit for your business, or you’re done with the specific campaign you brought them in for. 

Another good reason for reviewing your influencer partnerships is to re-strategize and update your marketing plan so you’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks. Intentionality is the only factor separating you from being busy and incurring expenses without realizing you’re losing a lot of money on unprofitable tactics.

10. Get inspiration from other brands (but don’t copy and paste)

Many brands are already running effective influencer collaborations. And while you don’t have to copy them hook, line, and sinker, you can definitely pick a thing or two from their playbooks.

Study brands in your niche to find out what they’re doing right and see how you can incorporate some of their processes into your strategy. For example, many modern e-commerce brands leverage user-generated content from “everyday influencers,” while beauty brands are known for leveraging referral and discount codes in their campaigns. These are trends you can easily adopt into your marketing plan.

You can also check out marketing case studies to get novel ideas and tweak them to fit your specific needs. Think of Coca-Cola’s widely successful “Share a Coke” campaign — the soft drinks brand drove sales by simply branding its bottles with common names that instantly caught shoppers’ interest.

Borrowing a leaf from Coca-Cola’s campaign and incorporating personalization into your influencer marketing strategy can play out in different ways, but here’s one interesting idea.

A clothing brand could create custom shirts or hoodies with its influencers’ names printed on them so they’d create content wearing them. The whole campaign would then be centered around driving potential customers to a site for pre-ordering items with their names on them or publicizing a giveaway for limited-edition customized clothes.

Brands nailing their influencer collaborations

Still need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing for your (next) influencer collaboration? Check out these brands and their wildly different approaches to collaborating with influencers.

Mint Mobile uses humor and affordability to engage audiences and boost sales

Recently acquired by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile offers a pocket-friendly, prepaid wireless phone plan for US residents at just $15/month or $180/year. The company was formerly owned by TV star Ryan Reynolds, who served as its major influencer, frequently creating hilarious (and sometimes unhinged) video ads for Mint Mobile’s social media.

Along with Reynolds’ humorous promotions, the brand occasionally shares user-generated content from small but influential accounts like WhistleOut U.S. (Sherri Riggs), which posts videos comparing cell phone plans and pricing. 

A now-defunct page on Influence.co also suggests that Mint Mobile once leveraged micro- and nano-influencers to promote its services. And in 2022, the brand made waves on social media for sending customers physical Christmas cards and temporary tattoos featuring Reynolds’ face.

If nothing else, a telecommunications giant like T-Mobile being confident enough to commit $1.35 billion to acquire Mint Mobile shows that it was definitely doing something right. 

In an official announcement video, the Deadpool actor stated — in his usual comedic way — that T-Mobile had assured him that it was going to keep Mint Mobile’s “incredibly improvised and borderline reckless” messaging strategy. And the brand’s two to three million subscribers are likely waiting to see if Mint will live up to this promise. Fingers crossed!

Petco improves revenue numbers via “everyday influencer” gifting

Petco is a pet health and wellness company. In a bid to increase its SEO impact, Petco launched a product sampling program in addition to its existing user-generated content solutions.

If you were wondering about how effective sending product samples in exchange for UGC would be, look no further than Petco.

After investing in a sampling program focused on everyday influencers — social media users who were also Petco shoppers — using Bazaarvoice’s hyper-targeted audience selection capability, the brand increased revenue by 48%.

Petco also recorded other critical successes, like a 140% improvement in organic search impressions and a 67% increase in organic page rankings, among others.

You can find more interesting influencer marketing success stories here

Collaborate with the right influencer(s) for best results

True to their name, the right influencers have the uncanny ability to sell their followers on a product or brand. Leverage these micro-communities within larger social networks to promote your business and scale.

You could go all out with a big-ticket influencer collaboration, building and nurturing a hybrid model from scratch. But from our experience with scaling UGC strategies over the years, we’ll recommend this low-hanging-fruit approach instead:

• Start with small influencers or everyday social media users that require minimal capital investment
• If you have the budget and feel the need to scale up your influencer marketing, add bigger accounts to the mix later on

What we don’t recommend, especially for e-commerce brands, is collaborating with influencers solely like celebrities or social media stars — it’s expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to maintain. 

Enter Bazaarvoice. With our custom-built products, you can find everyday social media users, creators, and shoppers who will sample your products and create reusable user-generated content for you.

Collaborating with influencers is just step one. Want to turn strategy into action? Follow our step by step guide to crafting an influencer strategy.

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How to create an effective influencer marketing strategy

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• Nano-influencers (1K–10K followers)
• Micro-influencers (10K–100K followers)
• Macro-influencers (100K–1M followers)
• Mega or celebrity influencers (1M+ followers)

This listicle features influencer marketing examples from across the spectrum, to help you decide on the right influencer strategy for your brand.

Chapters:

1. What is influencer marketing?
2. The best influencer marketing examples from 2022
3. Thrive in 2023 with influencer marketing campaigns

Think of the brands that captured your attention — and maybe your e-wallet — this year. Chances are, you remember the influencer marketing examples that got you to notice those brands in the first place.

From solopreneurs and startups to decades-old enterprises, companies have embraced influencers as brand partners. By the end of 2022, businesses in the U.S. spent a total of $5 billion on influencer marketing, according to Insider Intelligence. And they’ll spend another cool $6.16 billion next year.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of digital or social media marketing that uses endorsements and product placements from influencers — individuals who have a large social media following or are experts within a niche. A few trends are driving the rise of influencer marketing.

• More brands now aim to attract Gen Z — the digital-native generation that’s entering the workforce and gaining more spending power — and millennials
• Nano- and micro-influencers have proven they can engage audiences and deliver high ROI, allowing businesses with smaller budgets to run influencer marketing campaigns
• Shoppers either buy online or are researching online before purchasing in person
• Tech like shoppable content has made it easier to tie influencer posts to sales

Influencer marketing is no longer a fad, it’s here to stay. And as we move deeper into the creator based economy, its value is only going to rise. But don’t worry, it’s never too late to get started.

The best influencer marketing examples from the year

Take a look at these examples of how brands used these trends (and more), to inspire your influencer marketing strategy for 2023.

1. Samsonite urges people to take their PTO and disconnect from work

In the summer of 2022, Samsonite launched its “Take What’s Yours” campaign after learning that 72% of U.S. adults had used less than half of their annual vacation days. The brand created videos that transformed vacation responder emails into manifestos to encourage people to take their paid time off (PTO). The manifesto videos, which showed people traveling with Samsonite luggage, got more than 3.4 million views on YouTube. 

Dozens of TikTok and Instagram influencers created content for the campaign. Some creators satirized PTO discussions between employees and bosses, while others gave pep talks. They encouraged viewers to take their PTO and claim their right to unplug while on vacation. 

Corporate Natalie, a creator of corporate comedy skits, created an all too relatable video where she passive-aggressively reminded her boss and colleagues that she wasn’t going to be working while on PTO. To date, it’s had over 66,000 views.

The influencers’ content featured Samsonite luggage and the hashtag #TakeWhatsYours. Audiences really engaged with the videos — comment sections showed viewers relating to the content and asking about the featured luggage. 

@corporatenatalie It appears the team is struggling to allow me to unplug. Take what’s yours this summer and set that OOO, log off and enjoy your PTO with @samsoniteusa #samsonitepartner #takewhatsyours #corporate #pto ♬ original sound – CorporateNatalie

During the campaign, the number of new users visiting shop.samsonite.com rose by 97% and branded searches for Samsonite increased by 78%. Samsonite also gained 35,000 new followers on TikTok.

In its earnings report for Q3 2022, Samsonite said that sales for its luggage and for the company’s other brands like Tumi surpassed pre-pandemic sales (Q3 2019) for the first time. The strong sales reflected people’s eagerness to travel again, as well as the success of Samsonite’s marketing efforts during the quarter, including the “Take What’s Yours” campaign.

Lesson learned: Encourage audiences to make a positive change with stories and sass

Samsonite’s campaign didn’t directly ask customers to buy luggage. Instead, the brand and its influencers encouraged people to do something good for themselves by taking the PTO they already own. The message was related to a cause — not a radical one, but one that improves people’s mental well-being. Even though the tone was motivational and light-hearted, the campaign sought to change the status quo of not taking enough time off.

This is movement marketing in action, a rising trend where brands fuel action among their customers to change things for the better. To inspire a movement, brands must evoke emotion and encourage audience involvement, according to Deloitte analysts. Marketers who focus on purpose and movements must be clear about the problem, the desired change, the brand’s stand, and the action they want to inspire.

Companies typically embark on movement marketing for three main reasons. When a cause,

1. Matters to their audience
2. Reflects their brand values
3. Gives their brand visibility

If you tick those boxes, consider rallying your audience to take steps towards a positive change — one they can achieve with your product’s help. 

Amplify the message by hiring outspoken influencers, especially those with a history of advocating for similar causes. Give them creative freedom to transform your message into content that’s consistent with their style and tailored to their audience’s tastes. 

Maintain an even tone when you deliver your rallying cry. A study of thousands of influencer marketing examples on Chinese platform Weibo showed that brands maximize the ROI of influencer marketing when they express a medium level of positivity, among other strategies. Samsonite hit the mark with its influencers’ mix of sarcasm, humor, and inspiration.

(The researchers chose to study a platform in China because the country has one of the world’s most sophisticated influencer industries).

2. Petco makes livestream shopping events fun and educational

For Halloween this year, Petco, a retailer of pet products, promoted its Bootique collection with a livestream shopping event on YouTube. The half-hour event took on a TV show format. Host Antoni Porowski — whom you might know from Queer Eye — met animals that needed adopting, interviewed a vet, took viewers behind the scenes of a pet photo shoot, and even paused for a commercial break. 

The event was both entertaining and educational. Porowski and his ‘guests’ shared tips on keeping pets safe and comfortable when out trick or treating, choosing costumes for animals, and picking out Halloween treats for your furry pals. Whenever Porowski showed a product for sale, a shoppable link popped up on the video and in the sidebar, and Petco’s team shared product links on the live chat.

Lesson learned: Experiment with livestream shopping formats to keep audiences engaged

Livestream shopping doesn’t have to be all about hard selling. Petco uses livestream shopping events as a chance to entertain, educate, and inspire customers, said Jay Altschuler, Vice President of Media Transformation at Petco, in an interview with Total Retail. 

When considering these events’ format, Petco looks at how they function as, “more than just a single moment in time. We engage pet parents and create excitement for our brand in the live event, then extend the experience to even more pet parents through a mix of organic, paid, commerce, and influencer marketing,” added Altschuler.

And consumers are here for it. In our survey of over 10,000 global shoppers, we found that 51% are most excited about livestream shopping compared to digital shopping experiences fuelled by AR, VR, and the metaverse. Revenue from livestream e-commerce in the U.S. alone is projected to grow from $20 billion in 2022 to $57 billion in 2025.

With many brands hawking products on livestream, you can stand out by experimenting with content forms. Add elements like stories, music, games, comedy, and live event coverage. Choose a format that clicks with your audience and showcases your products’ features.

Having a beloved influencer as a host will help build up hype for the event and promote it to a larger audience. For example, choosing an influencer with knowledge and enthusiasm will when marketing your products. Petco, for example, chose Antoni Porowski not just for his celebrity but also for his influence among the pet parent community. His rescue dog (Neon) has appeared on Queer Eye and has almost 100,000 followers on Instagram! That’s 99,435 more than I have.

Lastly, place shoppable links in several parts of the screen to make it easier for viewers to view product details and place orders during the live event. Viewers can also reserve items through live chat. Our 2022 Shopper Experience Index shows that 54% of consumers are more likely to shop on social media if they can click on a post and get product info without leaving the platform. 

3. Pegai reveals the secrets of its trade

If you’re a founder or solopreneur, your business is likely built on your skill or craft. That makes you a subject-matter expert in your industry. 

The same is true for Volkan Yilmaz, owner of Pegai, a leather goods company. Volkan goes by the name Tanner Leatherstein on social media. He posted his first TikTok video in August 2021 and has since gained over 530,000 followers.

In his videos, Volkan discusses the quality of leather and the craftsmanship that goes into making leather goods. He gained fame when he started literally dissecting leather bags on camera, including products by luxury brands, to find out how much they were worth. Viewers loved the honesty.

@tanner.leatherstein Feeling is the secret! -> -> -> = #leathermonk #shares #secrets #leathercrafts #leathergoods #feelit #quality #natureleather #smartshopping ♬ Feel It – Michele Morrone

Volkan has also used his channel to promote Pegai products. One premium product line, a bag made from three kinds of leather, sold out fast after he showed it to his followers. They’ve repeatedly asked him to launch a new batch. 

When Volkan promotes his own goods, he treats them with the same transparency as he does when inspecting other brands’ leather products. He tells you the types of leather he uses and how much the raw materials and labor cost. In July this year, Volkan moved Pegai into an 8,000-sq-ft warehouse to expand the business.

Lesson learned: Be your own influencer

For Pegai, educational videos work as a marketing tool because the brand needs to teach shoppers to see beyond trendy designs and recognize quality materials and craftsmanship. As Volkan said when he appeared on The E-Comm Show podcast, “Eventually people understand if you’re really trying to help them, then they come back to your brand, they trust you, they buy your stuff.”

If you have little budget for influencer marketing or need to educate your target market about your goods or services, try being your brand’s own influencer by sharing your knowledge as an example. In doing so, you build trust with your target market. Our survey of 9,000 global shoppers revealed that 39% of respondents trust influencers who are subject-matter experts (like Volkan) for their authentic content and product reviews. And 35% will buy products based on those influencers’ recommendations. 

You don’t need much equipment to start — you only need your phone’s camera and space to demonstrate your craft and knowledge. Your followers crave transparency and info, and overproducing the videos will achieve the opposite effect. 

Take it from Andrea Cheong, a TikToker with a searingly honest take on the relationship between fashion and sustainability. Andrea visits stores to check out clothing tags and educate her viewers on the quality and sustainability of the materials. As a journalist who used to work in the fashion industry, she knows what to look for.

In most of her content, Andrea simply holds her phone in front of herself, talks to the camera, and shows videos of clothing tags and details. But that doesn’t matter to audiences — it’s her opinions, knowledge, and advice that count, judging by her number of followers (222,000 on TikTok).

4. Chipotle finds a true fan in Corn Kid

In August, Recess Therapy, an Instagram-based show for kids, featured a boy who gushed about his love for corn. The clip of the seven-year-old kid, Tariq, went viral, and brands joined the conversation by creating memes about the Corn Kid — even though some didn’t have corn in their products. 

Chipotle didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon with yet another meme reaction. They reached out to Tariq and his mom and learned that he visited Chipotle weekly to get a rice bowl with roasted chili corn salsa, among other toppings. Chipotle had found a true fan who happened to be the star of the hour. The resulting ad was a fun but natural segue in the Corn Kid saga.

Wait for it pic.twitter.com/4ivkt8YJMy

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) August 27, 2022

When Chipotle released the ad, it became the company’s highest-performing Instagram post ever. On TikTok, the video has now been shared over 265,000 times and liked by 9.2 million people, and is the brand’s most popular organic video. The ad also earned Chipotle over 1.7 billion PR impressions.

Lesson learned: Work with influencers who are true fans of your brand

Reactions to a meme and a trending hashtag give your brand visibility. But if you force the angle, your content can backfire. Neiv Toledano, the Social Media Manager at Chipotle, explained in an interview, “There has to be an ownable angle for your brand when working with viral influencers. The content must be authentic and provide real value to the creator’s and the brand’s fanbases.”

Make your reaction post relevant by getting to know the person at the center of the meme. Look for shared interests or aligned values to insert your brand into the conversation organically. One great way to find true fans is to search through influencer communities like Influenster. These communities already contain true fans of your brand, ready to create authentic content for you. Ask community managers for help with identifying your ideal brand partners.

5. Hugo Boss wins over millennials with the help of a TikTok superstar

At the start of 2022, Hugo Boss embarked on a high-stakes campaign to refresh its image in the eyes of younger consumers. It positioned its Boss brand for millennials and Hugo for Gen Z, and enlisted the help of over 200 celebrities and influencers — including Khaby Lame, a TikTok comedian with 152.4 million followers. The talents for Boss wore the signature Boss hoodie. Almost all 60,000 hoodies were sold during the campaign, making the item the best-selling single style in the company’s history. Global traffic to hugoboss.com more than doubled.

Every post is worth more than a Super Bowl ad in terms of impressions

Khaby stood out to Hugo Boss executives with his impact. Miah Sullivan, Senior VP of Global Marketing and Brand Communications, told Vogue Business, “When [Khaby] linked from his Instagram Reels to a post on Boss’s own Instagram, it received over 10 million views, which the brand didn’t pay to boost or promote. … Every post is worth more than a Super Bowl ad in terms of impressions.”

@boss @khaby.lame coming through: all doors open to this BOSS of style #BeYourOwnBOSS ♬ original sound – BOSS

As a result, Boss took their partnership further by launching a capsule collection with Khaby in June. They celebrated with a launch party in a nightclub in Milan so fans could meet him IRL. One item, a varsity jacket with an etched drawing of Khaby’s face priced at $645, almost sold out within a week of being released globally.

Lesson learned: Attract a large audience with an organic influencer superstar

If you want to introduce your brand to a new market and attract a large audience, work with an influencer who already has a massive following across your target demographic, inspires good vibes and affinity, and tackles a broad category of trending topics. An influencer like that can combine the network effects of fame and virality while maintaining the aura of a regular person who uses and loves your product.

Khaby’s rise to fame was organic because people got his content. They shared his exasperation with overproduced social media videos while enjoying his silent comedy. This common sentiment, his quick reactions to viral trends, and the fact that his content isn’t confined to niche topics made him one of TikTok’s biggest — but still relatable — stars.

The scale of his celebrity hasn’t diminished his ability to engage viewers, either. On TikTok, mega influencers have slightly higher engagement rates (13.7%) than all other tiers of influencers. HypeAuditor, an AI-powered influencer analytics tool, estimates Khaby’s average engagement rate to be 11.47%. He gets 29.1 million views per post on average.

Hiring a mega-influencer is expensive, so choose strategically. A study of over 5,000 influencer posts showed that brands maximize influencer marketing ROI when they work with influencers who have a high follower count, post frequently but not daily, and create plenty of original content. Khaby fits the bill.

6. Casetify co-creates with celebrities and influencers of varied scales

Casetify is a hugely successful company selling tech accessories — think protective cases for smartphones, laptops, and earphone pods. The brand first became famous for letting customers personalize their phone cases. The cases appeared on many bloggers’ mirror selfies and proved their durability in recorded drop tests by vloggers. 

Over the years, Casetify has co-created capsule collections with celebrities, brands, and studios. The products attract long waitlists and sell out fast in their first release.

In 2022, Casetify also worked with smaller-scale creators like Vivian Ho, an emerging artist from Hong Kong with 33,000 Instagram followers, and Jayme, a digital art business owner from Canada who goes by the name Sleepydaze and has 28,200 YouTube subscribers and 112,000 TikTok followers. (Each has more followers than the average micro-influencer but is still considered a small-scale influencer compared to many of Casetify’s collaborators.)

On TikTok, video results for the search “Casetify Sleepydaze”, including content made by people who bought the cases, have amassed 1.3 billion views to date.

Lesson learned: Attract diverse audiences by co-creating products with influencers of all scales

Casetify already has a large customer base — the company has sold over 15 million cases since 2011 and is on track to earn $300 million in revenue this year. To find new audiences, they collaborate with influencers of all scales. 

Micro- and nano-influencers may not have massive reach, but they share specific interests with their audiences. They tend to have meaningful engagement on their social media accounts. And so large brands like Casetify can’t ignore them if they want to find new paths to growth. On YouTube, accounts with less than 15,000 followers have the highest engagement rates. While on Instagram, when we analyzed the performance of 516 of our clients, we found nano influencers have the best engagement rate.

When you co-create products with influencers, you gain new ideas, unearth the interests of your target buyers, and discover segments of your existing market that you’ve underserved. You also give influencers a more significant stake in the success of your campaigns, and they naturally want to tell their followers about the new product.

For example, give influencers the support they need to create and promote marketing collaborations with you. Casetify has an app where customers can sign up for waitlists for limited-edition collections. App users can also apply for priority access and join lucky draws for special editions of phone case designs. They can buy phone cases directly on the app, too.

Amplify the collections on social media and your website, especially if they were co-created by influencers with smaller audiences. Drive sales by making content shoppable on the platforms where you promote it.

As en example of turning an influencer marketing example into a strategy, Urban Barn, a furniture brand, inserts “Shop The Look” widgets at the bottom of webpages featuring influencer collaborations. The brand also makes images shoppable — a price tag symbol appears over furniture pieces in a single photo, and provides a pop-up with a link to product details when you click on the tag.

Urban Barn’s shoppable content

Thrive in 2024 with influencer marketing campaigns

Amid the chaos of 2023, brands have continued to sell, grow, and compete. That’s partly thanks to influencers’ help. Make the most of your marketing budget in 2024 by taking inspiration from these influencer marketing examples and the many invaluable lessons they’ve taught us. 

To get started, work with Influenster, Bazaarvoice’s global community of 7.5 million everyday shoppers who have built small but engaged audiences on social media. These shoppers provide authentic reviews, create FOMO for your events, and amplify your brand message to help you reach your ideal consumers. Learn more about this unique end-to-end influencer marketing platform here.

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How to create an effective influencer marketing strategy

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