Influencer marketing continues to rise as consumers turn to peers for brand recommendations. As brands take note of what consumers want, they’re slowly shifting toward similar styles and marketing techniques.
By using the marketing techniques of influencers, you can boost your engagement, build trust, and attract more loyal buyers.
Learn seven marketing tips from top influencer marketers for engaging and converting your buyers through content marketing.
Key Takeaways:
How much more popular are influencers than brands?
According to one survey, 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations over the 38% who trust brand content. Consumers also engage more with influencer marketing content.
So, what is their secret? Can brands generate the same response?
A 2021 research study examined why consumers follow influencers on Instagram and identified four primary reasons:
Brands can generate a similar response by tapping into these four pillars.
Use these seven content marketing strategies based on how influencers create content and why consumers follow it. These marketing tips can increase your content marketing engagement and conversions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1XHzcnH6J4
Businesses generate trust by being authentic with their followers and subscribers. As you create social media posts, blog content, and website copy, be transparent and real with your followers to generate similar trust.
Authenticity begins by having set values, beliefs, and motives. Then, stay consistent with these values.
Influencers remain authentic by giving their followers a glimpse of their lives behind the camera, such as their morning routine, lunch break, or a short clip of them at work. These snapshots of ordinary life make them more believable and transparent, helping consumers connect with them better.
Brands can give similar transparency by sharing behind-the-scenes content, showing the people behind their work, and sharing their mission and values.
Customers follow influencers and brands in search of new items to purchase. This consumerism comes from customers’ belief that purchasing goods improves their personal gratification.
A brand can cater to this by promoting products based on their benefits to customers looking for products that will benefit them and increase their happiness. Keeping content marketing customer-centric tells customers what benefits come from the products rather than just listing features.
For example, a smartwatch company that understands current healthcare trends could promote its watch by highlighting its telehealth tracking benefits rather than just listing its features.
Most brands understand the importance of educating customers so they know the full benefits of their products and services. However, content marketing should also inspire.
For example, Target uses its social media to inspire customers by showing creative ways to use products and promoting causes through the brand.
Even B2B businesses should aim to inspire buyers. For instance, showing use cases or templates could spark your buyers’ creativity when using your software.
While envy motivates consumers to follow influencers, does it also work with brands? Envy marketing produces mixed results. When used correctly, it can motivate buyers to respond. However, it can backfire if employed through unpopular celebrities or seemingly unfair circumstances.
Instead, focus on motivational marketing to ensure your envy marketing elicits a positive response. Influencers use motivational marketing not just to make followers envious of their looks, possessions, and life but share tips on how others are deserving and can achieve the same lifestyle as well.
Motivational marketing builds a bridge rather than dangling unattainable goals to increase purchasing behavior. B2B motivational marketing includes sharing realistic expectations for business growth and revenue, as well as steps for achieving these goals, rather than making extreme marketing claims.
Influencers engage personally with their audience, creating close connections. They respond to comments, give shoutouts to followers and loyal fans, and engage through live video. All these strategies also work in brand marketing.
Image from Influencer Marketing Hub
B2B brands can offer similar engagement. However, instead of focusing on social media channels like Instagram and Facebook, they might encourage engagement through LinkedIn posts, live webinars, and shareable blog posts.
Collecting and analyzing audience data can help you know what your audience responds to most so you can create audience-centric content they’re most likely to respond to.
The key to marketing success is a consistent brand voice. Your voice defines who you are, and that’s who your customers will connect with. Customers will have an easier time connecting with a brand that constantly sounds and looks the same because they can get to know the brand and the people behind it.
A consistent voice also helps influencers and brands become more recognizable. For example, MrBeast, a famous YouTuber with 154 million subscribers, consistently goes viral and attracts a large audience by sticking to a consistent format, voice, and structure that generate the most engagement.
Build your voice based on your audience and a formula you tested and know works. A B2B SaaS company will have a formal voice with a hint of personality. But if you’re a B2C ecommerce brand, use more humor and a casual voice to connect and build relationships.
Could you build a close relationship with someone you only saw four times a year? It would be challenging. The same is true for brands. The more often you share content on your website, social media, and third-party platforms, the more opportunities your audience has to get to know you and connect.
Regularly posting fresh, quality content also improves your visibility. It boosts your rankings in search engines, keeps you at the top of social media news feeds, and increases customer touchpoints, making them more likely to interact with your content.
Influencers recommend posting anywhere from several times a day to several times a week. While each influencer has a different schedule, consistency is key to building relationships.
An influencer is more than an individual with a strong following. Brands can also become influencers by building an engaged community through consistent, quality content. You'll see greater brand loyalty and conversions by transforming your marketing into brand influencer marketing.
