Working with Influencers Part 1: How to use influencer marketing positively
Influencer marketing is under more scrutiny that ever. With their carefully curated images and millions of loyal followers, influencers wield tremendous power and brands have naturally sought to utilise this.
Fyre Festival showed the negative side of this power for both consumers and businesses. The brilliantly co-ordinated Instagram marketing campaign for the “greatest party that never happened” was probably the only thing the organisers got right. As we all know, they never did manage to deliver on the buzz they had created.
The use of sponsored product placement in particular has become a widely discussed aspect of influencer culture. Jameela Jamil’s criticism of members of the Kardashian family for pushing weight-loss products reflects an increasing desire among social media users for influencers to be more responsible and honest in their sponsorship of products.
In fact, UK legislation means that influencers are now legally obliged to declare when they’re being paid to promote a product, to be open about their relationships with brands and businesses and to not be misleading or dishonest about what they’re promoting.
Greater transparency in how influencers promote products is a good thing, as is greater scrutiny of what they’re promoting. But distrust of the influencer medium could mean that brands and businesses are more hesitant to explore the possibilities they offer.
When used effectively, influencer marketing can help brands communicate with their audience in a way that feels more natural, direct and friendly than traditional advertising. Combining this approach with campaigns encouraging positive social change could be the perfect match for your business.
We’ve worked on a few influencer-based campaigns that have delivered a positive message, as well as results for our partners.
In 2018, we teamed up with magician and influencer Katherine Mills to promote Lil-Lets’ non-applicator tampons. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the amount of plastic used in applicator tampons and encourage women to help reduce this by using non-applicator tampons, which contain 97% less plastic.
The campaign, featuring Katherine’s magic skills, was a huge success, with 1.7 million seeing the ad across Facebook and Instagram, along with 3.9 million ad appearances in searches, on feeds and on screens. The ad was viewed a total of 325,000 times, with 95,900 viewers watching it all the way through.
As a follow-up to our campaign with Katherine Mills, we also teamed up with model Sonny Turner on an Instagram post for Lil-Lets. The post, which promoted non-applicator tampons with a body-positive message, attracted more than 11,000 in engagements.
The reach of the plastic-focused campaign helped drive an increase of Lil-Lets’ non-applicator tampons, illustrating just how successful influencer-lead marketing can be, both commercially and in generating a positive social impact.
We also have experience doing some micro-influencing of our own, thanks to our in-house Pothole Gardener. The Pothole Gardener creates little gardens in little places to bring a smile to people’s faces at the most unexpected moments.
The originality of the Pothole Gardener’s miniature horticulture has led to us teaming up with a diverse range of global brands such as Coca-Cola, Heinz and Paramount, to launch products, run competitions and promote films, all while brightening up the cracks in our urban landscape.
When used well, influencer marketing is a win-win for all involved, helping brands reach hard-to-target audiences such as millennials more directly, while being open and honest. Generating both attention and a positive social influence.
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