Going to the gym one single time won’t give you big muscles, and advertising your brand in the subway only for a week won’t make people remember you in the long run. In the same way, if you want your influencer marketing to generate long term results, you need to have an always-on approach. In this blog post, we highlight benefits of having an always-on influencer marketing strategy and things to consider.
Every day we are exposed to thousands of brand messages, and therefore it is necessary for brands to continually make them rememberable to the audience, in order to see the effect of the investment. It can often take a couple of months before you see results in your marketing efforts, and influencer marketing is no exception. Even if you see a peak in sales or direct conversions, you need to embrace continuity and have patience to see long term results.
Always-on influencer marketing
To create an always-on strategy for influencer marketing, it’s necessary to have a long term approach – just like for your other marketing efforts. Look at the overall goals and the plan for the whole year and evaluate how influencer marketing can help reach your objectives. You need to view influencer marketing as a powerful complement to your other channels – not only as a bonus.
Follow the customer’s buying behaviour and periods over the year
It is common that the marketing for companies go in cycles during the year, where they decide to focus on different aspects of the business. Which periods during the year are significant for you? What does your costumers’ buying behaviour look like during the year? Does it differ between seasons or at other intervals? Also, consider trends that generally run during the year – example, how can you ride on the health trend that inevitably comes in January, year after year? Which holidays and other occasions are relevant for your brand in general?
On some occasions, you may spend more money to market the product and service itself, while at other times there may be a higher value in talking about the brand’s core values, CSR or sustainability thinking. They way you communicate varies over the year – and your influencer collaborations should do so as well.
Influencers work within a plethora of different interests, categories and segments, and their respective focus has an impact on your brand in just as many different ways. Therefore, different types of influencers may be appropriate at different times during the year. Another benefit of activating different types of influencers is that you can reach different target audiences, if that’s one of your goals.
Continuous influencer marketing has a positive effect on your credibility
Your brand is often affected in a positive direction by collaborating with influencers. So what will happen if you show up in their feed only once? Probably nothing. A brand that is visible for a few weeks and then disappears without a trace will have a hard time making a long-lasting impression. Your credibility is not only influenced by the influencers you work with, but also by how often you do it. With continuity, you build trust in the followers, who will understand that you are trustworthy – because their idol trust you!
Can influencer marketing yield better results than traditional media channels?
In the end, all marketing comes down to three things: how many do you reach, which effect do you get, and at what cost? Through exceptional commercials in an established marketing channel such as TV, you can increase brand love and make your brand more lovable for the target audience. But how do you know that influencer marketing can’t do it just as good – or even better?
The question in the headline above is thus the most important thing you should ask yourself when working with influencer marketing. It doesn’t matter if you are running campaign-based towards a specific goal, or if you have an ongoing month-to-month marketing – influencer marketing works in both directions. The most significant thing is to value the channel based on the same parameters as your other marketing initiatives and to see how influencers can complement your efforts throughout the year, based on your overall goals.