A holistic approach to influencer strategy.
Crafting a successful influencer campaign requires more than a recognizable face in today’s oversaturated ecosystem of social media. With the right strategy, their success can break free of social media and cross over into other avenues of PR.
Influencer campaigns can serve consumers more authentically and reach new audiences. They have the potential for impact that reaches more than a social media audience. Hubspot’s 2024 Social Media Marketing Report showed that 64% of organizations used influencer marketing in the past year and 47% of those said it was their most successful strategy for promotion.
Kim Mittag, Golin’s recently appointed head of influencer, suggests that the approach to working with influencers should lead with a content-first lens in order to achieve greater reach.
“How do we make sure that (influencer campaigns) are high-touch, holistic, driven by data and insights and not operating in a silo?” Mittag said. “We see a lot (of clients) operating influencer in one channel and not thinking about how it feeds into other channels.”
Thinking about influencers through earned media
Influencer programs should not be stand-alone campaigns, Mittag said. Organic reach can work for smaller brands, but there’s potential for more.
“How can you use influencers to infiltrate the strategies you’re doing for PR to earn coverage for your clients and not just getting social content on their channels?” she said.
Find avenues that influencer content can fit into the media landscape in an organic way, Mittag said. Authentic, creative content can be repurposed for other channels and opportunities for engagement.
Choosing an influencer to work with should align with these goals and strategies in order to create the most reach for the brand, Mittag said.
Developing paid breakthroughs
A social campaign that resonates is oftentimes great for paid possibilities. It’s critical to evaluate how your content with influencers can be converted to advertisements or other paid media, Mittag said.
The idea is to produce content that sets off a chain reaction for engagement rather than a single use case, she said.
“Is the content appropriate for paid strategies?” Mittag said. “Do you need to make different renditions of the content to get those breakthroughs?”
Paid content can be great to boost metrics and engage new audiences.
Thinking about where you can use and promote content in multiple media channels can boost your campaign even further.
Leveraging influencer impact on sales
One trend that’s really starting to see blow up is commerce, Mittag said.
Connecting influencers more closely to commerce and e-commerce are areas all PR pros should be focusing on right now, she said.
“It’s an area that’s just exploding in terms of trends and creators,” Mittag said. As an example, she said, “If we’re working on a campaign for Walmart, how do we specifically make sure influencers are integrating into their Walmart storefront, right? Not just posting on their page but how are we getting that on retail product display pages and storefronts within their website and e-comm.”
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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