Ep: 52 - Tailoring Influence: The Art of Targeted Influencer Marketing

For years, influencers have been breaking into industry after industry. While they were once found promoting products like viral leggings and health drinks, the influencer marketing trend has spread, with niche leaders emerging across diverse B2C and B2B worlds.

But there’s a big difference between influencers and content creators, according to our latest guest Alessandro Bogliari, Co-Founder & CEO at The Influencer Marketing Factory. Knowing the difference between each and how you can leverage them across different platforms and industries will be key to marketing success in the coming years.

Join us as we discuss:

• Differences between influencers and content creators
• Variability in influencer marketing techniques across audiences and mediums
• Balancing measuring the right metrics, building trust with influencers, and incorporating physical marketing for organic, well-rounded success

Content Creator vs. Influencer: Who is Who? 

In the realm of online media, there exists a distinct line between influencers and content creators. Content creators can be found across various niches, ranging from cooking videos to movie reviews to silly cat clips. They contribute to the vast sea of online content, entertaining and informing audiences.

On the other hand, influencers go beyond merely creating content — they establish deep connections with their audience. They possess a consistent brand that resonates strongly with people. 

Influencers possess a commanding presence, enabling them to sway their audience's decisions, prompting them to purchase, engage, and embody specific ideals. The power of influencers lies in their relatability. They are everyday individuals, after all. And people follow people — not brands. 

People are more likely to purchase something or follow a brand based on recommendations by people they know and trust. While influencers might not be living next door to your customers, they interact with them daily, ultimately becoming a trusted part of your audience’s daily routines. For marketers, finding the right influencer, utilizing the appropriate medium, and reaching the right audience are pivotal for achieving marketing success.

Storytelling Sells — Influencers Embrace Authenticity

Authenticity and storytelling play crucial roles in influencer marketing success. Audiences are attracted to influencers who embody their beliefs and values. Authenticity resonates strongly with viewers, fostering trust and loyalty. 

By embracing storytelling, influencers can captivate their audience, creating narratives that evoke emotions and establish a lasting impression. Storytelling combined with authenticity is a potent formula for compelling content that resonates deeply with audiences and leaves a lasting impact.

Variability Audiences and Mediums

Effective influencer marketing requires tailoring strategies to cater to specific products or services. Furthermore, different influencers resonate with distinct audiences and platforms. 

Audiences are drawn to influencers who are like them. Whether they share personality traits, livelihoods or aspirations, people are attracted to influencers that they feel connected with 

People follow influencers because they see reflections of themselves in these individuals, aspiring to possess similar qualities. For instance, a car parts store would gain little benefit from partnering with an influencer whose content solely revolves around human resources. Conversely, collaborating with an influencer who creates how-to videos on a car forum would likely yield positive results.

 In the digital era, there is an influencer medium for every product — B2B is no exceptionThe key lies in finding the perfect match.

Using the Right Metrics

Measuring the success of influencer marketing can be challenging— it requires a delicate balance. Focusing solely on "vanity metrics" such as follower and like counts provides only a glimpse into the larger picture. 

While these metrics may hold some significance, they do not provide a comprehensive overview of an influencer's impact. A huge following won’t make a difference for conversion if the audience isn’t aligned with the services promoted. A small, tailored following is much more promising. Focus less on the influencer’s likes — especially if they’re all on contextless selfies — and focus more on the value your potential influencer is adding to your ICP’s market. 

Identifying influencers with the potential for a high return on investment is essential. However, it is equally important to establish trust with influencers. Influencers have built their careers on the foundation of their audience's trust and must believe in the companies they partner with and the products they promote. Building strong relationships with influencers is a key aspect of successful influencer marketing.

Physical Merch — The Ideal Mix

Combining the influencer's persona with your brand's image through physical merchandise offers an opportunity to maximize the benefits of a partnership. 

Physical manifestations of this collaboration can bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds, amplifying brand recognition and engagement, according to Alessandro. For example, creating a t-shirt with the influencer’s name or tag using the logo design of your brand, including a hand-written note in a nice, visually appealing package is a sure-fire way to do this. 

By embracing an approach that is wearable — or at least physically visible, you create a tangible representation of the partnership. This combination allows both the influencer's audience and your target consumers to form a deeper connection with the brand, enhancing its overall impact. Plus, repeated visual reminders help build brand recognition.

Collaboration and Co-Creation

Successful influencer marketing extends beyond a simple transactional relationship. You can’t communicate authenticity and genuine support with a generic contracted give-and-take agreement. Collaboration and co-creation between brands and influencers are vital components of fostering authenticity and delivering meaningful content. 

By involving influencers in the creative process, brands tap into their unique insight and creative jazz. This collaborative teamwork ensures the content produced aligns with the influencer’s style and the brand's vision, creating content that feels organic and genuine to the audience.

Many Eggs, Many Baskets

By working with several, diverse influencers, brands can trust success. Using the collective power of multiple influencers has become a popular strategy for brands aiming to increase the odds of success in their influencer marketing campaigns. By collaborating with several influencers simultaneously, brands can expand their reach, tap into diverse audiences, and amplify their message. 

Each influencer brings their unique style, personality and following, contributing to a multi-faceted campaign that resonates with a broader range of consumers while still embracing the personalized one-on-one appeal for each individual audience 

Partnering with multiple influencers also reduces the risk associated with relying on a single individual for campaign success. It diversifies the brand's exposure and minimizes the potential impact of any individual influencer's fluctuations in popularity or performance. 

Through partnering with or building a network of influencers, brands can create a web of connections that extends their reach and maximizes the chances of capturing the attention and engagement of their target audience. By leveraging the collective influence of multiple influencers, brands can increase brand visibility, drive conversions, and create a more robust and effective influencer marketing strategy.

So what are you waiting for? Jump into influencer marketing to climb to the top of your market and leverage authentic, personal relationships with your audience regardless of niche. 

Want to learn more about how choosing the right influencers will make your brand explosive? Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you find your podcasts.