Tag

Influencer Marketing

Browsing

By Chris Sutcliffe

DTC brands, especially Chinese giants like Shein, have been big news for all sorts of reasons over the last couple of years: their remarkable growth, but also challenges around their sustainability and quality. Is this an evolution that will continue to evolve, one that more established brands will be able to incorporate in the long-run, or a flash in the pan?

Senior tech reporter for The Drum Chris Sutcliffe is joined by Andy Griffiths, associate director for growth, Space & Time; Miro Jin, head of EPAM continuum for China, EPAM Continuum; Lingzi Shang, digital strategy director, Landor & Fitch; and Jessica Chapplow, commerce managing partner at Reprise Digital, to discuss:

  • DTC saw a boom time during the pandemic, and has rapidly accelerated innovation in that space. What have been the biggest trends of the past few years in and around DTC?
  • How has the rapid rise in new DTC brands changed how we think about brand comms?
  • What advertising mediums are working especially well for DTC brands?
  • The perception seems to be that many new DTC brands will flame out in a short period of time – where has this perception come from, and how accurate do we think it will be?
  • What are the panel’s predictions for future trends in and around DTC marketing?

By Chris Sutcliffe

Sourced from The Drum

By Kaloyan Gospodinov

These strategies will help you win and position yourself and your company in the best way this year.

A marketing strategy is the “plan identifying what marketing goals and objectives will be pursued to sell a particular product or product line and how these objectives will be achieved in the time available.” Keep in mind that you need to consider the following three pillars in your marketing strategy plan before execution:

  1. Core audience demographics
  2. Pricing and marketing budget
  3. Business goals

The following seven marketing strategies are vital for connecting with your target audience, achieving your marketing goals by promoting products and services, increasing brand awareness and engaging with your target audience through various channels.

1. Email marketing

Email marketing is an old concept that will be very relevant in 2023. Having lists of targeted audiences with a differentiated email structure for each can provide you with a great and “cheap” way to showcase the developments in your company and sell your products.

Here are three examples that you can implement in your email marketing. The first one is to increase your email interactivity. People are used to social media and the engagement they can give when reading or viewing content. Add videos, sliders, games and carousels of images that people can swipe.

The second one is the use of storytelling in your email copy. People are looking to connect to a brand’s values, and one of the best ways to do that is to tell your brand’s story. Tell them your origin story, show your personality, the company’s culture and team. Use videos, quotes and memes to build a relationship with your subscribers.

The last one is personalization. Personalization in the email body can improve your open rate by 13% and can increase the clickthrough rate by 28% while reducing the bounce rate by 18%.

Email is still thriving as you control how you approach your audience based on your marketing objectives without the need to comply with rules imposed by the platform you use.

2. Social media marketing

Social media marketing is here to stay, and we need to find the right platform for us to create content, connect with our audience and show our expertise or products. This will be dictated by your target demographics and where they spend the most time at.

It is also important to note that Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) companies will have specific platforms that can be used for their business model. For example, LinkedIn for B2B and TikTok for B2C. Remember that your audience can move to a different platform down the line.

One thing that you can integrate into your social media marketing strategy is to think of ways to incorporate user-generated content. This can be in the form of reviews, unboxing, tutorials, and product reviews. According to Stackla, 88% of consumers specify authenticity and relatability as crucial decision drivers to complete in-app purchases and increase their brand engagement.

The most important thing is to use your authentic voice and showcase the people in your company and their expertise, values and personalities.

3. Public relations (PR)

Another old-fashioned concept that still has a place in your marketing toolbox, especially in 2023. PR is relevant and can help you increase awareness around a milestone you’ve achieved or a product/ initiative you are launching. Media mentions will also help you with the SEO of your website/ brand name and how you rank in searches as you get authoritative websites mentioning your company.

According to Statista, the PR industry is expected to be worth $129 billion by 2025 or an increase of 68% from 2020, worth $88 billion.

4. SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must-do strategy in 2023. SEO aims to increase the searchability of your brand name and specific keywords relating to your offers while helping you grow traffic and sales.

Organic SEO can help you rank your content for specific keywords. I recommend learning how to do the basics of SEO in your content and focusing initially on long-tail keywords, as it will be easier for you to rank.

The main pillar in your SEO strategy should be creating high-quality content and targeting your customers’ needs and questions engagingly while targeting keyword phrases. Create evergreen content that will help customers understand your company and products better.

SEO can be integrated with paid ads so your articles can show on top of the search results.

5. Influencer marketing

Collaboration with influencers can help you scale your business in a short period by increasing your brand awareness and reputation. The key here is to research and get numerous quotes from different influencers so you can decide on the best deal.

I’d say that it’s not always beneficial to go for the biggest names in a particular niche, as your business might not be prepared for that growth. A better strategy will be to find smaller accounts with a more engaged audience so both parties can grow simultaneously and be more sustainable.

One growing trend in influencer marketing is live stream shopping, which means that potential customers can buy products through a live video. Influencers can showcase products, give opinions and answer questions from their followers about the product they are presenting. Instagram introduced Live Shopping in September 2022, which allows users to purchase products from Instagram Live directly, so expect this to be prioritized on the platform in 2023.

6. Virtual events

Virtual events are here to stay, especially after the last couple of years when travel was almost non-existent. Showing your expertise and value through online events can help you increase your brand awareness and reach. The list of attendees can be reused and segmented in your email communication, which will benefit your company in the long run.

Another strategy is to attract experts in the industry you are operating in and create an event where they talk about various subjects related to your company. The event videos can also be reused on social media in long and short-form videos.

7. Video marketing

The most important strategy in the last few years is video marketing. Closely related to hosting virtual events, video marketing can help you present your company from various perspectives.

People from your company can have topics they are working on and record video presentations for the world to see. Behind-the-scenes and company events can showcase the human side of your team, and the sky is the limit regarding creative ways to create video content.

Authenticity here is key as your willingness to open up in front of the camera so people can connect with who you are and what your company stands for.

Short vertical video content will be one of the biggest trends in video marketing in 2023. According to Zippia, 85% of U.S. adults own a smartphone as of 2022, and on average, Americans spend 5 hours and 24 minutes on their mobile devices daily. As vertical video content can take more real estate on a device and people are using TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, you need to focus your time and creativity to investigate that type of video content.

The world is moving towards personal branding, and video is one, if not the best, way to open up to your audience.

Win with marketing in 2023

To summarise, test and see what works for you and your company. Do not focus and do all the strategies mentioned here simultaneously — experiment with what resonates with you as a personality and your business niche. Adapt and develop the best marketing mix for your desired outcome that will help you win in 2023.

By Kaloyan Gospodinov

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor. CEO and Founder at Aezir. Kaloyan is an entrepreneur with global experience. Past successes include 1m+ app downloads, six figures from Amazon FBA, and managing a million-dollar crypto project. Currently, he advises Swiss biotech and runs a London marketing agency. His motivation is helping people pursue their dreams.

Sourced from Entrepreneur

By Lane Ellis

Why are B2B brands increasingly turning to influencer marketing?

B2B influencer marketing is the business-oriented cousin to the B2C Instagram entertainment and lifestyle influencer. In B2B, some influencers go by creators, subject matter experts, industry experts, or other terms that disassociate them from the B2C influencer.

Whichever term is used, B2B influencer marketing provides an ideal way to combat disintegrating brand trust, so it’s no wonder that by the end of 2022 the B2B influencer marketing vertical is expected to reach $11.7 billion in revenue, with over 38 percent of B2B firms exploring influencer marketing for lead-generation and more, according to AdAge.

B2B influencer marketing is a many-faceted digital diamond that when done well shines brightly, however brands need to be wary of treating it like its vastly different B2C counterpart.

Let’s take a look at 20-plus advantages that B2B influencer marketing holds over traditional marketing strategies.

B2B Influencer Marketing Offers Key Advantages

New analysis published in the Harvard Business Review has shown that average brand boost could reach 16.6 percent by properly utilizing influencer marketing, with influencer originality accounting for a 15.5 percent rise in return on investment (ROI).

B2B marketers have said that influencer marketing will be among their three top priorities in the next three to five years, as 59 percent of marketing leaders noted that they considered B2B influencer marketing a priority today, and 64 percent pinpointing it as a top priority over the upcoming three to five years, according to recently-released survey data from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

The academic world has also begun to take notice of the power of B2B influencer marketing, such as the comprehensive “B2B Influencer Marketing: Conceptualization and Four Managerial Strategies” study recently-published by Science Direct / Elsevier, including numerous citations to our own ground-breaking first industry B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report.

Social media publications are also increasingly becoming aware of B2B influencer marketing, such as Social Media Today’s recent article “15 Ways the B2B Influencer Marketing Industry is Changing [Infographic],” featuring our own latest infographic filled with data from our newest free 59-page 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report.

Influencer marketing has emerged as a key way that B2B brands can get the most marketing bang for their buck and help recession-proof marketing strategy. U.S. organizations are expected to spend $6.16 billion on influencer marketing during 2023, climbing from the $5 billion seen during 2022, as influencer marketing has been more resilient than other forms of marketing, with influencer marketing budgets staying strong, according to recently-published forecast data from Insider Intelligence.

Enduring Relationships & Increased Thought Leadership

B2B influencer marketing helps build successful and lasting relationships, as our CEO Lee Odden recently explored in a fascinating podcast with Justin Levy, director of social and influencer marketing at Demandbase, in “The Impact of Building Long-Term Relationships with Influencers with Lee Odden.”

42 percent of organizations with more than 1,000 employees work with influencers and creators, while only 28 percent of smaller businesses with under 100 workers do, according to Hootsuite’s newly-released annual social trends report. 2023 is likely to see more B2B organizations of all size either expand their existing influencer programs or beginning their first.

B2B influencer marketing helps improve brand reputation and awareness, as well as generating new leads, as diginomica recently explored in “Influencer Marketing – first, catch your influencer…,” also featuring data taken from our most recent research report.

B2B influencer marketing offers an ideal framework for successful content planning, creation, and promotion, as we covered recently in “Planning, Creation & Promotion: 5 Top Tactics For Creating Inspired B2B Content.

B2B influencer marketing can have a direct impact on building thought-leadership and executive influence, and the time to redefine influencer marketing may have arrived, as our own senior content marketing manager Joshua Nite has explored in “How to Create More Authentic Influencer-Driven Content to Attract Qualified Prospects.”

“In our survey, over half of respondents said they included internal executives in their influencer content. Nearly half said they included their employees as well. This is a clear opportunity to create more valuable content and build your organization’s thought leadership at the same time,” Joshua observed.

“It’s time to redefine influence. Your most valuable prospects are looking to industry leaders, practitioners and peers for advice. Your team can deliver all of the above with the right mix of influencers,” Joshua added.

“It’s time to redefine influence. Your most valuable prospects are looking to industry leaders, practitioners and peers for advice. Your team can deliver all of the above with the right mix of influencers.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites Click To Tweet

B2B Influence Creates Meaningful Brand Experiences & Builds Trust

When it comes to creating meaningful brand experiences and authentically connecting with buyers, B2B influencer marketing has found growing success. “In times like these, the importance of influence is critical for B2B brands that need to connect authentically with their buyers and create meaningful experiences,” Lee observed in our “2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: New Data, Insights, Case Studies, Predictions.”

“In times like these, the importance of influence is critical for B2B brands that need to connect authentically with their buyers and create meaningful experiences.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden Click To Tweet

Social media platforms have proven to hold both influence and attention, while the influencer economy has gained precedence as a top form of customer communications, as B2B brand content creators increasingly become the faces of the brands they represent, as Talkwalker recently covered in its Social Media Trends 2023 Global Report.

“Content creators will become the faces of the brands they represent, especially in B2B. People trust people more than companies. Expertise is key to building trust with your audience,” Daniel Murray, founder of The Marketing Millennials observed.

“Content creators will become the faces of the brands they represent, especially in B2B. People trust people more than companies. Expertise is key to building trust with your audience.” — Daniel Murray @Dmurr68 Click To Tweet

Dispelling The Boring-To-Boring Myth & Boosting Engagement

The type of digital experiences that work so well within a B2B influencer marketing framework go a long way towards dispelling the longstanding notion of B2B being nothing but boring-to-boring, as Lee detailed in the recent “Break Free of Boring B2B with Influencer Content Ft. Lee Odden” episode of The Data-Driven Marketing podcast with host Mark Richardson, director of global content operations at Dun & Bradstreet.

The popularity of influencer marketing is on the rise, as 85 percent of respondents to our extensive survey expect activity to increase over the next year, with B2B marketers increasing their level of maturity and sophistication and shifting towards always-on, relationship-based influencer communities. You can take an eye-opening look at the future and power of B2B influence from 10 of the world’s top experts and influencers in our “10+ B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions From Top Experts & Influencers.”

(Click Through For More Predictions)

B2B influencer marketing also helps when it comes to boosting content engagement. In fact, 32 percent of marketers and influencers have said that influencer marketing has increased engagement, while 65 percent of marketers said that influencer marketing works more often than it fails, recent data has shown.

Additionally, 30 percent of consumers have reported that recommendations from influencers are among the most important factors in purchase decisions — more than the 27 percent who pointed to friends or family, while an upcoming greater reliance on influencers has joined greater adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), according to HubSpot’s look at the future of social media.

B2B Influence Will See Increasing Use Among Brands in 2023

via GIPHY

While this list of more than 20 of the reasons why B2B brands are increasingly moving to influencer marketing only scratches the surface, 2023 is certain to see new takes on B2B influencer marketing that we can’t yet set, however by keeping on top of the most recent industry shifts, we’ll be better prepared for what the coming years hold in store.

Especially with B2B influencer content, crafting award-winning B2B marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why more brands are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and many others.

By Lane Ellis

Sourced from Top Rank Marketing

By Martin Kihn

Standards for measuring the impact of influencer content are not created equal, writes Salesforce’s Martin Kihn.

We’re all under the influence.

Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing paid channel this year, after connected television (CTV), resilient even in the face of recession. As companies plateau their use of social media, 75% of US marketers plan to invest in influencers this year – up from 66% in 2020, according to eMarketer.

And it’s not about products-for-posts anymore – it’s big business. Global marketers spent about $14bn on influencers last year, including media. B-listers such as Joanna Gaines and Addison Rae enjoy multi-figure deals, while real-life stars including footballer Cristiano Ronaldo get an estimated $500,000 per post. And there are thousands of creators in niches from travel to beauty to – of course – cats who are paid an average of $100 per 10,000 followers per meow.

In a world where 50 million people call themselves ‘creators,’ there are a lot of options for brands to partner their way into feeds, tweets and videos. Influencers can provide creative content, access to elusive audiences, higher engagement and compelling social proof.

But there’s a problem. Brands using influencers, surveyed by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in 2020, admitted their top challenge was measurement. The situation is no better now. How do you know if you’re getting a worthwhile return-on-influencer (ROIn)?

Channels are not created equal

Measuring the impact of an influencer program is notoriously sketchy. It’s an emerging channel without industry standards. Although the Media Rating Council (MRC) has established guidelines for paid social measurement, most of the value of influencers comes from organic engagement – all those likes, shares and comments from followers and friends of friends that turn a snippet of video into cultural cachet.

Challenges with measuring ROIn include:

  1. Data collection: Brands without API access to influencer accounts rely on methods such as emailed screenshots for metrics
  2. Reach: It is difficult (read: impossible) to deduplicate audiences across platforms
  3. Engagement: Different platforms present different options (where TikTok garners likes, Pinterest culls clicks) and define ‘engagement’ in different ways
  4. Consistency: Agency partners often use proprietary roll-up metrics that can be opaque

Earlier this summer, the ANA released the first ‘Influencer Marketing Measurement Guidelines,’ taking a step toward standardizing organic measurement. Developed by the Influencer Marketing Advisory Board – formed in 2020 with reps from brands such as Puma and Target – it was based on meetings with 25 agencies and the eight major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube).

Brands that have been there will tell you that working with influencers is special – more like hiring an improv troupe than deploying a bot. Companies like control, but creativity is part of influencers‘ charm. So it makes sense to start by asking them how they measure success. A beauty star such as Huda Kattan might value video engagement, while a photo influencer such as Murad Osmann might care more about shares.

Most brands measure ROIn based on ‘engagement,’ a blunt sum of actions divided by exposures, aggregated across all the platforms in the campaign. But this method assumes every creator aims for the same responses, and it ignores the platforms‘ real inconsistencies.

Many roads to the rainbow

Using basic discipline, the hard-working marketer with an influencer program wants some combination of three KPIs:

  1. Awareness: This is driven by reach and frequency, generally available for each platform in isolation, but not across platforms; video views are usually counted here
  2. Engagements: These are measured interactions with the influencers‘ content, including likes and shares – often expressed as an ‘engagement rate’ (ER) or engagements per reach
  3. Conversions: Often the ultimate goal, this is likely undercounted and based on direct clicks through to the brand’s commerce site or other destination

Now, the ANA performs a public service in teasing out the vagaries of the platforms‘ self-reported metrics. Anyone who’s spent time parsing reports from social networks will appreciate this effort. Key differences among the platforms‘ influencer reporting include:

  1. Facebook and Instagram: For Meta-owned platforms, ER is total engagements divided by impressions, not including video views
  2. TikTok: ER is total engagements divided by video views, excluding replays
  3. YouTube: ER is the same as TikTok; however, TikTok counts any video that’s started as a view, while YouTube only counts a view after 30 seconds or 100% for its short-form ‘Shorts‘
  4. Twitter: Twitter is similar to Meta, but quote-tweet counts aren’t available via the API
  5. LinkedIn: ER does not include video views, which are counted after two seconds with 50% viewable
  6. Snapchat: Interestingly, Snap doesn‘t yet provide organic influencer reporting

Understanding the components of the platforms‘ reports unlocks comparisons. Obviously, an autoplay video view on Twitter isn‘t as meaningful as a video view on YouTube, and a retweet on Twitter is not exactly equivalent to a pin on Pinterest.

For awareness and conversion measurement, reach by platform and direct attribution are useful. They aren‘t perfect, since the former misses duplicates and the latter indirect attribution (ie people saw the content and converted later, or offline). But they‘re reasonable baselines.

The problem comes with the most important influencer metric: engagement rate. How can it be improved?

Worth the weight

The answer is by weighting the different components of engagement. Intuitively, we know that a like isn‘t the same as a share or a comment. It‘s easy to like a post – you just tap the heart, right? But sharing to your network is a kind of endorsement, and a comment – with the right sentiment – indicates more visceral involvement.

A principle I used when measuring the impact of social media for brands was one I took from the self-help guru John Bradshaw: “We give time to those things that we love.” Simple enough. Extending it to social platforms, I‘d argue that actions that take more time and effort should count more toward ROIn.

For example, the marketer can create a consistent weighting factor for different actions based on the time they take to complete. Say it takes a second to commit to and tap a like. Even a short, positive comment takes at least five seconds. And a share with a comment might take longer. Typical viewer patterns should be considered, and they will vary considerably based on the influencer and type of campaign.

The ultimate ROIn plan might include breakouts for awareness and conversion, and an approach to ER that considers weighting actions by their level of effort. (The ANA guidelines don‘t address weighting.) Of course, a detailed formula requires access to the platforms‘ API and permission from the influencer. Art, science and some social engineering are required.

But that’s what puts the ‘sure’ in measurement.

Feature Image Credit: Andre Sebastian

By Martin Kihn

Senior vice-president of strategy, marketing cloud

Sourced from The Drum

By Danielle Wiley

In the ever-expanding world of influencer marketing, the sheer number of potential partners and topic niches can seem overwhelming. With one recent report estimating that there are over 200 million creators of various kinds, the main question brands may be wrestling with is who to partner with instead of where.

While finding the right influencer is obviously a critical element of the influencer marketing process, today’s platform technologies offer targeting capabilities that many brands simply aren’t taking advantage of.

Geotargeting allows brands to be even more successful with their influencer campaigns by making branded content more relevant and personalized to its target audience. Brand outreach that’s been tailored to audience locality and behavior has a better chance of reaching the right people at the right time with the right message.

What Is Geotargeted Influencer Marketing?

In a nutshell, geotargeting is a way for businesses to tailor their advertising to potential customers based on specific geographic locations. Geotargeted influencer marketing incorporates the influencer’s location (and their associated influence within that location) into the campaign as a whole.

For example, let’s say a national fast-casual restaurant chain is opening a new location in a specific town. Geotargeting would allow brands to activate area influencers who can raise awareness and drive sales for the new restaurant, connecting with the brand’s intended audience with localized messaging that resonates.

The same campaign could include regional influencers, adding to local-level outreach with bigger-picture messaging that’s still targeted to specific locales as well as national influencers.

Better Results With A Local Approach

Local influencers are ideal partners for local businesses since it’s likely that many of their followers are also in the same area. Partnering with local creators allows local businesses to connect with target audiences that are close in proximity, sharing brand benefits and differentiators through a local’s lens.

This strategy can also be leveraged to support larger brands: Local influencers can help establish and promote regional or national brands with a local presence. Creators with local ties offer brands a built-in community connection, and they often have the local credibility and influence that can help shape a brand’s message.

A few examples of partnering with local creators:

• National clothing brand partnering with a local Pacific Northwest weather reporter to promote their new line of rainwear.

• Rising college basketball player promoting a local restaurant with a new menu item named after her.

• National beauty store partnering with a local makeup influencer to promote a new retail location in the area.

• Southern restaurant chain partnering with local influencers to promote nearby locations that offer regional favourite foods.

• Member of a local dance team promoting a new sparkling water flavour from a national beverage brand.

• Local nutritionist sharing her excitement over the new opening of a specialty grocery store.

People are more likely to try out a new restaurant or product in their area if someone in their social circle recommends it. Additionally, influencers are often able to share brand messaging in a way that doesn’t feel like a traditional ad or sales gimmick.

Increased Authenticity & Brand Impact

Influencer marketing is a way to tap into the genuine consumer needs and interests of the moment, which offers an effective strategy for dealing with ongoing consumer uncertainty.

By partnering with creators who authentically represent their target audience, brands don’t have to rely on spray-and-pray advertising. Instead, they can share incredibly personalized messaging that’s been shaped by influential local personalities.

Geotargeted influencer marketing can contribute to the larger brand story by including relevant local perspectives. Consider the branding upsides of partnering with genuine people who genuinely care about their locality, are known for their local/regional expertise and/or are strongly associated with the area.

The right kinds of geotargeted campaigns can spark authentic reviews and recommendations that drive specific kinds of consumer action. And they can also add to a brand’s overall presence by encouraging genuine consumer connections and points of engagement.

Geotargeted Brand Spend Boosts ROI

Every influencer marketing campaign will inevitably reach some people who aren’t interested in the promoted brand. However, without careful campaign targeting, brands may be wasting their budget reaching out to consumers who don’t even live where they can buy a brand’s products or services.

With geotargeting, brands can deliver content to potential consumers within a specific location, with messaging that’s shaped by locals and relevant to the area. Whether it’s for a local business or a local franchise from a large national brand, geotargeted influencer marketing can work alone or supplement national outreach efforts.

Not only does the spectrum of influencer marketing include the affordable (and surprisingly effective)nano-influencer, but also influencer campaigns can be stopped, started and adjusted on the fly. This offers an enormous benefit to brands adjusting to Covid-19’s “new normal.” Shifting consumer behaviours can be quickly addressed within the campaign. (For instance, if a new store is opening in an area with rising infection rates, campaign messaging can be quickly changed to promote online shopping instead of in-person.)

The Local Mindset

Brands know how important personalization has become for reaching today’s consumers. Local market strategies are increasingly necessary to drive traffic and sales, as well as to strengthen the overall brand.

Location is an important aspect when it comes to marketing personalization, and technological targeting advancements have changed the game for both creators and audiences. Today’s platform tools offer deep-dive demographic insights that simply weren’t available even a few years ago.

Research shows that consumers’ attitudes and behaviors remain highly localized, even in a global context. Adopting a local mindset through geotargeted influencer marketing can help brands foster the kinds of meaningful audience connections that drive real results.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Danielle Wiley

Founder and CEO of Sway Group, an agency that specializes in influencer marketing, branded content and digital advertising. Read Danielle Wiley’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

By Lane Ellis

How can B2B marketers make their content stand out and highlight the talented subject matter experts, creators, and influencers they partner with?

Earlier this year Instagram rolled out new enhanced tagging features that allow digital marketers to do a much better job of indicating and crediting the various influencers and creators involved in the creation of content shared on the platform.

Instagram’s addition of enhanced tagging — which is also available for use in video Reels — offers significant new exposure opportunities for B2B content that has been created by multiple professionals, often precisely the type of content that is either made or co-created by industry influencers.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages provided by Instagram’s enhanced creator tags, and how B2B marketers can best put them to use.

1 — Straightforward Setup Process

The process of using the enhanced tagging features is fairly straightforward, however there are a few caveats to be aware of as you move to incorporate them into your B2B marketing workflow on Instagram, in order to get the full effect of Instagram’s latest tagging elements.

Instagram Image

While Instagram has moved to make more of its features available to desktop users, the enhanced tagging features were initially only available from the mobile app.

Simply having content creators or co-creators tagged goes a long way, and shows a clickable link to learn more about or follow the people involved in the digital assets you find helpful on Instagram. The updated tagging feature can do more, however.

2 — Switch On A Business Or Creator Account

One aspect of the enhanced tagging system takes on even more value, and that’s when the people tagged have gone through the simple process of setting up their Instagram profile as either a creator or business account.

Tagging people with a creator or business account adds a second line of helpful information below the person’s username, containing a category they’ve selected, such as a few B2B-related examples listed here:

  • Video creator
  • Digital creator
  • Writer
  • Author
  • Advertising Agency
  • Marketing Agency
  • Market Research Consultant
  • Advertising/Marketing
  • Internet Marketing Service

To ensure that anytime your brand or the influencers you work with are mentioned using an enhanced tag that also shows category information, it’s easy to switch your Instagram account from personal to professional — there is no waiting period or fee involved — simply access your account settings and select the option to switch to a professional account.

From there you can choose between a creator or business account, described by Instagram as:

  • Creator accounts are best for public figures, content producers, artists and influencers
  • Business accounts are best for retailers, local businesses, brands, organizations and service providers

After choosing your account type, you’re given the option to select a category that best fits how you use Instagram, and this will be the category that shows below your username when others include you using enhanced tagging — however keep in mind that  you must also tick the “show category on profile box” option.

Instagram uses a search box for finding the most relevant category for creator and business accounts, such as those we listed above, and it can be worthwhile to experiment with the available categories, as new ones may be added over time that better describe your own B2B marketing niche.

3 — Ripe For Implementation By B2B Brands

In the B2B arena, the new Instagram enhanced tagging is ripe for implementation by brands and marketers looking to distinguish their content from the competition, and to highlight the subject matter experts and influencers they partner with.

It’s still early days for implementation of the enhanced tagging, and those brands and B2B marketers willing to put them to use will be among the first to stand out as multiple contributors are highlighted in co-created content.

“The new Instagram enhanced tagging is ripe for implementation by B2B brands and marketers looking to distinguish their content from the competition, and to highlight the influencers they partner with.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis Click To Tweet

4 — From One Influencer To Many Others

When Instagram’s enhanced tagging becomes more regularly utilized, it will represent a powerful way not only for influencers to have the digital work they’ve helped create gain greater exposure, but it will also be a helpful way to find new industry experts who are tagged alongside an influencer you may already be aware of.

These days top performing digital content can involve a slew of talented creative professionals, from marketers and writers to video, audio, and social media specialists, and Instagram’s new enhanced tags make it easy to shine a light on everyone who had a hand in building a successful digital asset.

5 — Tagging Gives Voice To Underrepresented Talent

While not unique to Instagram, the new enhanced tagging features can play a helpful role in giving a greater voice to traditionally underrepresented talent.

Instagram’s augmented tagging features were brought to life through the help of three women in technology, who were each profiled in the Snobette interview, “Meet The Women In Tech Behind The Instagram-Enhanced Tagging Feature.”

“In a world where online visibility directly leads to brand sponsorships and other types of monetary opportunities, crediting is more important than ever,” Alexandra Zaoui, music data analyst at Instagram-parent firm Meta, observed.

“In a world where online visibility directly leads to brand sponsorships and other types of monetary opportunities, crediting is more important than ever.” — Alexandra Zaoui @ZaouiAlexandra Click To Tweet

“One of the biggest challenges about being a woman and particularly a Black woman in tech is not seeing nor working with others like you,” Cameryn Boyd, software engineer at Meta, noted. “I’m passionate about bringing other Black women and underrepresented people into tech because that is how and when some of the best and most equitable innovation happens,” Boyd added.

Just as in the B2C marketing world, B2B influencer marketing can help amplify underrepresented voices, and features such as Instagram’s new enhanced tagging help expand such efforts.

Our CEO Lee Odden featured efforts that give voice to talent as one of the top methods for elevating B2B marketing in 2022, in “Three of the Biggest Opportunities to Elevate B2B Marketing in 2022.”

“B2B marketers are in a unique position to make choices about how they represent their customers in content, who they partner with in content collaborations and the influencers they engage.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden Click To Tweet

Instagram Enhanced Tagging For B2B Marketing Success

By fully embracing Instagram’s new enhanced tagging capabilities, savvy B2B marketers can lead the way and set a good example for the influencers, digital creators, and industry experts they work with, in a process that’s beneficial for both brands and influencers alike — not to mention both existing and potential customers.

Instagram is just one of the digital menagerie of social media platforms that top B2B brands use to engage audiences, however as an increasing number of B2B firms find success on platforms including TikTok and others, having a solid cross-platform tagging strategy in place will give you an edge over those who don’t.

Creating award-winning B2B marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why an increasing number of firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Contact us to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.

By Lane Ellis

Lane R. Ellis (@lanerellis), TopRank Marketing Social Media and Content Marketing Manager, has over 38 years’ experience working with and writing about the Internet. Lane spent more than a decade as Lead Editor for prestigious conference firm Pubcon. When he’s not writing, Lane enjoys distance running (11 marathons including two ultras so far), genealogical research, cross-country skate skiing, vegetarian cooking, and spending time with his wonderful wife Julie Ahasay and their cat Kukla in beautiful Duluth, Minnesota.

Sourced from TopRank Marketing

By

Influencer marketing has evolved and so must your approach. Here’s what you need to do to make this powerful approach work as part of your full-funnel marketing strategy.

Like most nascent marketing channels, influencer marketing began as something of a Wild West. Metrics were thorny, processes were clouded, and many brands got burned working with influencer platforms or individual creators who produced scant measurable results.

The upshot is that, even now that influencer marketing has matured into a more structured discipline, some brands remain skeptical of the entire medium.

We are at the point where brands who have struggled to produce and prove value from working with influencers in the past, must consider starting from scratch. That doesn’t don’t mean scrapping your Influencer program, but effectively taking a beat to re-evaluate your approach and reset it.

Build an influencer marketing strategy from the ground up with the same scrutiny you would apply to any other strategy. That means a rigorous brand analysis and quantitative vetting process should drive discovery of potential influencers. While the process of engaging and partnering with or deploying an influencer should be as automated as possible. And, last, measurement should focus on influencers’ ability to drive sales. Influencers who can move the bottom line are the ones brands should redeploy to optimize over time.

Gone are the days when influencer marketing was purely a brand awareness play. In the right hands, influencer is now a full-funnel, full-service discipline, meaning it covers awareness and bottom-of-funnel activations, discovery upfront, and measurement on the back end. Here are three cores to building an influencer marketing strategy from scratch and turning it into a proven revenue generator.

Understand who you are and what you need to accomplish

Brands need to set clear specifications to select the right creators. Brands should ask themselves: What are your values? Which audiences are you trying to reach? What backgrounds would you like your creators to represent? What messages do you need to send to your audience?

Next comes the quantitative decision-making process that has historically eluded the discipline. What are your key performance indicators? What calls to action will you bake into your influencer campaigns? How will you measure success? Beyond numbers of followers (the conventional metric), what engagement rates do you expect influencers to command, and how do those rates line up with sales goals?

Once brands have figured this out, they can select influencers who meet their criteria. Brands should also implement a repeatable process for creating content briefs to set influencers up for success. These, too, can be optimized over time, allowing advertisers to eliminate ambiguities. Now is when cutting-edge influencer practices come in, transforming the discipline into a full-funnel strategy.

Maximize distribution, measure influencer success and optimize

The fatal flaw in most content marketing strategies is that brands focus all their attention on creating great content, and after they have created it, they simply slap it into a blog or repost it to a couple of social channels. The same failure has historically applied to influencer marketing.

But sophisticated practitioners can turn distribution into a source of value. For example, a video created for Instagram might be amplified by paid social, an OTT campaign, digital out-of-home billboards, or programmatic display.

After brands have transformed what could have been a simple influencer Instagram video into an omnichannel campaign, they can leverage cross-channel data to quantify sales driven collaboration. This is a far cry from the old influencer measurement framework in which advertisers would report on the number of eyeballs a campaign reached or how many comments it spurred.

Once brands understand how much revenue individual influencers are driving, they can optimize campaigns, staffing a bench of key collaborators. Over time, by following this model, they can build an “army” of Influencers who deeply understand the brand and can convert their audience, ultimately making things more efficient and seamless. This process of distribution, measurement, and optimization should ultimately equip brands with a well-oiled machine of creators proven to be worth the investment – and then some.

Raise the bar for influencer marketing

It is understandable that many advertisers are wary of influencer marketing. But forward-thinking brands should not let past failures dictate future strategy for a channel that has evolved.

Influencer marketing should be part of a full-funnel strategy. It builds awareness and trust through powerful, authentic content that resonates with consumers on an emotional level. It also drives sales and lends itself to granular measurement, which allows for optimization so that influencer becomes not only more lucrative but also more efficient over time.

The only thing standing between many brands and a revenue-generating Influencer Marketing strategy is outdated assumptions about the channel. By challenging past wisdom and applying the same structure that governs other performance marketing channels to influencers, brands can unlock fresh revenue-generating opportunities.

By

Crystal Duncan is senior vice president, head of partnership marketing, Tinuiti

Sourced from The Drum

Sourced from Easy Reader

People believe in social media influencers as they have a connect with them. Word-of-mouth works today like never before because people prefer to listen to the subject matter experts rather than just actors. Now, considering the brand’s side; working with influencers is not easy because factors like choosing relevant influencers, segmenting the right target audience and executing the strategy. Hence, many companies trust influencer marketing agencies to yield optimized results, while some brands use powerful influencer marketing platforms to achieve success. So, now you would be wondering that is there a difference between an agency or a platform? And what would be your strategy to whether invest in a platform or trust an agency! We will answer all these questions here. Let’s get started!

What is right for you? Influencer Marketing Agency OR Influencer Marketing Platform

This contest is between human-led agencies and technology-driven platforms!

Yes you heard it right! The basic difference between these two is that an influencer marketing agency rely on manual selection of influencers with respect to their niche and target audience and then executing the campaign through them whereas an influencer marketing platform selects the influencers through a software application based on profiling and segmenting and then ultimately market the brands’ product/service.

Simply tying up with an influencer no more works. There needs to be more going into your influencer marketing strategy to make your brand trustworthy.

Brands are now today taking a step forward and employ in-house teams, tie-ups with influencer platforms to manage influencers and collaborators, however, the better option is to hand over the entire job to a trustworthy influencer marketing agency which is better and great at their job. The bottom line, either way, is to gain customer trust and enhance sales & revenues.

An agency offers end-to-end functionality, starting from ensuring in choosing right influencers till execution. An influencer platform, on the other hand, is a new-age tool or a software system. It is designed to assist marketers during the influencer marketing process. The systems can help shortlist the right influencers, help with influencer relationship management, and provide data for measuring Return on Investment.

  1. Influence Marketing Agency versus Influencer Marketing Platform

The primary difference but of course, is about the former being human-based and the latter being software-based. Knowing what can be derived from either entity helps the brand decide to pick one or the other, and at times, both.

Now that your brand is in the final stages of deciding which way to go – agency, platform, or both – we are here to tell you things to assess and factors to consider before taking the final call.

It is time to evaluate the following for the final time:

  1. What are your overall objectives and goals for the influencer marketing campaign?
  2. Do you already have an in-house team specializing in managing influencer programs? Or, are you planning to hire a team with the necessary expertise?
  3. Do you have the money to invest in sound influencer marketing tools to empower your internal team?
  4. What is your business scale, and what are your ROI budgets from influencer marketing campaigns? In other words, you could be making a huge investment in influencer marketing and accordingly expecting huge returns. Or, yours could be a new business, and you wish to scale up the influencer marketing spectrum gradually.
  5. Are your budgets constrained, yet you want to have a full-fledged streamlined influencer marketing campaign?

Many such related queries need to come out and be discussed for the last time before a call is taken. These questions and their answers are crucial. The outcomes will be – identifying gaps, understanding the pros and cons of each method, identifying the strengths vis-a-vis weaknesses of the existing marketing team, etc.

  1. When to Choose a Top Influencer Marketing Platform?
  • Your in-house team has the necessary experience in influencer marketing. The team can then reliably use best influencer marketing platform in India that help them plan, execute, manage and measure campaigns.
  • When your campaign is small, time-limited, or one-off.
  • When it is a simple, easy-to-execute campaign without the need to align with any strict rules and regulations.
  • The final objective is not about user engagement but more about reaching out to the masses.
  1. When to Choose an Influencer Marketing Agency?
  • If the campaign needs time, it is best to hire an expert.
  • When the campaign is long-drawn and involves intricate work, it has complicated steps and must comply with regulations.
  • When multiple steps need to be executed precisely, knowledge and experience are very important.
  • When finance is not a hurdle
  • The campaign expectations need to be measured time and again for frequent tweaking.

Most start-ups and small businesses use platforms, while bigger organizations hire agencies. But, there is no fixed rule, and variations can be there. What matters is which entity can give the required thrust to your influencer marketing campaign? And accordingly, take a call!

Choose The Best Influencer Marketing Agency in India 

Although there is no dearth of influencer marketing agencies in India, only a few have carved a niche in this highly competitive space. Grynow is by far one of the leading influencer marketing agencies in the country today, with 5+ years of experience. The top management and the team are well-versed in this niche, having worked with brands from diversified industries.

One of its strengths is the versatile and huge influencer network of 1,50,000+ creators. The company ensures fair practices are adopted to create a win-win situation for brands and influencers. The agency has worked with brands and influencers based on the ‘Explore, Engage and Expand’ strategy. Having worked with premium publishers and content creators, the company has developed an exhaustive database of influencers across India, including local and regional ones. Today, it is involved in helping improve the digital footprint of brands that they work with.

The Best Influencer Marketing Platform in India

Grynow has also successfully emerged as one of India’s most impressive, impactful, and results-oriented influencer marketing platforms. With thousands of influencers associated with this platform, it has a rich database of YouTubers, celebrities, bloggers, Insta influencers, and even campus influencers. The platform facilitates brands to invite influencers to become a part of their campaigns, thereby shortening the distance between brands and collaborators. Backed with a rich network of content creators, this platform enables potential influencers to showcase their skills and work effectively with brands. Every content is well-curated and designed to strike a chord with the target audience. The result of such content has been exemplary, helping the brands enjoy a unique connect with their audience. This platform is in great demand for its amazing market knowledge and what’ works.’

Conclusion

The choice is finally yours whether you wish to use a powerful platform or hire a top agency!

Sourced from Easy Reader

By Faith Walls

From Dunkin’ Donuts to the NBA, countless brands have hitched a ride on TikTok, the latest social media bandwagon. Since its launch in 2018, the user-generated, video-based app quickly grew from its China origin to an international sensation. With nods to its predecessor, Vine (RIP), TikTok turns nearly every content creator into a top-tier video editor and storyteller. The platform delights millions of users with its endless stream of FYP (For You Page) content, that is specifically geared towards your searches, interests, and frequently viewed subject matter.

This firehose of varietal media serves as sort of a time vortex. New users should be warned, your innocent “five-minute scroll” before bedtime can quickly turn into a three-hour content binge before you can say “lights out.” The average user spends at least 45 minutes on the app each day. Naturally, this rapid-fire of content consumption makes TikTok an alluring marketing tool for brands. If you can get your business name simply in the feed stream, you’re doing okay. But with a little creativity, you can take it a step further and generate content geared towards keeping viewers engaged.

 8 Best Ways to Market Your Business on TikTok

1. Don’t Aim For Perfection

Contrary to the polished and pristine standards of Instagram, TikTok won’t need you to be editing out blemishes or cropping out that mess on the floor. The app thrives on seemingly authentic content. You will likely find the most engagement when your content is true to your brand personality and intentionally crafted.

2. Paid Ads

If the user-friendly algorithm isn’t enough, the platform is also delving into the realm of paid ads. If you have experience using Facebook Business Suite, you are already prepared to tackle TikTok ad campaigns. Curiously, the platform’s paid ads are designed quite similar to Facebook or Google.

You essentially have two options when it comes to TikTok ads: interest targeting and behavioural targeting. Interest targeting works the most equivalently to Facebook Ads. Through this method, you can structure your ad placement to target a specific audience.

Behavioural targeting works a bit differently, allowing you to generate your ads based on user behaviour on the app within the past seven or fifteen days. This unique method ensures your content is geared towards individuals who are active on the platform.

3. Use Hashtags Liberally

While hashtags may be considered a bit archaic on Instagram, the metadata geo tracker is receiving a much-needed reboot on TikTok. As you plug your videos into the platform, be sure to use niche hashtags and plenty of them. This is an optimal method to grow your page organically.

Joining or creating a hashtag challenge is another way you can add your content to the Discover page. This starts with creating a catchy video often with a specific sound and adding a corresponding hashtag. These campaigns easily go viral as the engaging trend of choice catches on.

4. Join In On Trends

Much like the hashtag challenge, following other trends on TikTok is an ideal way to stay up to date with popular content on the platform. Users enjoy seeing different brands take part in funny and engaging content, as popular dances, challenges, songs, and video effects surge in viewership.

5. Be Bold With Your Original Content

The platform allows users to create 15 to 60 second videos using numerous filters, voiceovers, and virtually any song snippet. This limited-time window means you have less than a minute to optimize the “elevator pitch” of your brand. Keep in mind that TikTok is built on consumer engagement; the more user-friendly your content is, the higher views and comments you can expect. Keep your videos concise and attention-grabbing. Always prioritize quality over quantity.

6. Utilize Influencer Marketing

Influencers are an optimal way to gain viewers and to expand your reach to a brand new audience. Though one normally associates influencer content with the visual aesthetics of Instagram, influencers are taking to TikTok in order to gain new sponsorships. The process works similarly to Instagram, where there is an exchange of incentives – either monetary or product – for the promotion of your business. Influencers already have a loyal following, so placing your brand in front of a wider audience is an effective way to increase awareness.

7. Partner With Other Creators

TikTok is famous for its “duet” feature, where users can record videos that build upon another video. This popularized trend has resulted in a vast expanse of creative efforts – from barbershop quartet ditties to personal story prompts. Partnering with like-minded creators and utilizing TikTok live videos opens up the conversation with the audience and helps your brand feel personable.

8. Track Your Analytics Data

As you launch your promotional content and experiment with different trends, be sure to track your engagement through TikTok Analytics. These statistics provide valuable insights regarding your audience demographics and viewership. Don’t be afraid to try out different approaches as you go.

By Faith Walls

Sourced from HEYSocal

 

By Debraj Chatterjee

B2B is an acronym for business to business. Therefore, b2b marketing is where you focus on marketing your product to other businesses rather than individuals. Take the example of a company that sells office chairs on wholesale.

Although such a company can sell to individuals, their primary customers will be other companies seeking office chairs. Therefore, when the office chair company reaches out to the other company about their chairs, we call b2b marketing.

Why is B2B Marketing Important?

You might not have decided about whether to consider b2b marketing. While it is essential to stick to what you know for marketing, any business reluctant to embrace change will probably not last that long.

That alone won’t convince most people to give b2b marketing a chance. Here’s what will.

  • It Will Help Market Complex Products

There’s no better way to market complex products than b2b marketing. Most b2b products are usually complex and will therefore require different marketing strategies rather than the usual. That’s where b2b marketing comes in.

  • It is a Way to Adjust to New Marketing Strategies

B2b marketing is a different type of marketing when compared to the usual marketing. Therefore, it will enable you to adjust to the changing demands in the market and thus boost sales.

  • It Will Reach a Wider Audience

B2b marketing uses different marketing techniques to introduce the product to the market. Content creation and social media as some of those techniques. That ensures a business reaches a broader audience.
Easy Ways to Improve Your B2B Marketing Strategy

1. Consider Using Live Videos

According to Livestream, only 20% of people would prefer to read about a product via blogs or other written text. The rest would prefer if they could see the videos instead. If you know anything about marketing trends is that you need to follow the majority.

That isn’t surprising since videos are excellent at conveying emotions than written text. Don’t get us wrong; many people prefer to read social media posts on their phones. But information from videos will be better received by your audience.
So, you’ll want videos and especially live videos to be part of your b2b marketing strategy.

2. Grow Buyer Personas

This is an essential step for any marketing strategy and not just a b2b strategy. It is wise to look into your buyer’s personalities and know what product will appeal to them. The best way to grow buyer personas is to thoroughly research the customers’ needs to understand them so you can offer better solutions.

Buyer personas will enable you to connect with them more personally since you will know them better. Therefore, buyer personas will be an excellent way for you to improve your b2b marketing strategies.

3. Consider Content Marketing

Content marketing is an excellent way to tell potential customers about your products. But it has a catch. It would help if you focused more on speaking about your products and how they will solve people’s problems than about yourself.

Blogging is a powerful marketing tool if you adopt it. A potential customer could only be a Google search away. But that will only be possible if you’re willing to improve your b2b marketing strategy with content marketing.

That’s why it could be critical to you building a successful business, thanks to excellent marketing.

4. Collect Feedback

not having a way to get customer feedback is akin to pulling yourself down. You will be going in blind as far as your client’s needs are concerned. Collecting feedback will enable you to create a better relationship with existing customers.

Most relationship experts will tell you that good communication is vital if you want to create meaningful relationships. But what can you use to collect feedback from your customers?

You could start by having a feedback form on your website for buyers to fill in after getting their product or service. Qualaroo is a tool that will enable you to carry out surveys on your website and get their feedback.

5. Create a Brand Story

Ultimately, human beings will often associate more with brands that can trigger their emotions. Customers need to know that they can trust your brand to deliver. Gaining customer trust is easier said than done for businesses. However, creating a brand story will enable you to tug on people’s heartstrings and allow them to relate better to you.

A brand story will enable you to connect with people in b2b businesses on a personal level and thus drive sales for you. A brand story allows people to see the human face behind your products and relate easily to your company.

If your market is predominantly millennial or modern generations, you will need a brand story more than you think. Millennial’s and later generations have seen so many different marketing strategies and yearn for something fresh
A brand story will be perfect in sparking their interest.

6. Influencer Marketing

Ever considered influencers in your marketing strategy? If not, then you need to reconsider that. Influencers are online personalities with a large following. They can convince their many followers to follow or buy a certain product,
Even if you are selling to businesses, you will need to show that most people prefer your products. So, influencers are one way to improve your strategy and have your marketing reach a wider audience.

7. Customer Testimonials

Research shows that people are more likely to purchase something when they hear other people speak positively about it. Although a b2b business aims to make its products more visible to other companies, you first need to connect with the people running those businesses.

Therefore, having customer testimonials on your website will enable you to convert potential clients into loyal customers. It’s that simple. People want to associate with things that delight and impress other people.

Final Thoughts

A competent b2b marketing strategy could be the difference between growing to be among the richest Indian companies or a lowly player in the financial market. The amount of business you do will significantly depend on your marketing strategy, and these tips we have shared will help you massively improve it.

By Debraj Chatterjee

Debraj is a Founder of Cryptonidea, Coinvouge, CryptonBinary blog Services and oversees strategic, operational, and invest Peng aspects of the company’s wide-ranging digital content & digital revenue activities.

Sourced from readwrite