In a world where we are constantly trying to get closer to our customers, influencer marketing empowers your brand. It puts your message in the hands of the people they follow, admire and most importantly: trust. Knowing 92% of consumers trust the recommendations of another person and 33% that of direct brand advertising, it makes all the more sense.
Amongst the challenges faced in sponsorship activation and by our clients at Made in, two come to mind first. Accurately measuring impact and engagement and bringing your sponsorship to life beyond the physical and temporal limits of an event.
How do we make it work, you ask? By integrating an influencer strategy whilst building your sponsorship activation plan.
With influencers, your strategy is activated before the event even takes place. Influencers who most represent your brand’s essence, values and convictions are able to generate unparalleled anticipation, excitement and conversation in the weeks and days leading up to your event.
Having influencers present on D-day makes the event live beyond its physical and geographical boundaries. You are able to have impact on the attending audience and on the influencers’ audience: their tens of thousands of followers. Sponsorships work by association more than persuasion. Influencers allow you to reinforce the emotional connection between your brand and consumers in the first place.
Furthermore, they are able to build engagement and create a conversation around your brand. This allows you to quickly know how consumers feel about your brand, making it easier for you to face their ever-changing preferences and attitudes.
The content created allows for authentic messages to be delivered that your brand may not be able to deliver by itself. Furthermore, content can be timeless, generating more and more views, engagement and reach over time. That is weeks or months after your event is over. Talk about leaving your mark!
Going further, influencer marketing allows you to expand your reach all the more by opting for a multi-platform strategy. How do you make your brand relevant to trendy-chic millennial women, traditional sports enthusiast men and young professionals in the same event? By working with influencers who can communicate a culturally relevant proposition to each group on the platform that most appeals to them. Customers can engage personally with the influencers, thus indirectly with your brand. You are able to get the precision of niche marketing and a reach close to that of mass marketing in an attainable and mostly, affordable manner.
But wait, it gets better.
Influencers use social platforms packed with measuring tools, statistics and powerful insight. Your return on investment can be measured both in quantitative and qualitative terms.
First, numbers. The number of views, comments and impressions give you a clear picture of the reach you were able to attain. The number of likes and shares, publications generated and the like to dislike ratio show you the attitude people have towards your brand. Then, analyzing comments, brand association and overall reaction on social media provides qualitative feedback.
Bet you can’t wait to build your 2017 sponsorship activation plan using influencers and Made in!
