How do I market my brand with a limited budget?
Social Media Influencers or brand ambassadors can be a magic formula for a brand launch or sustaining brand awareness. In a world packed full of advertising, a YouTuber, Instagramer, or Blogger with a large community following can burst through the noise. Their subscriber base are followers who have similar interests, be it beauty & cosmetics, toy reviews, fitness & health, DIY advice. These followers are linked by similar demographics (Age, Sex, Marital Status) and absorb content depending what interests them at their stage of life. So how do you work with social media influencers and Vloggers?
Where do Influencers exist?
Social Media Influencers exist across many platforms – YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Pinterest, Snap Chat for example. The impact for your brand awareness can be a small blip, or it can go viral if shared and re-shared, delivering huge hits for your e-commerce website. Even more so if friends of friends see each other liking or sharing that post, they are then more likely to trust that piece of content.
What potential do I have with online Influencers?
Work with these influencers (that’s a link to our Social Media Marketing page) and you have the opportunity to target and convert their followers to your product. The impact can be felt immediately to your website or sales out at retail. You also have Vloggers, who video and write reviews to their independent websites, this stuff can go viral with the use of hashtags. Or there’s journalist editorial in industry magazines, which can provide more authority in the eyes of b2b buyers. The next level up are YouTube videos where product is unboxed (unboxing) or used in part of a story. Stories provide a little more flexibility in costs, because you can decide your time length within a video theme.
How much do Influencers cost?
The cost of a brand ambassador can be very wide-ranging depending on their subscriber base. Some influencers have made it to TV stardom, although YouTube & Instagram still hold the heavyweights. Click our Face Book post where we announced the rich list. Whilst these can provide a huge catalyst for your product, get ready to spend £50k minimum for a UK market privilege. Since the start of 2019 Influencer costs have soared but still relatively cheap on a cost per engagement basis vs. cost per click with PPC.
Influencers lets be realistic
Back in the real world, you don’t need to spend to those rates. Businesses don’t need the big hitters, we at Cream Soda Media work with the full spectrum of talent. We decide who actually receives the best video engagement (views, likes), not necessarily the largest subscriber base. Consumers move on, they age up and life needs change, therefore every year can be different. Do not dismiss the medium level influencers (50k to 100k followers) or micro’s (10k to 50k followers), who are hungry for more content and willing to promote harder for you. Micro’s can be a fraction of cost, perceived more personable and trustworthy. Their accrued views will challenge any medium influencer and deliver you a cost effective approach. A combination can prove a success with new brand launch events. Hire 1 x medium level YouTuber alongside several micro influencers. They will flock to see their peer and you can imagine after the social media hash tagging galore, your brand could be viewed by 000’s!
If you are struggling on video content production with no means of editing, adding effects and voice overs then hiring the use of an influencer or blogger for marketing can be your answer.
Before we get too excited to promote…
What are the potential pitfalls of using a YouTube Influencer and how can they harm my brand rather than promote it for good?
Make sure you research the brand ambassador’s previous blog history and video library. Decide whether they are suitable representatives for your brand image. In some corners the influencer community has come under more scrutiny for language mishaps or political views, so do not get tarnished. This over saturated social media market has made some viewers risk adverse, eroding their trust in new brands when being recommended to buy product.
Set your brief out, with clear objectives to present the features that set you apart from the competition. Write out a clear contract of payment terms and expectations of desired tonality.
Ultimately think how best to communicate your product. If it has key visual features and benefits, then video is best. Always make sure there is a call to action for your website or retailer. Don’t forgot the hundreds of bloggers out there who can provide written reviews, for simple free product. Again lock them down to provide direct retail links to purchase. These can improve online search for your product.
We advise you to read the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance report (1) for considerations on transparency with consumers.
CONTACT US
Our team is the best digital marketing agency in Surrey, of course we would say that. For many more insights, guidelines, and direction on Influencer marketing in the UK, contact us on Email support@creamsodamedia.com | Office +44 (0)1276 490448 and let’s discuss how we take your brand forward in this fragmented, crazy social media world!
ref 1) CMA – Social Media Endorsements: being transparent.
