#AD: Authentic advertising with influencers

People seem to do everything they can to avoid advertisements; from installing adblockers to terminating their cable television contracts. At the same time more and more people subscribe to online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The main reason for most of them is that they don’t want to see ads while watching their favorite movies or tv-shows. Discover how to make an #ad that doesn’t strike as advertisement.

It is clear that we collectively are less and less willing to be confronted with advertisements. In North America, for example, 8 out of 10 people use at least one adblocker. Besides that online streaming services are becoming increasingly popular. Seven years ago 36 percent of the people between 18 and 49 years old (the main target audience for marketeers) in the United States watched television on prime time. Five years later, that number had plummeted to 28 percent.

How can you market a product if the target group tries to avoid your ads at all costs? And how can you advertise without annoying your potential customers with your advertisement? The answer is actually rather simple; make sure that the advertisement doesn’t feel like advertisement.

Influencer marketing

Like no other social influencers are able to promote a product without giving the consumer the feeling they are looking at advertisement. In a world where people are increasingly negative about advertisement, influencer marketing is the way to go. There are two important conditions for a successful social influencer campaign.

·     Don’t make your #ad too obvious

With influencer marketing it is first and foremost important to advertise in a subtle way. Make sure that posts look spontaneous. For a successful influencer campaign it is crucial that the messages from the social influencer come across as authentic. When followers get the feeling that your influencer is spreading ads rather than genuine social media posts, there is a good chance the message has the opposite effect; the consumer will will unfollow your influencer.

·     Choose the right influencer

This corresponds to the above; in order to create spontaneous and genuine messages it is most important to find the right influencer. An influencer is not a sales person, but a personal brand with its own tone, style and appearance. The influencer will not adjust this style to the brand. And if he or she does, the message will most likely will feel dishonest.

Therefore, spend some time to find the right influencer. Your influencer must have a tone and style that naturally matches the brand or product. The better the brand fits the influencer, the more convincing the message will be. If this is the case, followers will be happy to read the advertisement instead of trying to avoid it in every way possible way. After all, they choose to follow their influencer themselves.

The best way to reach potential customers

As long as a campaign meets these conditions, you have a winning strategy. A paid or sponsored #ad is advertisement but it doesn’t have to feel like it. With the right influencer you can reach potential customers without anoying them and scaring them away.