Authentic influencer content is crucial if you want a marketing campaign to actually lead to higher conversions. Brands can ask influencers to promote their products, but it has to come from the ‘heart’ and match with their own personal brand.
The power of authentic influencers
Influencer marketing has been around for a long time. Before the birth of social media, celebrities, actors, and artists promoted certain products in interviews and magazines. But now that social media has given every person with a smartphone the chance to reach the whole world, the use of influencer marketing has increased dramatically.
Authentic normal people
The difference between actors and ‘normal’ people, however, lies in their authenticity. A movie star who promotes a particular shampoo is less authentic than the ‘girl next door’ who has a few thousand (or more) followers on Instagram.
Social media stars (both micro and mega) have so much influence that customers literally buy more when followers see a post in which their favorite yoga teacher or fitness guru wears a certain sport legging. There’s a good chance they’ll buy the same leggings. A study conducted by Twitter and Annalect shows that purchases increase by 5.2 times when people are exposed to content marketing.
Brands can use the authenticity of influencers as a form of social evidence. One good, authentic post, that matches the influencer’s personal brand, can easily persuade many potential customers to buy your product.
Influencers and their personal brand
Influencers have created a personal brand by showing themselves on social media. By sharing their emotions, uncertainties and challenges with their followers, they have built up a great deal of trust. That is why it’s essential that an influencer doesn’t just promote a product that he or she does not support. If influencers do that, they run the risk of losing followers and damaging their reputation.
How do marketers guarantee authenticity?
As a marketer, how do you ensure that influencers stay authentic? By paying attention to the following points:
- Find an influencer that fits the product, the brand, and the target group. Don’t look for an influencer who promotes organic food if you have a product that is not 100% organic.
- Give your influencers creative freedom to produce quality content. They are the ones who know best what appeals to their target group, so don’t give them guidelines that limit their creativity.
- Don’t try to change the influencer to match better with the brand. This diminishes authenticity and followers won’t appreciate it.
Conclusion
Authentic influencer content is the core of influencer marketing. When influencers promote products that they do not support but do get a lot of money for, followers notice this and leave. Work with influencers that match your brand, let them be creative and skyrocket your conversions.
