With a well-planned strategy, engaging your staff, clients, and prospects through influencer marketing can lead to amplified brand exposure...
If you think influencer marketing is not for your brand, you might miss exciting opportunities to create unique and engaging content for your followers, leads, and prospects.
True or False: An influencer needs to be a celebrity. False!
I’m here to tell you this is not the case. Nano-influencers, local influencers, and macro-influencers can be more effective than leveraging celebrity status as a social media initiative. They can offer a more targeted approach providing more high-quality leads for less money.
The Stats
According to HubSpot, here are some convincing 2023 influencer marketing stats:
- Micro-influencers generate up to 60% more engagement than macro-influencers.
- 44% of marketers say that the greatest benefit of working with micro-influencers is that it is less expensive.
- 92% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing.
- 56% of marketers who invest in influencer marketing work with micro-influencers.
Got a Famous Landmark Nearby?
The most crucial step is choosing the right location for influencer marketing. It should align with your brand image and target audience. It should also be a place where your audience is likely to visit or be interested. A trendy cafe might work for a young, hip fashion brand, but a high-end restaurant might be a better fit for a conservative brand.
Here are some additional tips.
- Understand Local Trends and Interests: Every location has its own unique trends and interests. By understanding these, you can tailor your influencer marketing campaigns to fit the local context, making them more engaging and effective.
- Use Local Influencers: Local influencers will not only have a good understanding of the area and its trends, but they will also have a strong connection with their local audience. It can increase the credibility and effectiveness of your influencer marketing campaigns. Scan local social media for those influencers and monitor the locations they are talking about.
- Location-specific Content: Create content that highlights the unique aspects of the location. It could be the culture, the scenery, the people, or even the food. Use this to tell a story that resonates with your audience and ties in with your brand.
- Geo-targeted Promotion: Use geo-targeting to promote your content to people in and around the chosen location. It helps reach a more relevant audience and increases brand engagement.
- Host Events: Host influencer events at the location. It could be anything from a product launch to a simple get-together. Not only does it generate buzz around your brand, but it also provides an opportunity for influencers to create content.
- Leverage Location-based Hashtags: Make use of popular and relevant location-based hashtags in your posts. It helps increase the visibility of your content with people who are interested in or searching for that location.
- Collaborate with Local Businesses: Collaborating with local businesses can increase your brand’s visibility and reach. They could help promote your products, and services, or even offer exclusive deals or discounts to your clients.
- Offer Exclusive Experiences: Offering exclusive experiences at the physical location can attract new clients. It could be a behind-the-scenes tour, a private tasting or viewing, or even a unique opportunity to meet with someone influential in the industry.
- Respect the Location: Remember to respect the location and its rules. This is particularly important for natural or cultural heritage sites. Any negative impact on the location could harm your brand’s image and reputation.
- Trends can also be influencers. Look at trending topics to see how you can tie your brand, services, and products to it on social media. For example, when high-profile tax fraud occurs, share tips about tax fraud prevention, internal controls, and penalties. Use trending hashtags or keywords in your content and social media posts.
Examples
Bookkeeping Is Like Golf
One of my clients was traveling to a PGA tournament in California and would be near the course. I suggested she use the golf course as her video backdrop. Voila! Instant influencer.
While in her golf cart, she could discuss how golf is like bookkeeping. There are sand traps, water hazards, wind, and unpredictable elements, just like a company’s bookkeeping process.
Then, in her social media posts, she could tag the golf course and add golf-related hashtags to increase content viewership.
Chicago Bean
Your office is near the Chicago Jelly Bean sculpture. I did a Google Search for “Chicago jelly bean sculpture hashtags.” The first result was Best Hashtags (best-hashtags.com). I clicked for some of the best hashtags to incorporate into my social media, including #thebean, #thebeanchicago, and #chicagobean.
My fictional firm is hosting a webinar and wine-tasting event near there. In the registration emails, website images, and social media posts I mention the landmark, incorporate images with landmark alt tags, and add the landmark hashtags to various social media posts. More people will see my posts than ever before, increasing the firm’s registration revenue and lead generation opportunity.
Your Assignment
Gather a group at your office and ask them what friends and family want to see when they visit. Once you have a short list of “influencers,” ask the team how you could use them in a promotion. Research hashtags and find influencers talking about those places (https://hashtagify.me or best-hashtags.com are great resources). Then, create a plan to engage the staff, clients, and prospects.
In conclusion, influencer marketing is not just for celebrities. With a well-planned strategy, engaging your staff, clients, and prospects through influencer marketing can lead to amplified brand exposure, higher revenue, and improved lead-generation opportunities.
