PP 2 - Influencers

 Influencers

Influencer marketing has become more and more popular as time goes on. We are living in a digital era and most brand marketing is happening through social media channels or other online channels. Social media is very powerful because it is possible to reach out to a very big audience without needing to do too much, all you have to do is post interesting content. 

Influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most effective ways for businesses to reach their target audiences. Through influencer marketing, a product or a service is promoted by partnering with individuals on social media. Brand awareness, sales, and customer trust have increased. Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular and effective marketing strategies in recent years. This phenomenon has completely transformed how businesses promote their products and services, as well as how consumers engage with brands. 

Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing where businesses collaborate with individuals with a large following on social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. These individuals, known as influencers, use their platform to promote the products and services of the brand they are partnering with. Micro-influencers typically charge $100-$500 per post, and macro-influencers typically charge $5,000-$10,000 per post or more. 

HelloFresh, a home-delivery meal kit subscription service, has heavily relied on collaborating with celebrities and macro-influencers to get their brand in front of their target audience. The Refresh with HelloFresh campaign won the 2020 Influencer Marketing Awards for Best Food and Drink Campaign. It was launched in 2019 and included in the campaign there was Instagram posts being posted on various accounts. The face of the campaign was Davina McCall. The influencers for this campaign posted a series of cooking videos and photos throughout the three-week campaign with the tag #RefreshWithHelloFresh. HelloFresh strategically collaborated with influencers to target busy moms and young professionals.

Lexi Hidalgo is one of their influencers and in her podcast episodes of The Moments podcast, she will cut into short advertisements for HelloFresh talking about how much she likes it and how smart it is. She has also posted TikTok videos where she briefly mentions HelloFresh and how she is a happy user of them. Lexi does well by blending the marketing part into her videos instead of making a post only talking about HelloFresh. This makes it feel more authentic and trustworthy. 

Another brand that is actively using influencer marketing is Gymshark. Gymshark is one of the most active gym wear brands using influencer marketing throughout the past years. Their campaign "66 Days: Change Your Life" challenge was a massive hit on TikTok and Instagram. The idea behind #Gymshark66 was more than a trend. It was built up to engage the community in the most meaningful way. The campaign asked the audience to challenge themselves for 66 days through positive habits and an active lifestyle. What would they get in return? A year's supply of Gymshark. For this campaign, Gymshark partnered with six sports and athlete influencers with a strong presence on TikTok and Instagram to raise awareness around the challenge. The influencers Twin Melody shared multiple videos promoting Gymshark activewear with #Gymshark66. 

Acknowledging the potency of influencer marketing, Gymshark engaged in strategic partnerships with fitness influencers and athletes to amplify their brand's message. They selected influencers whose values harmonized with their own and who boasted substantial followings within the fitness sphere. These collaborations allowed Gymshark to extend its reach to fresh demographics, expand brand visibility, and leverage the influencer's trustworthiness and genuineness to bolster engagement and conversions. 

Adidas is another brand that is using influencer marketing in the form of the NIL Network (NIL = Name, Image, and Likeness). In 2022 they recruited 50,000 college athletes from across the US to act as local ambassadors for their brand. The participants' compensation will come as a blend of affiliate sales and pay-for-content. Adidas did this to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Some of the names are Kinsey Fiedler, Emily Mason, Hailey Van Lith, and Erin Moss. As a part of their partnerships with Adidas, the young women will proudly represent the brand while playing, training, and showing the world that more is possible inside and outside of their university team obligations. "This is just above and beyond what I even thought. Joining Adidas means so much. I mean, it's a global brand that reaches so many people, and the fact that we're here for Title IX just shows that they have these amazing standards that I am so honored to represent here," said Erin Moss, volleyball player, and honor roll student for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. 

Adidas is a shining example of how influencer marketing can take your brand to new heights. Other names that Adidas is working with is Selena Gomez, Lionel Messi, Naomi Campbell, and many more. From singers to actresses to sports people, they are working with every big face. 

I think that it is very smart to include influencer marketing as a part of a brand's PR strategy. We are living in a digitalized world where social media is being used everywhere, and you are able to reach a big audience within a short amount of time. It is very authentic and a good way to get fans of influencers to also trust your brand, since the person they look up to and trust are using it.