Top 5 Examples of Best Influencer Marketing Campaigns & How They Worked
Sometimes, hundreds of “how tos” can feel overwhelming. As luck would have it, we have a cure for that. If you’re suffering from “hack fatigue”, we’ve rounded up some excellent examples of best influencer marketing campaigns, to show you how it all hangs together…
We offer our fair share of ideas, tips and hacks here at Miappi. From how to launch a successful Twitter hashtag campaign, to how to generate amazing UGC. We like to provide practical advice that helps our readers flourish in the world of social media re-marketing and content visualisation. Today we want to share our list of best influencer marketing examples and explain why they are so good. So lets begin…
What is influencer marketing?
Before we dive in, let’s have a quick recap of what influencer marketing is. You can get a much more thorough briefing by checking out our comprehensive blog all about what is influencer marketing, but here’s what you need to know in a nutshell….
Influencer marketing is a technique used by brands to boost consumer engagement and, ultimately, increase conversions.
Influencer marketing stats in 2018-2019
To show you why influencer marketing has so much value these days we want to share some stats:
According to a recent study:
- 94% of marketers said that influencer marketing is an effective campaign strategy
- Compared to traditional avertising it can generate 11 times better ROI
- 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations.
The forecast says that by 2019 the value of Instagram influencer market will double compared to 2017, and it will reach the value of 2.38 billion USD.
Having these stats in mind, you’re probably already convinced that influencer marketing is a must.
What is influencer marketing campaign?
Influencer marketing campaign is where brands pay individuals with a larger than average social media followers to promote their products or services. It’s a way for a brand to fast track their way to a bigger audience. It also has the added advantage of authenticity.
The Influencer provides an authentic, genuine feel that brand-owned communications can only aspire to. The reason? Simple. People trust the reviews and comments of ‘real people’ much more readily than they trust an overtly corporate advertisement.
Micro vs. macro influencers
Depending on weather you want to build trust or increase your online presence you should consider cooperation with micro influencers or macro influencers.
Micro influencers have lower number of followers but they interact, promote products which dovetail with their personal interests. They usually are subject matter experts and they reach your target audience with high quality posts. Thus they are seen as more credible and trustworthy. So running a micro influencer campaign will trust around your brand.
Macro influencers, are usually celebrities with tens of millions of followers so their single posts gets million of interactions. Macro influencers often simply push out sponsored content and organic content while lapping up attention from millions. Cooperation with them requires a huge budget but for sure they will reach a lot of potential consumers of your brand.
3 key influencer marketing campaign goals
There are all sorts of different strategies to approach running an influencer marketing campaign. But the end goals are ultimately the same. An influencer campaign is all about:
- extending your brand’s reach online – brand-owned posts are ignored in feeds
- reaching target audience
- giving your brand a human face – quite literally, by associating it with a real person who means something to their followers
- to gain likes, conversions and more via recommendations from top influencers or “the copycat effect” (we all want to look like our idols, right?!).
5 Top Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Time to take a look at all this in action. Here are five examples of the best influencer marketing campaigns…
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ASOS Insiders – chosen influencers
This influencer campaign from online clothing retailer ASOS cleverly sidesteps the problem many consumers have with sponsors posts and their ilk. With the likes of the Kardashians making millions from ads framed as “organic” social posts, many people feel duped by content which is actually purely promotional.
ASOS has cleverly avoided this pitfall. They set up chosen influencers (each with an established online following) with dedicated “ASOS Insiders” accounts on Instagram and Pinterest etc. Here individuals with an existing following, such as curve model Paloma Elsesser, can post looks which feature ASOS clothing, without making their “official account” followers feel like they’re being aggressively marketed to.
ASOS even have a handy hub for their influencers on their website, giving more people the opportunity to discover individuals with a style they love and get inspired to order the clothing they showcase. Smart stuff.
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Daniel Wellington – sponsored posts from celebrities
This luxury watch brand cleverly harnessed the “exclusiveness” that can be synonymous with word of mouth recommendations. Their influencer marketing campaign gave consumers the feeling of being “in the know”, by completely abandoning traditional advertising and instead splurging their advertising budget on sponsored posts (accompanied by a discount code) from celebrities and high end social media influencers like Sarah-Lola and @meiinpsn.
The campaign was simple but highly effective, demonstrating the reach and power of influencer campaigns. In emulation of their favourite influencers and to enjoy a connection with this luxury brand. Many consumers posted their own #danielwellington images, with over 1.5 million hashtagged images now on the platform. Over the course of the campaign, the brand gained over 3.2m followers.
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Fashion Nova – got its name under “every” social media users’ nose
If you haven’t come across a sponsored Fashion Nova post, you’re probably allergic to social media. This brand has gotten its name under virtually every social media users’ nose over the past couple of years, all thanks to its highly active influencer campaign.
Fashion Nova currently works with 3,000-5,000 social media influencers, from all corners of the social media sphere (and world!). From the likes of global celebrity (and eighth most-followed Instagrammer) Kylie Jenner, to hair-stylist-come-curve-model Sophie Lewis, Fashion Nova recruits all sorts of influencers to get their name known by consumers in a huge array of demographics.
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Nikon – giving Nikon camera to influencers
A recommendation or a sponsored post are effective influencer marketing techniques, but showcasing products by getting influencers to actively use them is a powerful step for brands to take. Nikon’s partnership with the Warner Sound Festival (plus an array of influencers who attended the festival) allowed this approach to really show off Nikon’s technology.
Nikon arranged for influencers to attend the festival, giving them a Nikon camera with which to document their experiences. This smart strategy got followers interested in music closer to the action via Nikon cameras. And at the same time the influencers were publicising the event itself to photography fans. A smart team up for both Warner Sound and Nikon.
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AXE – emerging influencer marketing trend
The majority of influencer marketing campaigns are female focused (58% of the platform’s users are women), so following AXE’s recent male-targeting campaign was interesting. This brand ticked some well-established best practice boxes enlisting 30 “AXE Hair Creators” from a range of demographics, including widely followed actor Josh Peck.
AXE also made use of an emerging influencer marketing trend. They’re hosting a buzz-building event, attended by a number of their “Hair Creators”. These events create plenty of opportunities for influencers to share images of the product and to get the brand’s name out there in an organic way. And also showing followers and guests how to get their look using AXE products.
Our Miappi UGC platform helps you place influencer exposure front and centre, on your website, in emails, on live screens, paid advertising and much more. Why not get in touch today for a free consultation!
