influencer marketing strategy
influencer marketing strategy

Influencer marketing campaigns have become very successful tools in consumer public relations strategies, as well as growth marketing strategies. With the influencer industry seeing consistent growth over the years, there have also been plenty of changes.

Influencer marketing has drastically changed from the previous years, and it’s only going to become a more important tool in the future.

As with most other things, the pandemic managed to completely shift how the consumers engage with the influencers they’re following with many seeking out new people to follow.

One of the biggest changes that happened during the pandemic has been the expansion of the definition of the word influencer itself. During the pandemic, consumers started looking for other sources that would bring value to their own lives, including people that could help them grow financially, personally, professionally, physically, or even emotionally.

These days, influencers are far beyond people with style or celebrities. In fact, the number of micro-influencers, as well as experts in other professional fields, has also dramatically increased.

That makes influencer campaigns a lot easier in different markets, especially in markets that didn’t previously have influencers. This includes markets such as health, B2B, and even finance, which is a lot more than the previous influencers that mainly focused on lifestyle or travel.

Next, although brand or product awareness was the main goal of influencer marketing campaigns in the past, these days, companies have to take it a step further by meeting the customers in their buying journey.

Today’s consumers are looking for seamless shopping experiences, which means being able to make a purchase whenever they want, wherever they want. For brands, that means meeting those needs by changing their goals.

Instead of focusing on brand awareness, companies now have to focus on letting the consumers know they’re able to make a purchase easily on different platforms. That’s also the reason why plenty of platforms have introduced in-app shopping features.

Then there’s also the fact that consumers are a lot more purpose-driven and conscious when making purchasing decisions. Today’s consumers care more about where their products are coming from, and they will go out of their way to find products from companies that have the same values as their own.

That means sustainable, locally-sourced, or responsible brands are seeing a lot more success, even if that means the consumers are paying more.

That’s why it’s not only important for companies to become more conscious of their own actions, but of the influencers they choose to work with as well. The influencers’ values should line up with the company’s as well as the consumers’ values.

To do all of this, companies should build long-term partnerships by working with the same influencers over longer periods of time. That way, the target audience will be more familiar and create a stronger relationship with the influencers and the brand at the same time.

Companies should also be focusing on working with people that are more relevant to the industry, even if they have a smaller number of followers. This way, brands can leverage influencer content across multiple platforms and campaigns and drive positive sales results.

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Ronn Torossian is the Founder & Chairman of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently owned PR firms in the United States. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company's growth and vision, with the agency earning accolades including being named a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three NYC PR agency by O'Dwyers, one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces and being awarded multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year. With over 25 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America's most prolific and well-respected public relations executives. Throughout his career he has advised leading and high-growth businesses, organizations, leaders and boards across corporate, technology and consumer industries. Torossian is known as one of the country's foremost experts on crisis communications. He has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly in the media and has authored two editions of his book, "For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations," which is an industry best-seller. Torossian's strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, a Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and a recipient of Crain's New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Outside of 5W, Torossian serves as a business advisor to and investor in multiple early stage businesses across the media, B2B and B2C landscape. Torossian is the proud father of two daughters. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member of multiple not for profit organizations.