Capturing a specific audience’s attention takes a lot of effort and care. And now it’s getting even harder, as marketers often find themselves needing to do “more with less.”
So, you might be thinking, “What influencer marketing strategies should I be investing in right now?”
Thankfully, we had beauty and wellness content creator, Tennille Jenkins, and Samantha Hofherr, Influencer and Partnerships Manager at ILIA Beauty, share their insights on how to adjust your influencer marketing strategy to make the most impact with your budget.
Watch the full discussion with Samantha and Tennille here.
Top 3 Influencer Marketing Strategies To Capture Your Audiences’ Attention
Diversify Your Influencer Program
As a brand, it’s critical that you don’t fall into the fallacy of committing to one type of partner, platform, or content trend.
According to Traackr’s 2024 US Influencer Marketing Impact report, consumers are more likely to conduct product research on YouTube but purchase products on Facebook. These results differ across generations and gender meaning that consumers are using social platforms for various purposes.
At ILIA Beauty, Samantha builds a tailored influencer marketing strategy for each of the brand’s target audiences. They use a handy framework called the who, where, why and how method.
- Who are you trying to reach?
- Where is that group already consuming media on a day-to-day basis?
- Why are they on those platforms and what is their main objective (entertainment, education, purchasing, etc.)?
- How are you partnering with influencers to connect with your audience and tell your brand story?
“The ILIA brand is designed for the Millennial, her mom and her daughter. We have to strategically think about how those three different consumer generations affect each other when it comes to consuming media and making purchasing decisions. So, we’re thinking about the top of the funnel to the bottom of the funnel on all different platforms, and how we’re reaching those audiences with our influencer partners.” - Samantha Hofherr, Influencer and Partnerships Manager at ILIA Beauty
There is no one-size-fits-all influencer marketing strategy. The right formula for your brand requires constant experimentation, evaluation, and adjustment. Spend time building a system for identifying what platforms, content and campaigns are getting you the most bang for your buck. Brands like ILIA Beauty use Traackr’s influencer marketing platform, to hone this process and help their teams save time. A few of the things Traackr can help with include:
- Finding diverse influencers who will connect with your intended audience.
- Tracking content to stay on top of what’s trending or who is talking about your brand
- Measuring the ROI of your influencer marketing efforts to understand where you should further invest.
Avoid Chasing Every Trend
Here’s a million-dollar question: do you need to jump on every hot trend in order to stay relevant and seen on social media?
TikTok might have taught us that if you want to stay ahead, you’ve got to be nimble and jump on trends quickly. And it’s true that if done correctly, jumping on trends can make an impact on your influencer program. However, it’s a dangerous game to get too into trend chasing — not only can it be exhausting/impossible for your team, it could even end up damaging your brand. So how do you know which trends to hop on?
Samantha shared that there is not one set rule on how to jump onto a trend or be a part of a cultural moment, but it is an entire strategy that needs to be thought through. The important factor? Lead with your brand identity and get your whole team aligned. ILIA Beauty has found success in embedding trends that align with their brand values into different channels (social, influencer, email, etc.). Incorporating trends into different marketing channels makes their stories 360 which resonates more with their audience.
“A trend has to be something that aligns with our brand pillars because if we're trying to jump on everything, we’ll lose our unique tone of voice and brand identity that we have worked so hard to create and protect.” - Samantha Hofherr, Influencer and Partnerships Manager at ILIA Beauty
But if you’re going to jump, jump! The lifecycle of a product or content trend lasts a maximum of five months (and likely less nowadays). A sophisticated influencer marketing strategy will keep its content timely and rely on influencers to say “what’s in” and “what’s out.”
And don’t worry if you think you “missed out” on a trend. They typically come back around just in a different form. Especially in the beauty space, there are always different iterations of a similar trend cycling through (i.e Latte Makeup). To spot trends that are reappearing, it’s important to consistently be listening to what your influencers are talking about. Traackr’s brand buzz feature is a great tool to keep your finger on the pulse of influencer content.
Morale of the story: Be intentional with the trends you jump on and create a system with your team to act quickly. Just remember that if you’re always chasing the next “hottest” trend, you might never start a trend yourself.
“Dabbling in trends is fun, but it's so important to stay authentic to yourself and find your own creative voice. If you’re spending too much time looking at trends, then you’re never cultivating your own voice. You never know if what you do could inspire someone else and be the next trend.” - Tennille Jenkins, Beauty and Wellness Content Creator
Lead with Authenticity
Influencers have proven to impact all levels of the funnel (from awareness to sales) and build strong brand loyalty.
Traackr’s 2024 US Influencer Marketing Impact report found that:
- 53% of consumers look to influencers for product recommendations
- 61% of consumers feel that influencers' posts have some sway on their purchase decisions
- 57% of consumers stated that they would try out a new social platform if an influencer they know and trust posts there
It’s clear that influencers impact consumers’ purchasing behaviors, so how do you ensure you’re putting your best foot forward with each influencer partnership?
Focus on the partner in partnership. As a brand, you need to think about how you’re fitting into the influencer’s world. An authentic partnership is one that has an open dialogue. Being too prescriptive with an influencer brief or not taking an influencer’s suggestion into account could lead to both sides losing. At the end of the day, an influencer knows their audience best, so focus on building a story together versus prescribing one to them.
“It tells me a lot about a partnership when a brand tailors a brief to me. It’s really helpful to see specific content details and which of my previous content resonates with your brand.” - Tennille Jenkins, Beauty and Wellness Content Creator
Seemingly, small details like adding a creator’s content to a brief can go a long way. If you’re looking to distinguish yourself, focus on long-term partnerships, creative campaigns, and out-of-the-box collaborations that go beyond traditional sponsored content.
Want to hear more from Samantha and Tennille? Watch the full video for more key takeaways!