The right way to combine paid advertisements into influencer campaigns
How can you take your influencer campaign to the next level? You may want to include a different angle, e.g. B. Paid Ads. Some of the best marketing campaigns have multiple elements so that potential customers can see your brand in different places and from different angles.
There are many ways to layer your marketing campaigns. Today we're going to talk about one of those combinations: paid ads with influencer campaigns.
What does it mean to incorporate paid ads into influencer campaigns?
Before we dive into the details of how and why you should combine an influencer campaign with paid ads, let's break down those two elements and learn more about how each works on its own.
An influencer campaign is about using the influence of an internet celebrity or something similar with a lot of followers and, as the name suggests, "influence". It's a type of word-of-mouth marketing where people trust other people's recommendations.
During your influencer campaign, the influencer publishes posts about your product or service and shares their reviews or recommendations on a blog, on social media or on other platforms. This can be for free products or services, or for a fee.
Paid marketing campaigns consist of online ads like pay per click campaigns (PPC) or social media ads. Paid ads are shown to people who search for keywords that you include in your campaign or whose demographic you target. This includes users interested in brands or organizations similar to yours or otherwise part of your target audience.
To incorporate paid ads into influencer campaigns, set up a series of ads that show the same products or services that the influencer shares in their campaigns. This way you are showcasing your product from two sources and connecting with more people.
Think about it from the buyer's point of view.
First, they see your brand from the influencer. It might be the first time they hear about your brand, but they might choose to learn more as they trust the influencer.
Then they can google your company and read a blog post. Or, they see other mentions about your brand from the same influencer or other influencers they trust, which gives you more credibility on their minds.
Examples of paid ads built into influencer campaigns
Radha Beauty took a real-time multi-persona approach to their integrated campaign. Working with Carusele, they teamed up with several influencers who created social posts about the beauty brand.
The brand observed which posts had the most traffic and then promoted those posts to audiences that reflected the demographics of those posts' followers using the platform-sponsored ad options. Your web traffic has exceeded your stated goals.
Schick Intuition used influencers to spread the word about their new razors. In addition to influencers sharing their experience with the razors and a coupon code to drive sales, the company incorporated video bumper ads and other in-video ads. They reported a 229 percent increase in ad recall and a 113 percent increase in purchase intent.
Kettle & Fire worked with influencers to take photos of their products. By harnessing the talent of these influencers, they gained brand awareness and compelling images. You could also see how well these images were performing and reuse them for Facebook ads.
Why you should integrate your influencer and paid ad strategies
The most basic reason to incorporate a paid ad campaign into your influencer campaign is to have more ground under your feet. This allows users to see your brand more often in less time. The more people see it, the more likely they are to buy.
Statistics vary in terms of the number of times people need to see an ad or other information about a product before they act on it. Some say it takes seven times, also known as the "rule of 7". Still others say it takes 11 times.
No matter what number you believe in, the reality is that it is always more than once.
Shoppers are unlikely to step through their favorite social media app, or while viewing a blog or video stream, the first or second time they see a brand. Even if the influencer campaign is statistically engaging and compelling, the viewer will likely need to see your brand a few more times.
This also applies if the influencer talks about your product more than once. Most influencer campaigns are not productive.
Paid ads as well as influencer posts give you the opportunity to keep standing in front of buyers. This is the way to get that magic number and potentially make sales.
It is also a question of time. Think about how to catch up with your favorite influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or blog posts. You're scrolling and consuming, probably just for entertainment – you're probably not shopping. It is unlikely that you will stop watching a video to go to an online store and buy.
When are you ready to make a purchase? When you go shopping online. For many of us, that starts with a Google search. Before we order a gift for a loved one – or for ourselves – we go to a search engine and type in what we are looking for.
We rarely enter just one URL the first time we search for items we shop for. Instead, we enter the name of an element. This is the best place for your ad to appear.
The influencer has already told your prospect how good you are. Maybe a couple of times. Now the influencer's fan goes to Google to look up a product in your industry and there you have a product they will remember.
Even if they haven't clicked the ad, they might see your name the next time they scroll social media and their curiosity is now so piqued that you get a click.
It's also good to think about ad fatigue. To overcome this, users need to see something new. This is where these paid ads come in. You can present a lot of the same information in slightly different ways. Even if you just run one ad on another platform, it can make enough of a difference.
If not, you can try a different approach to your message. Maybe share more about your product. Maybe you can show it off in different styles, flavors, or other variations than the influencer. The aim is to get the viewer interested in checking out this brand they heard about.
A step-by-step guide on how to incorporate paid ads into influencer campaigns
Who should best represent your brand? Influencers who represent your brand's values and who are invested in the use and distribution of products like yours.
You can use a tool like Upfluence or contact them directly after browsing social media. Once you know where and when they will be releasing your products, you can start building your plans around theirs.
Choose where you want paid ads to go
Placing your ads on the same platforms as the influencer improves the chances of users seeing your brand more than once. You may also want to think about keyword-driven ads like Google Ads to improve your target market's views. You can also target people who are looking for your influencer.
Set the time frame
To get the most out of this multi-channel approach, you may want to set timing parameters that reflect your influencer campaign. This is about reaching the same viewers with your ad. So if you are working within a similar timeframe, this is a great way to ensure this.
Design and Press Go
In the copy and images of your paid advertising campaign, you should reflect a lot of what viewers have seen before to help remind them of your brand. You can introduce a new facet of your brand but remain recognizable to those who have already seen your brand with the influencer via similar messages, product types, and even brand colors.
When should you use this strategy?
The short answer to when to combine an influencer campaign with paid marketing is when you need to get the word out there in a short amount of time.
Below are suggestions of when some of these timely campaigns might take place.
Seasonal products
If a holiday, season, or other period is driving your sales, integrated marketing campaigns can help you reach a wider audience quickly. This is ideal for seasonal items that you want to use during a specific time period. By appearing in influencer posts and ads, you can get an idea of how you are everywhere and how hot everyone is talking about this year. Influencers can even show what the product looks like in their homes. For example, if you sell Christmas decorations, they might display them on their trees.
New introductions
Another good time to think about using multiple campaigns at the same time is when launching a new product or service. Spreading the word across different streams can build brand awareness and gain constant awareness to get people excited to try.
Jump on trends
Similar to seasonal products, trendy products have deadlines, albeit abstract ones. At some point the trend will dissolve or develop further. If you're trying to tackle the wave of a cultural phenomenon or social event, running marketing campaigns while those things are happening can help keep more eyes on your product and take advantage of the popularity for as long as it lasts.
Take advantage of a speaker's opportunity
Even if you aren't feeling pressed against the clock, sometimes it makes sense to put paid advertising behind an influencer campaign. When you have an exciting opportunity with an influencer, you may want to put money and effort into getting the word out and grabbing that spotlight.
Conclusion
By integrating paid ads with influencer campaigns, you can get the most out of the investment you make in working with that influencer.
By using a multi-channel marketing approach, you can reach more people more often with your brand message and thus increase the chances and the number of conversions. This isn't the only way to get those conversions, but it can be a fruitful avenue that leverages great content that has already been created through your brand.
Who is your dream influencer for your next marketing campaign?
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