Organizations using more traditional forms of media are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their audience and stand out.
It’s not surprising given that:
- Online ad blocking continues to accelerate. In 2010, 21 million users blocked online ads. Today, that number has increased nearly tenfold to nearly 200 million users.
- Trust in traditional paid advertising continues to decline. Consumer trust in direct advertising from brands hovers around 30 percent. People are more interested than ever in the opinions of experts and thought leaders and word of mouth continues to be among the most trusted sources of information about a brand. Brands are turning to others to tell their stories.
- Social media isn’t going anywhere. Facebook reports 8 billion daily views and more than 1.5 billion users. Americans’ use of social media has grown to nearly two hours per day. And a third of our time spent online is on social media networks. Brands are finding that the true power of social media is not in what they can communicate through their owned social channels, but what influential social media users spread to their networks of followers.
Today’s brands hire influencers to get the work out
Influencer marketing is a new form of paid media that uses popular and trusted social media personalities to drive a brand’s message to a larger market.
It basically works like this: The brand hires an influencer. The brand briefs the influencer on the issue and provides parameters for their engagement. The influencer creates original, branded content and shares that content across online platforms. Lots of people engage!
Influencer Marketing in Action
SE2 and our partner August United used influencer marketing to educate young adults about the dangers of casual tobacco use on behalf of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. We asked Colorado-based influencers to tell their personal stories about why they choose not to smoke.
Their posts triggered candid and honest conversations from their followers – conversations that would never have happened had we not used influencers in the campaign – achieving our objective to get young adults talking with their friends and networks about the dangers of tobacco.
The campaign had nearly 22,000 engagements (i.e., comments, likes, shares) in just three weeks.
Ready to learn more about influencer marketing?
Most nonprofit organizations and government agencies can more effectively reach and engage their target audiences through a cost-effective influencer campaign.
Are you curious about how influencer marketing might fit into your communications and outreach campaigns? Contact us today!
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