Discover the latest and greatest insights into Influencer Marketing for 2024 as five industry-leading experts unveil their strategies. This guide will delve into the art of collaborating with influencers and seamlessly integrating your brand into popular culture. Stay ahead of the curve and prepare to maximize your brand's impact in the Influencer Marketing industry.
Influencer Marketing is always changing and developing and it’s not set to slow down in 2024.
Nicole Sia, Senior Director, Head of Content and Social Content at DoorDash explained that the delivery service uses influencers for every part of their marketing funnel and it is a predominant part of their marketing mix. They put their focus on UCG, driving awareness, and affiliates to reach ROI. For example, they ran a large multichannel campaign for the 2024 Super Bowl, but worked with influencers to reach engaged communities and tailored specific prizes to the community.
Kat Keen, Social & Influencer Senior Marketing Manager at YouTube has certainly seen Influencer Marketing become more important and has consequently gained more budget across all influencer products. However, there is now more pressure to drive results and prove the worth of the channel – for example, did the activity drive perception or change user behavior? Was the campaign worth the increased budget?
Maria Chung, Vice President, Digital Marketing at Lionsgate explained that thankfully, there is now a lot more understanding of the impact of influencer content and it’s becoming a larger focus for many brands.
Jessica D’Amico Acosta, Director, Influencer & Partnerships, at Whole Foods shared that their Influencer team sits as part of the larger media team. The channel is still tactical, but they leverage the expertise of their organic and paid teams for optimum targeting. They also work with the podcasting and email teams to integrate influencers into every piece of content. The next project is trialing influencers in in-store advertising!
Whole Foods have found that influencer content in Paid Social performs far better than other creative – therefore allowing the influencer team to prove to senior leadership that Influencer is worth investing in.
Ngozi Musa at Athletic Greens (AG1) shares how the company was built on influencers, so they focus on utilizing influencers on every channel to build long-term relationships, and therefore loyalty. This is shown through creating a video series with influencers and inviting them to Community Events.
AG1 still find it challenging to get their wider teams on board, so they host internal Lunch and Learn
Sessions to provide further education. Kat agreed that if influencers are an afterthought for your brand, you need to do a lot of internal PR to educate the other teams. She advises that you implement Office Hours, Work Shops, and Weekly All Hands all about why other teams need to take notice. And don’t be afraid to have difficult conversations with leadership!
Nicole at DoorDash has taken this one step further, and not only produced documents for internal teams – but has created ‘Influencer 101s’ for big tech platforms too!
Nicole explained that as the Influencer Marketing landscape grows it is becoming saturated, and people are getting better at it – so you need to put your brand at the forefront of your customer's mind and keep on top of trends.
Jessica has more ethical concerns, due to the price of the products that Whole Foods sells. Inflation in the US is rising and she explains the importance of being sensitive to your customers and their concerns. Stay proactive by staying attuned to global events and trends, ensuring your brand remains relevant and responsive. It's important to assess your stance as a brand and make informed decisions aligned with current cultural contexts.
Ngozi feels it can be challenging to build trust and authenticity while also adhering to FTC guidelines. She shared the importance of holding influencer onboarding calls when working on a campaign to build relationships and help the influencer connect with the brand. However, this can be tricky if you are scaling. Luckily, Ngozi has a team of 20 on hand, whereas Kat at YouTube holds a weekly call with multiple influencers to combat this challenge.
Jenny Quigley-Jones, CEO of Digital Voices emphasized the importance of creator calls, regardless of the campaign objective. For Brand Awareness it reassures the influencer to be authentic and creative, and for Performance, you can make sure that the influencer is a trusted user. Jenny herself has partaken in influencer calls, and as an agency, we’ve even helped influencers edit their videos to ensure the right tone. Being human is extremely important and drives results.
Jenny believes it is important not to do wide influencer call-outs and only work with select influencers that will perform for your brand, and deliver the best creatives.
Lionsgate puts a lot of effort into reviewing influencers where possible but recognizes the challenge for small teams. Kat shared that audience demographics are of high importance when selecting influencers, but reviewing them is crucial too. To do this effectively, YouTube has retained creator programs for YouTube Shorts and built out long-term brand advocates.
DoorDash is also exploring a project that would include a preferred network of creators that they know perform and have brand-aligned audiences. This can help with time management when shortlisting.
Digital Voices works with long-term agency partner Surfshark, and the methodology when reviewing hundreds of creators a month to drive performance on YouTube is to do a trial integration, and if it goes well, they contract the influencer as a long-term partner.
DoorDash analyzes popular culture and what is currently happening in the world, and leans the brand into it. Whole Foods takes a similar approach and employs a diverse team across various age groups to understand millennial and Gen Z culture. They also have a workstream to identify trends that they can replicate online and in-store in a way that aligns with their brand. For example, Whole Foods leaned into the ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ trend on TikTok due to the store selling Tarte Cherry Juice – it’s all about being reactive.
YouTube also ensures teams span various ages, backgrounds, and locations, and have a multitude of interests e.g. football, gaming, and reading to tap into the trends aligning with as many communities as possible.
Lionsgate emphasizes the significance of agency partners who have a deep understanding of diverse cultures. Furthermore, they leverage the expertise of influencers to forge authentic connections within these cultural spheres.
In conclusion, the insights shared by these industry experts shine a light on the dynamic nature of Influencer Marketing and its pivotal role in today’s brand strategies. As highlighted by industry leaders such as DoorDash, YouTube, Athletic Greens, and Lionsgate, an emphasis on influencers remains paramount.
Brands should:
If you want to drive impactful influencer campaigns that resonate with audiences in 2024 and beyond reach out to us at hello@digitalvoices.com.
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