The rise of influencer marketing has altered the landscape of traditional retail and eCommerce. While influential people have always had a role in marketing and advertising (think: celebrity endorsements), brands have only grasped the power of influencer marketing in recent years due to its ties to social media.
Influencers build their sphere of influence by creating online content on channels such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and more. As a result, they have a direct line of communication to their follower base. Social influence works similarly to word-of-mouth marketing, which is considered to be the most effective form of marketing.
For subscription box businesses, there is an incredible opportunity to increase brand awareness and expand reach by tapping into an influencer network. For example, unboxing videos are a recent phenomenon where influencers share the packaging experience of subscription box services and other products (learn more about creating a memorable unboxing experience in our previous blog post).
Influencer marketing can yield a high return on investment for your emerging subscription box business. Here are three steps to help you get started:
The first step in planning an influencer marketing campaign is to define measurable KPIs (key performance indicators). KPIs are specific goals that determine the success of your campaign. It’s helpful to start small, with simple KPIs that can be easily tracked. Here are examples of common influencer marketing KPIs:
-Brand awareness and reach
-Engagement rates
-Social media conversions
-Website referral traffic
The next step is to research and identify a list of influencers that you’d like to work with. Luckily for subscription box businesses, influencers exist in (almost) every niche. During this process be sure to consider your tribe — the target audience who may identify with your brand. The influencer must be able to effectively reach your tribe through their content.
However, don’t get too caught up in the numbers. Influencers with a smaller, niche audience typically draw higher engagement and conversation rates. According to a study by Experticity, micro influencers are capable of generating 22.2X higher conversions than other types of influencers. Furthermore, it can be significantly more difficult to reach an influencer with 500,000 followers compared to someone with 50,000 followers.
Before reaching out, consider what you’re willing to offer. Do you have the budget to compensate the influencer? Or is your goal to drive organic engagement? With both routes, incentives are critical. Keep in mind that your competitors may be contacting the same influencers as well.
For paid promotion, the incentive is typically monetary. Brands and influencers agree upon some form of payment, along with the content platform(s). Other factors can often be negotiated, such as post frequency and posting times. According to the FTC Endorsement Guides, influencers must clearly disclose their relationship with brands when they feature an endorsement.
With an unpaid influencer marketing campaign, brands must communicate the benefits of a mutual partnership. It can be helpful to personalize the subscription box experience for the influencer to encourage brand engagement. Also, consider providing them with a unique discount code to offer their follower base as an added incentive.
Whether you’re planning to utilize paid or organic influencer marketing, it’s important to focus on providing an awesome brand experience worth sharing. Before beginning an influencer marketing campaign, ask yourself: is your subscription box packaging up to par?
Fantastapack is your go-to partner for high-quality subscription box packaging. Our easy-to-use platform empowers brands of all sizes to produce beautiful, full-color custom printed boxes and labels. Take a look at our popular mailer box styles here to get started!