B2C marketing used to be much simpler mass-produced products could easily flood the marketplace, and consumers would make a purchase based on one of two things: price or brand.
These days, though, buying habits have changed. Consumers are no longer satisfied with purchased products and services; they want an experience around them. How do we create these experiences for our customers? Learn from the masters: influencers!
Takeaways |
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Utilize the authenticity of influencers to connect with target audiences. |
Learn to create relatable and engaging content that resonates with customers. |
Incorporate influencer partnerships to enhance brand credibility and reach. |
Adapt influencer marketing strategies to align with B2C brand values and goals. |
Understand the power of storytelling in conveying brand messages effectively. |
Know Your Audience
In addition to their social reach, influencers have another major advantage: they know their audience. They understand what your customers want and need, and the challenges that keep them up at night.
This makes them valuable sources of insight and advice that you can use to improve your products and services.
You can learn a lot by studying how an influencer’s followers interact with their posts on social media websites like Twitter or Instagram.
Take note of the types of content they respond best to (images? videos? text links?), as well as what kinds of comments seem more popular than others (is it personal stories or behind-the-scenes photos?).
This will help inform future content creation efforts by letting you know which topics are likely to generate the most engagement from potential customers–and those who might be able to help spread the word about your brand in turn!
Crafting an effective social media strategy is essential for B2C marketers to succeed in today’s digital landscape. Discover the key elements in our guide on The Social Media Strategy All B2C Marketers Need to Learn and take your marketing efforts to the next level.
Understand Their Needs
You can’t expect to create content for an influencer or a brand without a deep understanding of what their audience wants. Influencers are no different without understanding the needs of their followers, they won’t be able to speak to them in a way that will resonate.
An influencer’s needs depend on their niche and target demographic, but they typically boil down to one thing: solving problems.
Yes, influencers want to make money (and they deserve it), but they also want more than anything else for their followers’ lives to improve as a result of what they share online.
As such, it’s important for marketers working with influencers to know not only who their audience is but also what kinds of problems your customers want to be solved before attempting any kind of outreach or partnership with an individual or brand looking for help getting started in social media marketing
Get Up Close
To have the best chance at building lasting relationships with your audience, you need to get up close and personal. To do this, use social media channels to engage with your audience in a way that’s genuine and relatable.
By getting to know them personally, you can learn what they want from your brand as well as what they need.
This will help guide future content creation and product development efforts you’ll be able to create products or services that not only meet their needs but also resonate with them on an emotional level.
Looking to grow your brand business? Learn from the success of influencers and dive into the world of influencer marketing with our comprehensive guide. Discover strategies to leverage influencer partnerships and enhance your brand’s visibility.
Listen To Their Feedback
Listening to the feedback of your customers is crucial. You can do so by using social media, customer surveys, reviews, and complaints.
But it’s not just about listening – you must also take action on this feedback. In many cases, complaints are a sign that there’s an issue with the product or service but sometimes they’re just disgruntled customers who have had a bad experience.
Either way, you need to act on every single complaint because if you don’t then you will lose sales and potentially damage your reputation as well as harm relationships with your existing customers if they believe there is no one at the company who cares about them or wants them back in future!
Don’t Overdo It
Influencers are a hot topic right now. But if you’re looking to create a successful influencer program, make sure you don’t overdo it! Don’t bombard your audience with too many posts and make sure to avoid relying on automation because that could lead to poor performance.
Also, if one influencer isn’t working out for you, don’t be afraid to delete that post or try something new altogether (just remember not to rely on automation). And when all else fails, reach out and ask for help from someone who knows more than you do.
Study The Influencers Who Matter To Your Audience
When it comes to influencers, the most important thing is to know your audience. We all have our favorite celebrities, but those famous faces aren’t going to drive sales for your brand.
Instead of focusing on celebrities with massive followings, think about what their followers care about and how you can use that information for your own business. You might not even need an influencer’s endorsement at all!
For example, if you’re selling diapers online then an Instagram post from Chrissy Teigen isn’t going to help you sell more diapers but maybe one from a mom who just finished changing her kid in public could be useful.
And since she’s part of an online community where other moms share tips like this one (and she has shown up multiple times), her post could be seen by thousands of people who would otherwise never see it had she not been involved at all.
When it comes to boosting sales and generating leads, creativity is key. Explore our collection of 15 creative marketing tips that will spark your imagination and help you stand out in the competitive B2C marketing landscape.
Manage Your Presence, Don’t Leave It To Chance
If you are a B2C marketer, there is a good chance that you have allowed your social media presence to fall by the wayside. If you don’t have one, then you should go ahead and create one now (if not sooner).
Your customers are using social media more than ever before. 78% of users say they visit at least one social network daily according to GlobalWebIndex’s Q3 2016 quarterly report on internet trends.
Your business needs to be represented where their attention is focused so that when they do decide to engage with your brand or products, they can do so in an informed way.
Choose Your Platform Carefully
When it comes to choosing a platform, there are some key considerations you should keep in mind. First, who is your audience? Are they young and hip? Or are they older and more traditional? Second, what other platforms do they use regularly?
Is Instagram the only social media site that matters to them, or do they like Twitter as well (or maybe even Snapchat)?
Next think about how crowded the platform is: Will you be able to stand out from the crowd of other marketers competing for attention on this same platform? At first glance, this might seem like a negative thing (who wants to be lost in a sea of marketers?).
But there’s an upside here: When there are lots of people using one particular channel whether it’s Facebook or Instagram that means there’s already an established base of users who have already built up trust with each other over time.
They may not know exactly what you sell yet, but they will soon! That trust can help establish credibility faster than if everyone was starting from scratch together at once.
Keep An Eye Out For Emerging Social Media Platforms
While Instagram and Facebook are the most widely used marketing channels, you should also be aware of new social media platforms that may become important in the future.
For example, TikTok has over 500 million active users per month and Snapchat recently launched its influencer program with Stadia’s launch. The Hype Influencer Program allows creators to earn money by sharing their unique content on the platform.
For many marketers, this might sound like a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be! You don’t necessarily need to create your content every time something new comes along; instead, you can use these platforms as tools to help reach your audience and grow your business.
Understanding the psychology of humor in B2C marketing can lead to memorable and engaging campaigns. Delve into our insights on The Psychology of Being Funny in B2C Marketing to learn how humor can resonate with your audience and leave a lasting impact.
Don’t Forget About Email Marketing
While social media is king, email marketing shouldn’t be ignored.
An email is still a powerful tool for marketers. It can help you build relationships with your customers and generate leads, but it also serves as a solid way to nurture those leads so they eventually become paying customers.
You can deliver content to your audience via emails, newsletters are a great way to inform them of new products or services you’re offering while providing tips on how they can use those products in their everyday lives.
Remember Your Landing Pages
The landing page is the final destination of your marketing plan. It’s a crucial part of your funnel, and it should reflect the branding and messaging you established throughout your marketing campaign.
A strong landing page will have a clear call to action that leads to an opt-in form or conversion goal, like email signups or social media follows.
There are many different types of landing pages. Some serve as lead generation tools for B2B companies; others help encourage purchase decisions from B2C customers. Regardless of which type you choose, there are several key elements all good landing pages share:
- An engaging headline (that ideally matches the ad copy)
- Clear benefits statements (including specific numbers where applicable)
- A strong value proposition
Look Outside The Box For Inspiration
Why should you look outside the box for inspiration? Influencers have been around for decades, but only recently has their use become widespread. There are plenty of ways companies can be inspired by what other industries and companies are doing with influencers.
Look at how other industries are using influencers: For example, if you’re a B2C marketer thinking about launching a new product in 2020.
It would make sense to closely study how the automotive industry uses influencers to market cars, test-drive vehicles, boost sales and educate consumers about new features or safety technology.
The same goes for food marketers who want to introduce a new brand of snacks or beverages into the marketplace; they could learn from health food brands that have successfully used social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy.
Look at how other companies are using social media: You might consider looking at competitor brands that currently use social media as part of their outreach efforts;
This will give you an idea of what works best on each platform based on audience demographics and engagement rates so far (for example Instagram is more popular among younger audiences than Facebook). But don’t limit yourself just yet keep reading!
Look at how other companies are using email: Email remains one of the most effective ways for marketers to reach out directly with personalized messages that build trust between brands and customers over time.
Through frequent interactions like newsletters or custom delivery campaigns such as birthday offers sent automatically via MailChimp when subscribers turn 25 years old.
Don’t Try To Be Too Many Things At Once
The most successful influencers tend to narrow their focus to one or two topics. They build their brands around those topics, and they stick with them for years.
It’s rare to see an influencer whose brand has shifted from travel to fashion which means it’s even rarer for them to have the same dedicated audience that they started with.
As a marketer, this is something you should keep in mind when choosing topics or campaigns for your brand: don’t try to be too many things at once.
You’ll find success by focusing on one thing, for example, being known as “the company that makes great shoes” instead of trying to appeal across multiple verticals like clothing and home decorating (or worse yet, food).
There are other ways you can successfully optimize your content marketing strategy so that you’re only promoting products that align with your core business focus:
Building an irresistible brand that people love requires a deeper understanding of customer perception. Explore our guide on how to make people like you and create an irresistible brand to uncover strategies that foster strong connections and loyalty with your target audience.
Be A Storyteller – But Keep It Short And Snappy, Please…
There’s no doubt that storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool in the marketing world. It can help you build a connection with your audience, boost brand awareness and increase sales.
But there is one thing that all storytellers need to keep in mind: brevity. You don’t want your story to be too long or too boring, so keep it short and snappy!
When you think about influencers on social media, what do you notice? They’re able to connect with their audiences by being authentic, human, and memorable.
They also tell stories that are relevant to their audiences – but these stories are not always long (which means less time-consuming for the reader).
Think about how many times you’ve seen posts on Facebook where someone just lists everything they did over the weekend – it’s just not interesting!
Influencers know this, which is why they only give us snapshots into their lives instead of full-length movies because we don’t have time for that kind of commitment from them at our stage in life (or even theirs).
Don’t Be Afraid Of Video (Don’t Be Afraid Of Cats, Either)
Video is the best way to engage your audience and tell a story. Video content shows off your product or service and builds trust with your customers. You can use it to build your brand, too.
Here are some ways influencers are using video:
- Showing off their product or service in action
- Giving tutorials or how-to’s on how to use their products/services
- Showing customers using their products/services
- Explaining why they love what they’re selling
Share Their Stories As Well As Yours!
You should share the stories of influencers. The best way to do this is to make it clear that you are sharing their story, and then tell a relevant anecdote about something similar that happened in your own life.
This will make it easy for your audience to connect with both of you as people, which will help them trust you and be more likely to buy what you’re selling.
You can also use the stories of influencers as examples or illustrations in an article or blog post and don’t be afraid to add your commentary on those stories!
Conclusion
As a marketer, you have the tools to get your message out there. You just need to find the right influencers and use them to their full potential. Use our list of tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your content investments.
Further Reading
Benefits of Influencer Marketing for B2C Brands: Explore the advantages of incorporating influencer marketing into your B2C brand strategy and how it can boost your online presence.
4 Things B2C and B2B Marketers Can Learn from Each Other: Discover valuable cross-learnings between B2C and B2B marketing realms, highlighting strategies that can benefit both sides.
Influencer Marketing Learnings from B2C: Gain insights from influencer marketing strategies used in the B2C sector and explore how these tactics can be adapted for your brand.
FAQs
How can influencer marketing benefit B2C brands?
Influencer marketing offers B2C brands a unique opportunity to tap into the trust and reach of popular influencers, enabling them to connect with their target audience in an authentic and relatable manner.
What are the key takeaways for both B2C and B2B marketers from each other?
B2C and B2B marketers can learn from each other’s approaches to customer engagement, content creation, and storytelling, leading to more effective and well-rounded marketing strategies.
What can B2C marketers learn from influencer marketing in the B2C sector?
B2C marketers can learn how to effectively leverage influencers to create compelling and engaging campaigns that resonate with their audience, driving brand awareness and loyalty.
How can B2C and B2B marketers benefit from cross-learnings?
Cross-learnings between B2C and B2B marketing can help marketers adapt strategies that have proven successful in one sector to the other, leading to innovation and improved results.
How do influencer marketing strategies differ in B2C and B2B contexts?
In B2C influencer marketing, the focus often revolves around lifestyle, emotion, and relatability, while in B2B, it’s about expertise, thought leadership, and solving industry-specific challenges. Understanding these differences can enhance campaign effectiveness.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.