With many brands considering it one of the best ways to connect with their audience, boost sales, and grow their online footprint, influencer marketing is nothing new. According to a 2019 survey by The Influencer Marketing Hub, brands are making $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. That’s an impressive influencer marketing ROI.
Another statistic from the same survey notes that more than 60% of marketers have intentions to increase their influence marketing budget over the next 12 months.
While all that’s exciting, there may be something holding you back. Possible fear that your campaign won’t generate the intended results.
It goes without saying that there’s no guarantee of success with influencer marketing. In fact, just like every other strategy, it takes a great deal of trial and error, even if you’ve hired a reputable influencer marketing agency.
Fortunately, when you know what’s worked for other brands, especially those in your space, you can get a better idea of the path to follow.
Below, you’ll find five examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns. You can use these to answer some of your key questions and formulate a strategy for moving forward.
Even for an industry-leading brand like Dunkin’ Donuts, spreading the word about a new product line is a big challenge.
Recently, when the company wanted to generate buzz for its new espresso line of products, they turned to Instagram nano-influencers (those with fewer than 10,000 followers). Through this approach, the #sippingisbelieving campaign came across as both realistic and relatable. Something that is often difficult to duplicate with highly popular influencers.
Since Instagram micro-influencers don’t command the same rate as their more popular counterparts, there’s a greater opportunity for a higher ROI, which is exactly what Dunkin’ was able to achieve.
The ‘Adidas She Breaks Barriers’ campaign was well thought out and planned. Which then resulted in connecting directly with the brand’s target audience.
In the face of stiff competition, especially from industry-leading, Nike. Adidas rolled out this Instagram campaign that focused on keeping girls engaged in sports.
Unlike Dunkin’, Adidas didn’t use nano-influencers to make its mark. Instead, it partnered with some of the top female athletes in the world, such as marathon runner, Rahaf Khatib, and WNBA player, Layshia Clarendon.
In addition to engaging with their target audience, Adidas was able to use this successful influencer marketing campaign to provide extra resources. Such as online courses to mentors, coaches, parents, and anyone else who wants to help girls through sports.
You’ve probably heard of Bobby Berk, the American interior designer and reality television host of the hit show Queer Eye. But what you may not know is that Berk is also a coveted Instagram influencer. That’s why Corian Design called on him to raise awareness for its ever-growing product line.
By creating kitchen designs for all his castmates (using Corian Design, of course) the brand was able to get directly in front of his more than 2.5 million Instagram followers.
This is a great example of a company using one influencer to target a specific audience.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is one of the most well-known fast-casual restaurants in the world. For that reason, they never struggle to drum up interest online, especially on social media.
Recently, the company partnered with David Dobrik, a well-known online influencer, to celebrate National Burrito Day.
In addition to Instagram, Dobrik promoted the #ChipotleLidFlip hashtag challenge on other social media platforms. Dobrik challenged his audience to display their burrito bowl lid flipping skills. This then resulted in 230 million hashtag views and more than 100,000 submissions.
For those who closely monitor Subaru’s approach to advertising, marketing, and social media, it’s no surprise that the company turned to Instagram (among other platforms) to launch its new Impreza to millennial buyers.
Known as its #MeetAnOwner campaign, Subaru enlisted the help of Devin Graham, an online social media personality with millions of subscribers.
Graham gathered up his friends, set up a slip and slide, and propelled themselves off a 500-foot cliff. The only thing to save them from the disaster was a parachute.
It goes without saying that Subaru was looking for a way to appeal to thrill-seeking millennials.
These examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns should inspire you. Success may not come as easy for your brand, but everyone has to start somewhere.
Once you see what does and doesn’t work, you can tweak future campaigns to better align with your goals. This is when you’ll begin to see the best ROI!
Do you have any experience with influencer marketing? Were you happy with the results? What will you change the next time around?
