In recent years, the way businesses reach out to customers has changed dramatically. Traditional advertising methods such as TV, radio commercials, print ads, and billboards are no longer as effective as they used to be. As a result, many companies have turned to influencer marketing and using different types of influencer marketing campaigns as a way to connect with potential customers.
But what exactly are these campaigns?
What are influencer marketing campaigns?
Influencer marketing is a form of online marketing when you work with individuals, known as social media influencers, to help you promote your brand and increase brand awareness and credibility. These individuals can be anyone from celebrities or bloggers to athletes or everyday people with a large group of loyal social media followers.
Today’s businesses rely on influencer marketing campaigns to reach a wider audience. Some brands have a long-term relationship with specific influencers. But about 70% of them stated that they would rather campaign-based influencer marketing. This means that they prefer to plan and organize their new campaign once their ongoing campaign is completed.
Influencer marketing campaigns can take many forms, but all share one common goal, which is identifying and engaging with key social media influencers who can help promote your products or services.
Here are a few different types of influencer marketing campaigns that you can use. Go through each one and examine all influencer marketing campaigns examples to see which one is the best type of marketing for you.
1. Sponsored posts
A sponsored post is one of the different types of influencer marketing campaigns where you, as a brand, pay a social media influencer to create a post about your product or service.
You may also offer the influencer a free or discounted product in exchange for promoting your brand.
You need to provide the influencer with the guidelines, expectations, and theme of the content you want.
In recent years, sponsored posts have become a popular way for brands to reach out to potential customers.
Here is an example of a sponsored post by Selena Gomez:
2. Guest Blog Posts
Guest Blog Posts are another type of influencer marketing campaign where you accept the blog entries or invite influencers to write a post on their blog rather than promoting the post on their social media channels.
This type of campaign can be very effective in building awareness for a brand or product as you can reach a new audience who may not be following the influencer on social media.
3. Product and content collaborations
One of the other types of influencer marketing is when you work closely with influencers to co-create products or content. It’s especially common when influencers create their own line of clothing, accessories, beauty products, etc., with a brand’s cooperation.
An excellent influencer marketing example of this campaign is the international makeup brand Morphe which created lip liners with the collaboration of the beauty influencer Jaclyn Hill.
4. Themed campaigns
Among all types of influencer marketing, themed campaigns are on the rise. A themed campaign is a coordinated marketing effort surrounding a specific topic or theme. Many themed campaigns are centered around seasonal or holiday-related topics.
Typically, these marketing campaign ideas involve multiple brands working together to create content around a common interest to engage with consumers.
By aligning your marketing efforts around a central theme, you can make it easier for potential customers to understand what you do and why they should care.
Here is a great example of an influencer marketing campaign with a Halloween theme:
5. Shoutout content
One of the other popular types of influencer marketing campaigns is the shoutout campaign, when you ask an influencer to post a photo or video of themselves using your products or interacting with your company in different ways. So, it would be best to choose an influencer who has actually used your products.
Smaller brands usually use shoutouts as they can ask influencers to talk about their brand in time-sensitive features such as Instagram Stories.
In the following post, you can see Kendall Jenner wearing Denim:
6. Brand ambassadors
Brand ambassadors are key in influencer marketing, as they are often seen as trusted sources of information by their followers.
Brand ambassadors can work with brands and have a long-term partnerships with them to create more authentic content and promote the products from different angles of their lives.
Their partnership can take several months to years.
Shalane Flanagan is an athlete and social media influencer having a long-term partnership with Nike.
There are a great number of brand ambassadors, and finding the right one for your business is very important yet hard and time-consuming. Choosing the right brand ambassadors related to your niche is essential for your campaign’s success.
But how to find brand ambassadors?
Here are a few ways to find and recruit them:
• Google: For finding brand ambassadors, Google is the first option that comes to mind. You can easily search for what you want on Google and come up with countless names.
• Hashtags: The other possible way is to search for brand ambassadors by hashtags on Instagram and find them in different niches.
• Marketing platforms: And the last easy and quick way to find influencers or brand ambassadors is to use marketing platforms. One of the best platforms that you can use is Ainfluencer.
Ainfluencer
Ainfluencer is the best Instagram influencer marketing platform that lets brands and brand ambassadors meet and make deals.
You, as a brand, can make descriptive ads about your brand and specify the details and the types of influencer marketing campaigns you want, and then explore and find influencers through Ainfluencer’s search filters such as gender, location, number of followers, etc., and invite the most related ones to work with your brand.
Check out this video to see how to create a marketplace ad:
7. Reviews
Reviews are one of the most effective types of marketing campaigns. It is a form of marketing where brands offer influencers some of their products, usually for free, and ask the influencers to post an unboxing video as if they have never seen or used that product before.
Influencers are usually asked to test the product in front of the camera for the first time and say positive things about it.
Here is an example of this influencer marketing campaign by Tommy Lei:
8. Pre-release campaigns
Pre-release campaigns are among all types of influencer marketing campaigns where the brand cooperates with social media influencers to produce content in advance of a product launch.
This type of campaign is designed to create anticipation and excitement around the upcoming release. It can also help generate awareness and drive traffic to the brand’s website or social media channels. Pre-release campaigns can be an effective way to reach a target audience that may be difficult to reach through traditional marketing channels.
9. Competitions and giveaways
Competitions and giveaways are among the best influencer campaigns where brands and influencers offer the followers some products or services in exchange for likes, comments, tags, etc.
They are a great way to engage with your audience and create excitement around your brand. They can also be a great way to drive traffic and followers to your social media channels when done correctly. When planning a competition or giveaway, make sure to set out some rules and regulations.
10. Event Activations
Event activations are a type of influencer marketing campaign in which brands partner with celebrities or social media personalities to create and promote events. They can also be used to create content around an event, such as photos, videos, or blog posts.
These campaigns can be used to generate awareness for a brand or product or to drive sales. Event activations can be successful if the event is well-planned and the influencers involved are credible and engaged with their audiences.
11. Host Brand Experience Events
Host brand experience (HBE) events are among the other types of influencer marketing campaigns in which a company invites a group of social media influencers to an event that is designed around the company’s product or service.
The goal of an HBE event is to create positive buzz about the company and its products or services by having the influencers post photos and videos of the event on their social media channels.
Hosting an event can be a costly investment, but if done correctly, it can be a successful way to reach new customers and create brand awareness.
12. Takeovers
There are many different types of influencer marketing campaigns, and one of the most popular ones is the takeover.
A takeover is when an influencer takes over your brand’s social media accounts for a period of time in order to promote your product or service and drive engagement. These campaigns can last about a day or go as long as weeks for special events.
There are many benefits to using a takeover as a marketing strategy.
13. Discount codes
When businesses partner with social media influencers to promote their products or services, they often give the influencers discount codes to share with their followers.
They are among the great influencer marketing tactics to incentivize the audience to make a purchase. Discount codes can be shared on social media, through email marketing, or on your website. When followers use the code, they receive a discount on their purchase.
They can be used to increase sales, get more website visitors, or even create new customers.
When creating a discount code for an influencer marketing campaign, it’s essential to ensure that the code is unique and not used in any other campaigns.
Look at the following example Lauren Pak sharing a discount code with her followers:
14. Affiliate Campaigns
Affiliate campaigns are one of the other top types of influencer marketing campaigns. Affiliate links are posted on social media by an influencer, and when someone clicks on the link and buys the product, the influencer gets a commission.
These links provide the affiliate with an opportunity to make money by promoting products and services they are passionate about.
15. Integrated content
Integrated content in influencer marketing is when you partner with an influential individual or group to mention your products or services in their content.
Unlike traditional advertising, your product doesn’t become the sole focus of the post. It focuses on engaging the audience rather than persuading them to buy something and therefore drives fewer sales than the other types of influencer marketing campaigns. However, it can be a more effective way to reach potential customers.
The following post by Shalane Flanagan is a good example of integrated content:
16. Branded hashtags
A branded hashtag is a unique hashtag that you create specifically for your marketing campaign.
Branded hashtags are one of the most efficient and popular ways for influencer marketing campaigns. They allow customers to easily follow and engage with a campaign. Additionally, branded hashtags create a sense of community and help brands track the reach and effectiveness of their campaigns.
When creating a hashtag for your campaign, make sure it is short, easy to remember, and relevant to your brand.
Here are two well-known branded hashtags created by Nike:
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many types of influencer marketing campaigns that brands can use to reach their target audience. The most important part of running an effective influencer marketing campaign is finding the relevant influencers who resonate with your target audience. As mentioned earlier, Ainfluencer is an excellent platform that helps you find the best influencers for your brand.
By following these tips, you can create a successful influencer marketing campaign that will help promote your brand.
There are 16 types of influencer marketing campaigns:
1. Sponsored posts
2. Guest Blog Posts
3. Product and content collaborations
4. Themed campaigns
5. Shoutout content
6. Brand ambassadors
7. Reviews
8. Pre-release campaigns
9. Competitions and giveaways
10. Event Activations
11. Host Brand Experience Events
12. Takeovers
13. Discount codes
14. Affiliate Campaigns
15. Integrated content
16. Branded hashtags
There are four types of influencers on Instagram based on their followers:
1. Nano influencers with 1k–10k followers
2. Micro influencers with 10k–100k followers
3. Macro influencers with 100k–1m followers
4. Mega influencers with more than 1m followers
