The proliferation of platforms and formats like short videos have changed the influencer marketing game for marketers, brands, and creators. In this fast-paced space, stay on top of the biggest trends and hot topics that matter in Storyboard18’s weekly short films in collaboration with affable.ai, an end-to-end AI-powered influencer marketing platform. Track how creators, communities, and brands interact with users and disrupt marketing to gain accurate and timely insight into current and future trends.
As the holidays approach, you may be wondering how to creatively team up with influencers to achieve your marketing goals. The usual approaches like sending gifts to influencers, product releases, or unboxing are tried and true methods. But what’s fresh and exciting this holiday shopping season? Our playbook for the 2023 holiday season digs deeper into the best strategies to maximize your holiday sales. Here are five strategies you can follow.
Start by showcasing your products seamlessly in influencer videos. Sometimes less talk and more action piques curiosity about your product. You can also consider letting influencers host contests, collaborate on gift guides, provide virtual shopping experiences and more.
Integrate your product organically during the random chat video with the influencer
Incorporating your product organically during a random chat video with an influencer is a smart and effective marketing strategy. Instead of forcefully promoting your product, this approach involves integrating it naturally into the flow of video content.
The main advantage of this approach is its authenticity. When viewers see a product used or discussed naturally in the context of a video, it doesn’t look like blatant advertising. This makes it more accessible and reliable.
One example is Romana sharing a candid moment where she puts on makeup while talking about her little girl and her family. When applying her foundation, she mentions using @BPerfect Cosmetics foundation and pairing it with a brush from @Dollbeauty_manchester. She excitedly expresses that the combination is a “chef’s kiss” and tells viewers that the foundation brush is back in stock. She mentions the @HNB Cosmetics concealer, noting that it speaks for itself and requires no further explanation.
This approach keeps viewers engaged and interested in the content, while mentioning products in an authentic way – a more impactful strategy than advertising.
Interactive challenges and competitions
Engage your audience with interactive challenges or contests related to holiday themes. This helps by encouraging user-generated content and creating a sense of community around your brand. For example, an influencer could ask their followers to share their most creative Christmas decorations alongside a brand’s product. This approach can encourage engagement and promote user-generated content involving the brand’s product.
Recently, Purrfect Little Art, a charming handmade stationery store, launched an exciting “Guess the Theme” competition for the holiday season. During this interactive event, participants are invited to test their creative guessing skills by trying to unravel the mystery behind the theme of the next collection. This competition engages the public and promotes interaction, creating buzz around the upcoming collection.
Festive tale and behind the scenes
Create relevant vacation stories that incorporate the brand’s product, providing a behind-the-scenes look at how your product enhances the influencer’s vacation experiences. For example, an influencer could share how a product made preparing their holiday meals more comfortable or how a product brought joy to their pet.
KitchenAid, a kitchen appliance brand, has teamed up with food bloggers and influencers to share behind-the-scenes holiday cooking stories. Influencers posted detailed tutorials and step-by-step videos demonstrating how KitchenAid appliances made preparing their Christmas meals easier and more enjoyable, highlighting the benefits and value of their appliances during the holiday shopping season. 4. DIY and holiday tips
Promoting DIY and holiday hacks that present your product as a solution to common holiday challenges is a strategic approach. By showcasing creative ways to use your product during the season, you provide value to customers and position your product as an essential tool for holiday activities.
For example, Yankee Candle, a candle brand popular for its line of scents, has partnered with lifestyle influencers to highlight the versatility of its candles in creating DIY holiday decorations. Selected influencers created and shared inspiring content featuring Yankee Candle products. They demonstrated creating festive centerpieces, table decorations and decorative elements using candles.
Virtual events and live demonstrations
Host virtual events or live sessions where influencers showcase brand products in real-time, leveraging the trend of virtual gatherings during holiday sales. For products like makeup, live virtual sessions and try-on tools can allow influencers to demonstrate how to try or apply each product. These experiences can enhance the personal shopping experience, providing a sense of pleasure and excitement to the audience.
L’Oréal Paris collaborated with influencers for a promotional campaign showcasing their new virtual makeup try-on tool. With this innovative tool, customers can virtually test different makeup shades and products. As part of the campaign, influencers were invited to experiment with different makeup looks using the tool and share their experiences and results on social media.
This week’s Weekly Shorts is written by the editorial staff of affable.ai.