Influencer Marketing Successes
Influencer marketing has grown from a creative and unique experiment in the power of social media to an integrated and essential component in basic marketing strategies – and it’s not difficult to see why. Many brands have enjoyed success by leveraging an existing social media influencer and having him or her co-create content, sponsor existing content, or otherwise work with someone who has a large following within the brand’s niche.
Guess “Color Me Inspired” campaign
The Guess Color Me Inspired campaign that went viral in 2012 was one of the earliest examples of this strategy that my team and I created for Guess Jeans. In it, fashion bloggers made a Pinterest board based on four of the brand’s spring jeans hues and encouraged others to do the same in exchange for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. The campaign was immensely popular and one of the first to successfully use influencer marketing.
Todd Wasserman wrote an article for Mashable titled “5 Interesting Pinterest Marketing Campaigns” that said the following:
“Fashion brand Guess challenged fans this month to create boards based on four spring colors: “Noir Teal,” “Hot House Orange,” “Red Hot Overdue” and “New Plum Light.” Participants were told to title their boards “Guess My Color Inspiration” and pin at least five images. The four winners were chosen by fashion bloggers Kristina Bazan of Kayture, Michelle Koesnadi of Glisters and Blisters, Jennifer Rand of Belle De Couture and Samantha Hutchinson of Could I Have That”.
This was one of my campaigns.
This campaign was the result of my and my team’s efforts to tap into an underutilized marketing resource for a significant return on investment. In fact, many of the up-and-comers we chose, such as Could I Have That, are now large influencers in their fields. Guess was one of the first to recognize the potential in influencer marketing, which now represents a significant portion of a savvy marketer’s budget.
Influencer marketing has become a significant part of a savvy marketer’s budget.
Susana Yee, Digital Everything Consulting
In the years since that campaign, brands from different industries have leveraged the success and expertise of others to help bolster their own marketing efforts. Influencer marketing has become a popular method of conversion and eliciting new business.
Is influencer marketing a passing trend?
Is this just a fad, or is influencer marketing here to stay? The answer appears to be the latter based on marketing research and consensus from experts. Influencer marketing is still growing in popularity. Consider the following:
- 39% of marketers are actively increasing their budgets specifically for influencer marketing in 2018, according to a recent study from Lingia
- 86% of businesses surveyed reported using influencer marketing as part of their 2017 campaigns.
- A survey of 14,000 millennial respondents found 70% of the generation – which represents the lion’s share of today’s buying power – are influenced by the buying decisions of their peers and those they follow.
The practice is so popular, in fact, that New York group Village Marketing designed an Instagram-worthy apartment in SoHo that it rents specifically for influencer marketing campaigns. Every square inch of its 2,400 square feet is immaculately decorated and ready to convert followers on sponsored products. This sort of long-term investment represents the direction and confidence marketing groups have in the strategy.
These factors seem to suggest influencer marketing will continue to gain steam. This technique is particularly advantageous because it costs relatively little and has a significant return on investment. Influencer marketing is expected to continue to play a dominant role in marketing departments’ toolkit.
Download my free guide on 5 Things to Do Before Hiring an Influencer.
A little bit about me:
I have worked in social media marketing and influencer marketing since 2008 and have worked with companies like Kate Spade, Tru Niagen, Lucky Magazine, Mike Rowe, Guess Jeans, Clutter Storage, Brighter.com, My Fox Home Alarms, Ecovacs Robotics, Scrollmotion, O.N.E. Coconut Water, and more. I was named a 2011 Social Media Marketing Pioneer by eHow and our Guess Jeans campaign was named one of “5 Interesting Pinterest Marketing Campaigns” by Mashable.
Photographer: Molly + Co