tapping into local social influencers

TAPPING INTO LOCALSOCIAL INFLUENCERS

Tapping Into the Influence of Local Social Influencers 2

ENDORSEMENTS VS. INFLUENCERS

Celebrity endorsements have been key components of

advertising since the dawn of the industry. In as early as

the 1760s, pioneers began using royal endorsements

to build brand loyalty. Of course, the art of the celebrity

endorsement has grown leaps and bounds since then. In

the 1950s, there was the Whitman’s Chocolates campaign

that included celebrity endorsements including the

recognizable names of Humphrey Bogar, John Wayne,

Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart. Their

payment for endorsing said product? Amazingly, just a

box of chocolates.

Today’s most notable endorsements include the following:

• Matthew McConaughey for Lincoln

• Patrick Mahomes for State Farm Insurance

• Jennifer Aniston for Aveeno

• Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis for Cheetos

The list could go on and on and include thousands

of additional celebrities who leveraged their personal

influence for the betterment of a brand name. Of course,

you can bet that each and every one of the aforementioned

modern celebs were given significantly more than a box of

chocolates for their trouble. They were paid in thousands if

not millions of dollars for their endorsement.

Now, in the present age of advertising, we are seeing

a new kind of influencer. This differs from celebrity

endorsements in a variety of ways. In fact, the popularity

of social media has introduced a brand new generation of

influencers, the digital brand ambassador, known as the

social media influencers. Consider the following notable

social media influencers and their numerous followers:

Selena Gomez 144 million Instagram followers

Kayla Itsines (personal trainer, rated as one

of Time Magazine’s Top 30

Most Influential People on the

internet)

10.5 million Instagram followers

Cameron Dallas(young entrepreneur featured

on the Netflix show ‘Chasing

Cameron’)

21 million Instagram followers and

countless other followers on

Vine and YouTube

Cristian Ronaldo (soccer megastar who makes

$750,000 per sponsored post)

145.3 million Instagram followers

This is the new face of the celebrity endorsement and it is

only going to continue to grow in popularity. Today, the

trend is for brands to choose a social media influencer

over a celebrity endorsement for a variety of reasons. In

fact, as a business owner or marketing professional, you

need to get on board the social media influencer train or

risk being left behind.

Stats show that 71% of marketers say that the quality

of customers and the traffic they garner from the right

influencer marketing is much better than other advertising

sources. This includes leveraging the involvement of local

social media influencers to further your brand.


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As mentioned earlier, companies historically depended on the endorsement of a beloved or respected celebrity to

encourage engagement and/or ROI. Now, the whole advertising dynamic has shifted from traditional TV and movie

star endorsements to social media influencers who have built their brand using social media. So what led to the current

obsession with social media influencers?

THE RISE IN DIGITAL MARKETING as the way to connect with an on-the-go audience. People communicate on-

demand and that’s not going away. It’s more than a passing trend.

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. This can include platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Within the last

decade, social network platforms have tripled their user base, growing from 970 million users to an unbelievable 3.81

billion users in 2020. Another interesting stat worth noting is the fact that 83.36% of all internet users have some form of

social media and another 70% of the entire United States population has a social network account.

WHAT ALL THIS MEANS is that there is a direct connection between social media and the way the public

communicates. Today, your audience is on social media, so you better be too!

INFLUENCERS OUT-RANK THE CELEBRITY


THE FOLLOWING ARE ADDITIONAL STATS that prove the effectiveness of partnering with the right social

media influencer, demonstrating why influencer marketing is a worthwhile investment:

• Some 49% of surveyed consumers depend on the recommendations of influencers to make their purchasing decision.

• Some 60% of these consumers say recommendations from influencers have also led them to buy something in-store.

• Influencer marketing campaigns focused on engagement and branding generate an eight times greater rate-of-return.

• Some 17% of companies plan to spend over half their marketing budget on influencer marketing.

• Some 16% of marketers do note that it can be difficult to select the right influencer for their campaign.

WHAT IS A SOCIAL INFLUENCER?

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RIGHT SOCIAL INFLUENCER

Now, let’s define what it means to be a social media influencer:

A social media influencer is basically an individual who has built a digital reputation based on their expertise and

knowledge pertaining to a certain topic. They often post regularly on their preferred social media channel and in doing

so generate engagement and followers who pay close attention to their endorsements and behavior.

They aren’t just a mouthpiece. While they do use their influence to communicate various topics to their audience, social

media influencers are far from a simple testimonial voice. They also:

• Drive engagement and conversation with their followers.

• Break through the clutter of advertising messages authentically. Today’s audiences crave authenticity and a good

social influencer is a real person who shows that to their followers.

• They often develop huge followings as mentioned above, sometimes through their own personal brand.

• They are often on the cutting edge of adopting new products or services.

• They differ from celebrity endorsements in that they have a real-life, authentic, genuine person feel and their audience

can relate to them better than the typical celebrity.


SOCIAL INFLUENCERS ARE TREND SETTERS

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCING WORKS?

Not only do social media influencers have a great deal of sway when it comes to improving engagement and audience

reach, social media influencers are also trend setters. According to stats, social media creators or influencers are at the

heart of the cultural zeitgeist and fans feel they drive culture and shape trends. Having the backing of a well-established

social media influencer can help your product or service become the latest, greatest, must-have item.

The reason social media influencing works is the fact that buyers now shop online more than ever before as mentioned

above. Gone are the days that consumers visit brick-and-mortar stores to “look” for products. Consumers also no longer

look through their Sunday newspaper to find the next must-have item (at least as their primary product evaluation).

Word-of-mouth, while important, is not as big as it once was either, at least in the traditional sense of hearing from a

neighbor on what product to buy. Now, consumers turn to the internet first to research products and services.

Social media influencers fulfill the modern role of your next-door neighbor or the newspaper ad. In addition, thanks

to streaming services like YouTube and other similar services, consumers are able to avoid unwanted advertisements.

Therefore, when they want to learn about a product, they seek it out, instead of companies seeking out consumers. In

fact, some 63% of surveyed consumers say that they trust influencers’ opinion “much more” than what a brand says

about their own products. This stat might as well read “consumers trust influencers!”

Sounds great, right!? We agree completely.

But...what if the international appeal of a social influencer with tens of thousands of followers isn’t a fit for your local business with a regional reach and a small business budget?


SOCIAL INFLUENCERSLOCALLY & REGIONALLY

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Now that we consider how the celebrity endorsement has

shifted into the social media influencer, it’s important to

consider how you can leverage this trend to your advantage

locally. Your local radio on-air personality is the ideal social

media influencer with which to partner. Not only can they

serve the role outlined above for a social influencer but they

have local pull that is an advantage when engaging nearby

consumers.

Here are more reasons why leveraging the influence of local on-air radio personalities is a smart marketing idea:

ATTENTIVE & LOYAL FOLLOWERS. Local radio station

air talent successfully amass huge followings and spend a great

deal of time and attention developing their personal brand

both on the air and on social media. It’s about more than just

having people listen in or watch online...it’s about engagement.

They talk with, interact with and build a relationship with their

listeners - a relationship that is, in fact, more important with

local talent than a national influencer. Why? Because a local

air talent shops in the same grocery store and lives in a local

neighborhood. Their kids attend local schools and they have a

vested interest in what happens in the communities they serve.

ACCESS TO A READY AUDIENCE. They give you access

to a local and regional audience. Local regional radio station

DJs give you the ability to leverage their social influence that

they have spent years building with a smaller focused audience

in the geographical location you serve. And it’s not just the

air talent that works to build this audience. A radio station has

professional program directors whose sole focus it is to build a

loyal listener base. The combined effort of those programmers,

along with the local air talent, together grow their target

listener into a loyal champion of the station - and by default, the

companies that support it.


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BRAND LOYALTY. They often boast a sense of loyalty,

almost a local celebrity status. The local talent on these

stations, some of whom have been working in their market

for between 20 and 30 years, have built a high level of trust

and credibility within the communities they serve. DJs have

what many of us want...voice. They speak and are heard

by the masses. Local charities, as an example, host events

and compete to bring in radio station air talent to serve as

moderators, guest speakers and emcees...because the event

organizers know that their presence lends instant credibility - a

credibility they want to tap into.

MORE THAN SOCIAL MEDIA. Local air talent are digitally

savvy, which is necessary to reach a modern audience. But they

offer a lot more than just a digital connection. Local air talent

as social influencers can uniquely cross-leverage influence

using their local celebrity status to appear in radio, video, print,

email marketing, guest appearances and more. They amass a

loyal following on social channels, with the majority of those

followers living within the demographic reach of the station

they represent - and are therefore a better fit for reaching

potential customers for your business

LOCAL/REGIONAL ACCESS. Local talent offers all the

benefits of a global social influencer with a much lower price

tag and a more focused audience on a smaller scale. After all,

who really cares about Kylie Jenner’s international following?

Not only can you likely not afford to form such a partnership,

but using a local influencer can be much more impactful

overall. Local talent are local celebrities. They are recognized

in public. Their thoughts and opinions matter. Their audience

of listeners & followers pay attention to what they do, what

they like, where they go - and who they endorse.


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WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY WHEN WORKING WITH A LOCAL TALENT AS YOUR SOCIAL INFLUENCER?

No matter if you leverage a local influencer (our recommendation) or one that has a broader reach, you need some

guidelines on your role in the relationship. In other words, this is a partnership and in order to create an ideal working

relationship, you should:

GET IT TOGETHER. No social media influencer, local or otherwise, will want to attach their name to a brand that

is either shoddy, unprofessional or haphazard. When they agree to work with you, they put their personal name and

valuable reputation on the line. Make sure they don’t regret this and commit yourself to a high level of customer service

and overall quality of product and service. Make sure your Marketing Bridge is up to par and the customer experience

at all touchpoints is consistently positive and professional. The last thing you want to do is use a local celebrity as an

endorsement, and then have it fall flat because you don’t meet the expectations presented.

SHORE UP YOUR OWN DIGITAL PRESENCE. While social media influencers should be a significant part of your

overall marketing campaign, they should never be in lieu of other marketing efforts. Don’t make the mistake of thinking

you can partner with a social media influencer and then forget about doing any other heavy lifting for your business

in terms of marketing. To make sure you don’t do this, keep your website up-to-date and make sure your own social

media presence is solid. Consider the fact that a social influencer will likely lead their audience to look your brand up on

social media channels. What will they see when they do this? If it’s up to par, great! This will probably lead them to your

website. If it’s less than savvy, they might just forget it and move on.

STAY IN COMMUNICATION AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP. You need to be in communication with your

social media influencer. Schedule regular meetings, perhaps monthly, and speak about business trends, services

and new products. Talk about your target consumer, how and why people buy your products, etc. Introduce them to

key members of your team. Commit to showing and teaching them what they need to know about your products or

services. Sometimes this means offering them free samples or services so that they can experience your offering and

talk more compellingly about the interaction. The more they know about your business, the better job they can do when

representing your products and services accurately and effectively.

ENSURE AUDIENCE COMPATIBILITY. It’s important to find a connection between your brand and the personal

brand of a social media influencer. You need to have audience compatibility. Let’s face it, if you are on two different

wavelengths, a partnership between your business brand and their personal brand won’t work at all. This is why you

don’t see a fitness social media influencer promote a junk food brand. It goes against what they believe, value and

routinely promote. Therefore, make sure there is a good match between your brand and an influencer’s voice. Don’t

neglect this important step, as 48% of marketers claim audience relationship and compatibility is the most important

factor to consider when launching an influencer campaign.


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THE GOAL OF LOCAL INFLUENCER MARKETING

REACH A NEW AUDIENCE. You want to reach

people you would otherwise never have reached thanks

to the scope of an influencer’s following. While your brand

likely has some existing reach, the number of people

you can reach with the help of an influencer will likely be

substantially greater.

GROW SALES ONLINE AND IN-STORE. While

garnering likes and website traffic through lead generation

and getting more foot traffic in a brick-and-mortar store

is great, your ultimate goal with any marketing strategy

is to improve sales of your product or service. A social

media influencer will help make this happen, thanks to

their notable influence on their audience. They have your

product or have tried your service, and love it, so their

audience, who practically worships them, will run out to

buy said product or service so they can try it as well.

INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS. Social media

influencers are especially helpful when building brand

awareness. In fact, garnering brand awareness is one of

the determining factors when labeling a social media

campaign as either effective or ineffective. Some 65%

of marketers use brand awareness to judge the success

of an influencer marketing campaign. Thankfully, most

influencer campaigns are successful in this category,

which is why 93% of marketers use it in their marketing

strategies. Because of the high level of engagement

influencers have with their followers, their endorsement is

a great way to get people talking about your brand.

INCREASE BRAND ENGAGEMENT. Another

benefit of social media influencers is increased brand

engagement. Often social influencers, through cleverly

worded phrasing, can prompt quick action and increased

engagement with your brand. Be sure to talk with your

local influencer about your goals. Determine ahead of

time what the results are that you’re hoping for, and give

him/her the tools to get the job done.

CREATE A FUN EXPERIENCE. We’ve found from

experience that inviting the local air talent to participate

in entertaining and unique ways to promote the brand

and the influencer endorsement to a new level. The power

of having an influencer endorse your product or service

is tremendous...but it’s also more fun and interesting - to

the DJ AND to the listeners - when you can provide a

fun connection. It might mean a special offer or pricing

special, or it could be even more creative.

Following are the goals of any influencer marketing partnership, but especially one with a local talent as your marketing voice.


Here are a few examples of unique ways to put a different twist on your local influencer campaign, making it more fun for both the air talent AND the audience.

• A local frozen yogurt company invited the DJ to create a new flavor blend and named it after him.

• A local antique mall provided a DJ with a booth to sell his own unique products from...another huge success!

• A local business works with the DJ to also record video for use in social media, eblasts and in television commercials -

the theme of which all ties back to the same message as the endorsements.

Bottom line, don’t think that just because most social influencers are out of your reach means that you can’t leverage this

powerful marketing technique locally. Sometimes, the diamonds you seek are in your own backyard.

The use of social media influencers as a marketing strategy is here to stay. In fact, the trend is only growing more

substantial over time as 84% of millennials claim they are likely influenced by user-generated content when making

purchases. To ensure you use social media influencers the correct way, it’s important to stay consistent. Brand building is

only possible after the hard work of trust-building. It’s a long-term strategy, not a short-term plan. Think of a social media

influencer strategy as a marathon, not a sprint. Make sure you keep your brand’s reputation consistent. Don’t sway from

one thing to the next.

Stay focused and make sure your business social media accounts are on target.

Now that we have looked at the inclusion of the social media influencer into the marketing industry, went over how

to build a good relationship with an influencer and discussed finding a local influencer for your brand, let’s get to

the bottom line of the matter. Contact us at Zimmer Communications to learn about all our available stations, which

include 13 Missouri radio stations. Our cast of local influencers are already doing what they do best. We can help you determine if your business is ready for a partnership with an influencer, and if so...help you find the right fit for your business.

WITH YOUR LOCAL INFLUENCER, CREATIVITY COUNTS

SOCIAL INFLUENCERS - HERE TO STAY

HOW TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

tapping into local social influencers

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