Van Hawke Talent SUNNY SINGH & MAGGIE STRUMELIEVA
2021 Social Media: Influencers vs Brand Ambassadors
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen an exponential growth in influencer marketing over the last year. With the rise of social media influencers, many brands are turning heads to newer trends and revising their marketing strategies. Our Instagram, Facebook and even TikTok feeds have never been filled with as many influencer-powered ADs as they are today. But is influencer-sponsored content enough to increase your brand awareness, engagement, and conversions, as well as generate high ROI? Many businesses are investing a lot of time and money in influencers and seeing little to nothing in return when drawing comparisons to brand ambassadors. Influencers are effectively content creators with a social media following who can start conversations, set new trends and even impact purchasing decisions made by their receptive audiences. Currently many brands are using influencers to their advantage in sponsoring them to create promotional content of their products and services as it is a cost-effective and convenient way to gain high exposure whilst adding a personal touch to brand campaigns. However, influencer-brand partnerships are frequently just a one-off transaction. The short-term collaboration between the two often questions the level of trust and authenticity of their campaigns, leading to very low engagement. Brands should therefore seek longer and more loyal partnerships, such that can be found when collaborating with brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors are regular consumers of your product or services and subsequently, share the same value as the brand and its consumer. Unlike influencers who tend to operate on one-off campaigns, ambassadors come from your brand’s niche and add value to the authenticity of the product or service they are passionate about. Forming long-term partnerships and building a close relationship with the brand,
GAME CHANGERS Issue #31
ambassadors can post a variety of authentic content across social, participate in press events, offer discount codes, and essentially become the face of your brand and sell your product effectively. Similarly, scouting for the right ambassador is a vital part of your brand’s marketing strategy. Someone who is already loyal to your product, has previously engaged with your brand, or possesses an audience of similar niche to your brand’s, will make them an ideal asset to collaborate with. Promoting to the right audience will drive high engagement and exposure before nurturing and converting your brand leads efficiently. Not only will this increase the level of trust between the brand, ambassador, and essentially its targeted consumer, but it will also stimulate a greater ROI. Additionally, putting a face to the brand will make it more personal, real, and distinctively identifiable from other brands. Fashion influencer Lydia Millen who has partnered with Karen Millen for example, has recently delivered multiple seasonal edits and collections over the last few months. The success following her first two KM x LM campaigns could see multiple items rapidly sell out after discount codes were distributed across Instagram and YouTube. Lydia continues to collaborate with the well-known brand, building a stronger presence and trust amongst her followers and can be seen making frequent appearances across the website, the official social accounts, newsletters and so forth, and thus becoming the new face for Karen Millen. Even when the fashion blogger is not promoting the brand directly, she can be seen wearing Karen Millen pieces across her social channels. Her loyalty and dedication towards the clothing line is automatically recognised by her followers, making her a trustworthy and authentic brand ambassador. Another great example is Naomi Osaka who recently became the newest brand ambassador for Louis
