How to incorporate influencers into your seasonal campaigns
As we transition into the summer season, it is the perfect time to start talking about seasonal campaigns.
Let’s start at the beginning first.
What is a seasonal campaign?
A seasonal campaign is a marketing campaign that is tied to a specific season (i.e. summer) or a specific holiday (i.e. Christmas/the holiday season).
Why you should incorporate influencers into your campaign
Do you absolutely need to work with influencers? No, but there’s a reason why the influencer industry is so huge and only continues to grow, and there’s a reason why countless brands want to work with influencers. The right influencer(s) can provide great value for your brand. This is because influencers typically have a community of engaged followers who value their insights, recommendations, and what they say. Not only that, but they are also often seen as aspirational to their followers. With all of this in mind, they have the ability to boost awareness/visibility of your brand and if they love your brand/products it influences others to check out your brand too.
How to incorporate influencers into your seasonal campaigns
If you want to incorporate influencers into your seasonal campaigns here are some tips:
Define your goals
When planning any campaign, one of the first important steps is to define your goals and think about what you want. For example, are you trying to raise awareness about a new product launch? Defining your goals helps set the foundation for all campaigns.
Do your research
You can’t just pick any influencer and hope for the best, or at least you shouldn’t. Finding the right influencer takes a bit of research. Try to choose people who feel like the right fit. For example, the influencer and their content should feel like they align with the campaign, your brand, and what your brand stands for. And remember bigger does not equal better.
Once you’ve found the right influencer(s), we suggest you…
Give up some control and let creators create
Listen, it’s ok to have guidelines of what you want, but if you’re trying to control every single detail, you lose some of the magic. The creators know their audience and what works, and you want it to feel authentic, so you should allow them some creative freedom and control.
For more on this, check out our blog, Influencer Marketing: The magic happens when you let content creators create.
A recent example
Of course, we have to share an example and I’m going to go with one that’s been all over my social media timelines right now. Last month, Crush Canada launched their new Orange Crush Zero Sugar. As part of their summer campaign launch they tapped actor Chad Michael Murray to star in their campaign and this was a perfect match, because thanks to his roles in One Tree Hill, A Cinderella Story, Freaky Friday (and more), he was THE crush for many. To celebrate the launch of Crush Zero Sugar, they invited a ton of influencers to a huge party dubbed Crush Prom. This was a great pick because prom season is right on the heels of the beginning of summer. At Crush Prom, influencers could meet the actor, sip some Crush, and have fun! And basically all of the local influencers were there. This works because they could tap into lifestyle and food/beverage influencers which would feel like a natural authentic fit. But they also invited other creators as well and it works for them because beverages/food is something we all need anyway.
Overall, this was a fun way to incorporate influencers into their summer campaign.
To wrap things up, we want to offer a few more tips that we think are important:
Make sure you’re tracking progress (like getting stats from influencers) so that you can track the success of your campaign
Building a positive relationship with the influencers you choose is important, so make sure you’re engaging with their content.
Planning early can help keep you on track!