We don’t have to tell you that your audience is smart. You already know they’re savvy consumers, and getting savvier as more products and services saturate the marketplace. They face a barrage of ads and sponsored content on the daily, all vying to sway their purchasing decisions—which means they have to be selective about who and what gets their attention.
That simple fact is the core of why influencer marketing works. Consumers need guidance they can trust to cut through the noise and help them understand the most valuable ways to spend their time and resources. As we enter a post-pandemic world, when many will need to be more selective about those decisions, influencers will need to work even harder to establish that trust.
Trust begins with organic content
So, how can influencers go above and beyond to establish an honest and trustworthy relationship with their followers? And how can brands work with influencers to create a well-received partnership that converts their target audience?
This is where organic content comes in. It’s a less-talked-about but often key ingredient in successful influencer campaigns.
When an influencer genuinely likes a product and shows their audience how it adds value to their everyday lives outside the parameters of a sponsorship, they can start to familiarize their followers with that product, establishing any future paid partnership as a trustworthy one.
Organic content as a case study for success
In addition to building trust, organic content also offers powerful insight into how consumers are using and responding to their product. That’s because it’s an influencer’s job to bring valuable recommendations to their audience—and influencers who are doing that job well are always mining their own experience for products they know will align well with their audience’s needs and aspirations.
For instance, an influencer may recommend a particular appliance or cooking utensil to her audience because it’s been an important tool in making so many of her recipes both successful and easier to prepare. She’ll be able to show her audience all the ways she uses it in her everyday cooking, and make special recommendations for how to get the most out of it. From this content and the conversation her audience will have around it, the brand she features gets to see exactly how this audience has aligned with their product.
Organic means creative!
Truly successful organic content is also creative content.
Because influencers are looking to their own experiences in order to advise their followers, they’re better equipped to come up with fresh, unique ways to create content around those products.
For instance, an influencer who routinely buys the same sliced cheese for her kids’ lunches will have many more easy (and well-proven!) recipe ideas to bring to her followers than if she had just been introduced to the product.
So there you have it. Organic content is so much more than great PR for brands. It’s a window into understanding how a specific audience understands and uses your product in their everyday lives. It provides valuable insight into how you can work with influencers to continue the conversation they’ve started and a foundation for campaign ideas you already know will be a slam-dunk. In other words, organic content is a win-win-win.
Our CEO & Founder, Laurie Buckle, has decades of food and lifestyle industry expertise to share about marketing and succeeding during uncertain times.
Book a (free!) 30-minute strategy call with Laurie to chat about how to create content as we enter a post-pandemic world, where consumers’ needs and circumstances will vary greatly.
