Influencer marketing for events
How to choose the right influencer to market your event or brand
One of the hottest trends that you’ll see brands using to promote their events (or brand) during 2024 is influencer marketing.
It’s risen steadily over the past few years and is now a booming business for many people.
In many ways, influencers are like content creators. They produce videos and content that their audience laps up.
So why not tap into this and use them to promote your event?
BUT…
You do need to choose the right influencer who has the right voice (and following) that suits your brand.
In this handy guide, we’ll cover a recap of 5 effective ways to find and (work) with influencers, plus case studies on how I’ve helped brands connect with influencers to boost their marketing efforts.
The top 5 ways to find influencers to promote your event
Before you start working with an influencer to promote your event, here are the top 5 things you need to consider.
1. Find the right influencer for your brand:
The influencer you choose should align with your brand values and messaging and have a following that is filled with your ideal audience.
2. Set your goals
As with all marketing, you’ll need to set the goals you want to achieve using influencer marketing (e.g. promoting your event, connecting with an audience, etc.)
3. Build a strong relationship with your influencer of choice
You’ll need to build a relationship built on trust and respect. Just as you’re choosing an influencer, they also need to love your brand and want to work with you!
4. Evaluate your success
You can evaluate your success in influencer marketing by comparing the results you see with your goals (e.g. did you boost sales for your event, has your following increased, etc.)
5. Keep yourself up to date
Marketing trends constantly change, so don’t get stuck in a rut. Keep an eye on the traction your influencer gets (are they still relevant) and if your audience is following other influencers and so on.
For a more detailed outline of these key points, please have a quick read of my blog, ‘Tips for finding and working with social media influencers’.
Case studies using influencing marketing for brand promotions
Safe Transport Victoria teams with Teddy, encouraging people to ‘Cool Your Jets’.
Safe Transport Victoria wanted to boost the promotion of their ‘Cool Your Jets’ campaign, a safety initiative for the use of jet skis over the summer. With jet skis being hugely popular, they wanted to get their message across of keeping everyone safe in the water.
As their event manager, I was tasked with finding innovative ways to promote their campaign. That’s when I came across influencer marketer Teddy (@tedsthetics), who has over 374K followers.
That’s huge numbers! But it’s because he’s highly relatable and gets his point across in a humourous way his audience loves. And what made him even more appealing was the fact that his audience was filled with those people who Safe Transport Victoria wanted to reach.
So, Teddy got started and created this reel before an event. In 3 days, it had over 3700 likes – a great way to promote the event.
The result: Safe Transport Victoria ran a series of 3 events, with Teddy getting involved prior to the last event. This event was the best attended out of the three. Teddy attended the event and spent a couple of hours talking to people and creating more video content that we can use across social media to continue promoting the campaign.
Uvoila partners with foodie influencer marketers, sharing recipes to die for!
Uviola is the creator of 100% Australian grapeseed oil. Although the oil would sell itself once people have tried (and loved it), they needed creative ways to reach a wider audience to ‘draw them in’.
As their social media strategist, I was tasked with finding ways to promote their brand, and one of my recommendations was to use influencers on Instagram so we could boost their following.
I found 4 suitable influencers!
First up is Therese Spoon, an influencer who promotes ‘feel good food’ with over 13.1K followers. She produces the most delicious-looking recipes and uses brands that she aligns with.
Uviola is now one of them!
Using Uviola’s oil, she produced a couple of recipes (Chilli Crisp Gnocchi & Crispy Seaweed Chips topped with Tuna Tartare) that were shared on Instagram.
Another lifestyle influencer who aligned with the Uviola brand was t.house.com.au. She shares a range of home and lifestyle posts, so she teamed up with us to create the following recipe reels:
· Taco’s
Uviola also partnered with littledelish (Hayley Paterson – Food Stylist) with over 4800 followers.
Providing baking spiration, littledelish and Uviola inspired audiences with a lemon and poppyseed layer cake and crispy potatoes.
Finally, we tapped into the audience of another_food_blogger, Gavin Sutherland, who shared a vibrant spring salad masterpiece.
As you can see, there are so many food influencers, but Uviola has partnered with those who share the same vision and ethos.
The result: An increase in social media followers, a boost in sales, and brand awareness.
Curious to see if an influencer can help promote your brand?
Finding a suitable influencer and building trust with them can take some time. If you’re curious to see how an influencer could help promote your brand or next event, I’d love to help you.
Please email me to connect.
As a social media and event manager with over 21 years of corporate marketing experience, I know what it takes to create a memorable event that engages your audience.
Let’s get the ball rolling and find you an influencer who fits in with your brand.
If you have any questions or comments, or if you’ve used an influencer (good or bad), I’d love for you to share your insights in the comments below.