• by Aliza Freud , Columnist, November 9, 2015

Social media marketing has become an essential component of every marketer’s strategy as people look to their newsfeeds, YouTube, and Twitter stream for engaging content. With consumer attention shifting from traditional media, and ad-blocking technology at the forefront, people are in more control than ever of their entertainment consumption. 

The opportunity for CPG brands now is to build relationships with their customers, have a social voice and personality, and be a trusted resource in consumers’ micro-moments of content consumption. One way to embrace the new wave of social marketing is to capture the social zeitgeist and drive ROI through the power of influencer video. 

Social influencers are individuals who have built a strong social following, with a trust and deep engagement from their audience. And, a survey from Burst Media’s 2014 Influencer Marketing’s Benchmark Report found that influencer campaigns earn big returns: $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 of paid media. According to Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist, “Everyone influences someone, and the recent ease of use with regard to video, how they are being featured on Facebook in addition to YouTube, and all the new platforms like Snapchat, Periscope, Blab, and more every day are empowering those who can and want to advocate to easily create content that is much more powerful.” 

This can be useful when brands leverage the power and voice of social influencers to create content and awareness on their behalf. This relationship presents brand messaging in a trusted environment with an authentic voice that consumers engage with, and generates earned media for brands. CPG companies have begun working with influencers to create content across the social media spectrum of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, but social video has emerged as the most compelling format to tell a brand’s story. YouTube, specifically, has amassed over 1 billion monthly users with 70% year-over-year growth of “how to” content. People seek this content to provide utility in their daily lives, with 67% of Millennials feeling they can find a video on “anything they want.”

The delivered message allows the brand to be a resource to people in time of need and inspiration. This provides the opportunity to drive people directly to point of purchase with in-video ad units or links to purchase. 

For example, “beauty” has become one of the top searched and consumed pieces of content across YouTube. YouTube has 14.9 billion beauty-related video views and 75+ hours of new beauty-related content is uploaded to YouTube on a daily basis. YouTube vloggers, "haul girls", and other beauty content creators control 97% of conversations around beauty and brands on YouTube. 

Brands can leverage these influencers who have amassed huge followings by having them create engaging content that bring the brand to the forefront of the video, and drive the engaged audience directly to point of purchase. 

Here are some tips on how to work with influencers:

1. Brands should focus on their own distinct personality and then communicate how they want to promote this through influencers.

2. Give influencers the freedom to create content that puts their brand in the context of the influencer’s life. The result will be compelling content that activates audience engagement.

3. Allow the influencer to use their own authentic voice to produce compelling content.