By cdelprincipe@hubspot.com (Curt del Principe)

Today’s master has things kinda backward. But she shared with me one of the most clever strategies for collaborative content and brand awareness that I’ve ever heard. (And I talk to a lot of marketers, so that’s saying something.)

And whether you’re working on brand partnerships, influencer marketing, or creator campaigns, you just might start doing it backward, too.

Deesha Laxsav

Senior Manager of Brand Marketing, Clutch

• Fun fact: Deesha started a (now abandoned) foodie TikTok exploring elite eats in the DC Metro area. (“Turns out, eating was easier than editing videos.”)

• Claim to fame: Built Clutch’s first influencer marketing program, setting the stage for long-term partnerships with top voices in marketing and tech.

Lesson 1: Social marketing has a trust problem.

A stinging 53% of consumers outright distrust paid endorsements, according to a recent survey by the global service marketplace Clutch. And the better polished the content was, the more suspicious it looked. What’s more, 41% of consumers weren’t sure whether they trusted influencers more than brands.

Which is really awkward because… wasn’t influencer marketing supposed to be the silver bullet against brand backlash?

“Our survey makes it clear that consumer trust in influencer marketing has taken a hit,” Laxsav says, but she isn’t deterred. “When we got the data, we didn’t think, ‘We shouldn’t be doing influencer marketing.’ Instead, it was, ‘How do we do it better?’”

She believes that the high number of scattershot paid posts created by one-off marketing campaigns have turned skepticism into a monster.

So maybe the real silver bullet was the friendships we made along the way. No, really. Laxsav says the solution to the influencer backlash is building authentic relationships with content creators and/or partner brands that deeply understand your audience.

And in that endeavor, Laxsav has it entirely backward.

Lesson 2: Make your own opportunities.

Most folks begin a content campaign by asking a content creator to… y’know, create content. But Laxsav finds that it works best when you flip the script. (And, pro tip, this works with brand collabs, too.)

“We’re a small brand, so the first step is just getting through the door. It’s hard getting the attention of these influencers. They’re getting thousands and thousands of emails.”

So, instead, Laxsav asks influencers if they’ll agree to be interviewed by one of Clutch’s executives.

“We’re not asking to appear on their channel. We want them to appear as a guest on our channels.”

Then, and here’s the kicker, YOU create the content. “The number one thing is giving people something to share. We slice up [one interview] into two to three videos that they could promote. We give them graphics. We even give them social media messaging copy. You build this strong promotional toolkit, …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

      

Author: Aaron