Let’s face it. You may not be able to wear it every day, but you sure want to own it. The magnetic power of luxury brands is undeniable. But, a large chunk of this allure comes from the phenomenal marketing that brands engage in.
An integral part of any luxury brand’s marketing campaign is influencer marketing. So strong is the impact of influencer marketing on luxury branding that 75% of luxury fashion and beauty brands admit to using it, with 65% of them vouching for its benefits in product sales and brand visibility.
Building a successful luxury brand on Instagram
Here are our top 5 tips to use influencer marketing on Instagram:
- Use the right influencer for your campaign
From Bentley to Burberry, there are luxury brands in almost all industries. Although they all market their products and services to the ultra-rich, the techniques they use are completely different. Similarly, it’s important to remember that the same influencer won’t work for each luxury brand.
There are six types of influencers on Instagram:
- Professionals: Insta bloggers like Bags have worked with luxury fashion brands like Burberry and Givenchy and made their products a raging success. Choose industry-specific professionals.
- Journalists: Media houses like The Times or The New York Post have a massive readership and they often post a lot about luxury brands, all without being sponsored to do so. Just get noticed through other promotional means.
- Celebrities: Brand endorsements from A-list stars like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid work wonders for high-profile events like fashion shows.
- Artists: A fringe group, but still quite powerful; they are perfect for high-fashion brands. Take notice of artist Alec Monopoly. Choose the influencer who embodies your style.
- Experts: People who have been in the industry or have years of experience using specific products and services qualify as experts. Car collector David Lee falls in this category.
- Your customers: Sometimes, our customers can accomplish miracles that no celebrity can. So enlist their help wisely.
Companies like ifluenz offer highly-personalized influencer marketing services for niche, luxury markets. These companies will be able to whet the influencers for you, only introducing you to those people who fit the profile you’re looking for.
- Leverage the power of mid-tier and micro influencers
You don’t always need to look for influencers who have followers in their millions. Sometimes, influencers with a small follower base (starting from 5,000 followers) can also make great things happen. Mid-tier and micro influencers have a very personal relationship with their audience. They are very personable and relatable to audiences. You’ll be able to develop a highly focused campaign if you enlist help from mid-tier and micro influencers.
- Look towards partnerships instead of sponsorships
When an Instagram user sees you posting a sponsored ad, they are more likely to stop taking you seriously, purely because these ads don’t seem realistic. Instead, imagine their surprise when they hear of you from a third party.
Try and build partnerships with your influencers. Partner with them to post on your Instagram feed or stories, help them get noticed amongst your existing followers. Essentially, build a mutually-beneficial relationship.
- Be clever when using Instagram for luxury marketing
Posting pictures with cute hashtags and mentions isn’t the only thing that Instagram’s about. If you want to, you can get really creative here. Some tactics you could try are:
- Encourage followers to live-stream
- Start a selfie competition
- Create quizzes about your products
- Use customer-images to create holiday advertisements
- Reward followers with products
- Measure your marketing performance
You should always measure your performance both before and after the influencer marketing campaign. This will tell you whether you’re on the right track or not.
Measure:
- Engagement: Likes, comments, shares, and mentions
- Campaign reach: Brand referrals, impressions, and click rates
- Audience overview: Analyze demographic trends through Google Analytics
- Social media leads and sales: Analysis of UTM parameters through Google Analytics
Influencer marketing on Instagram delivers 30% higher engagement rates for luxury brands, compared to other platforms. It’s important for brands to engage in influencer marketing for success in their marketing campaign.