No longer is influencer marketing seen as a stand-alone tool in the marketer's toolbox. Instead, forward-thinking brands are now seeing the benefits of including influencer insight and content across almost every element of their marketing strategies - from paid advertising to market research.
In this article, we will explore how brands can work with influencers to take advantage of reactive marketing.
What is Reactive Marketing?
Reactive marketing is much as it sounds. Rather than typical marketing campaigns which usually take considerable planning and strategy, reactive marketing relies on businesses being quick to act, often in response to current events, news or trends.
For example, a brand may decide to post on social media poking fun at a recent ‘mess up’ by celebrities. Equally, they may post to highlight their concern or sadness over more serious world events.
This approach helps brands to remain relevant and relatable, showing their audience that they are aware of what is going on in the world. Reactive marketing also helps brands to tap into the buzz and emotions surrounding a particular event, helping them draw attention to the brand itself and its key marketing messages.
In a world where brand values are becoming increasingly important to consumers, this approach also lets brands highlight their standpoint on world issues.
“Responding to real-time events, news, topics and even TV shows makes a brand appear more relevant and relatable. It’s also likely that the content will receive more impressions than usual, given that numerous people will already be actively engaged with or aware of the topic at that particular time.” - Econsultancy
How do Influencers Fit Into Reactive Marketing?
So, how do influencers fit into a reactive approach to marketing?
Well, much in the same way as they would fit into any marketing campaign. You can work with influencers on a reactive basis in order to drive even further reach and engagement when leveraging recent events.
Influencers are perfect for this type of marketing for two reasons:
They can offer insight into the latest news and trends that matter to your audience
As influencer content is often reactive they can offer expertise in creating highly engaging content in a short time frame
However, there are also some clear downsides to working with influencers in reactive marketing. As content is usually created and published at top speed there is a higher chance that it will not meet standards in terms of quality or clarity. It can also mean that content is not properly reviewed, leading to potentially embarrassing mistakes or miscommunications.
It can be beneficial to plan for the unplanned. This can be achieved by having a clear process in place for brand and influencer content creation when reactive marketing is required. This plan could include:
Which influencers you will work with
How content will be briefed
Who will review the content before going live
A quick checklist to work through to ensure content quality
It can also be beneficial to work with your selected influencers ahead of time in order to ensure they are aware of what will be expected of them.
How to Use Influencers in Reactive Campaigns?
We have established that reactive marketing can be great for businesses. We have also established that working with influencers can be a great approach to reactive campaigns. Now we will cover what brands need to do to actually achieve this.
Reliability & Professionalism
When selecting which influencers you will reach out to for support with reactive campaigns there are two things you need to look for - reliability and professionalism.
If you already work with influencers across your usual campaigns you will likely have a good idea of which influencers can be relied on to deliver what they promised, when they promised. This level of reliability is even more important in reactive marketing where time is short.
Professionalism also plays a key part in driving influencer choice. As reactive marketing can often be in response to serious matters, knowing that your selected influencers will act with respect and integrity is crucial in ensuring a good brand image.
Long-Term Relationships
Building long term relationships with your influencer is important for two main reasons:
To ensure confidence in their ability and integrity (as explored above)
To ensure a clear and consistent message with your audience
Using the same influencers across both your long term campaigns and reactive marketing will ensure that your audiences see a clear level of trust between influencer and brand. Ultimately, this will lead to better brand images and higher levels of audience trust in what you are communicating.
Transparency
Although working with influencers in reactive scenarios may be fast-paced and ‘of the moment’, it doesn't mean that influencer content won’t undergo the same level of scrutiny by advertising authorities as normal influencer involvement in campaigns.
When working with influencers always make sure that you are properly advising them on how they should be disclosing the fact that they are working with you.
Reactive Campaigns & Influencers: Summary
It is clear that influencers can be a great addition to any brand’s reactive marketing campaign. Working with them can both offer insight into the latest trends and news, as well as helping you to create high-quality content in a short period of time.
However, there are also some risks of working with influencers that brands must be aware of if they decide to take this route - such as potential miscommunications. Taking the time to consider these potential risks and plan for them will go a long way to ensuring success.
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