The latest marketing trend for outdoor brands is using influencer marketing to diversify their audiences.
In the outdoor world, consumers often want to know the best brands and products to use for various activities, from hiking boot recommendations to must-have climbing gear and everything in between. Partnering with the right influencers can mean turning one-to-one word of mouth recommendations into a giant megaphone – announcing your brand as the trusted, must-have source for all things outdoor.
From the smallest micro-influencer to the most well known creators with millions of followers, outdoor brands are teaming up with authentic influencer partners and seeing a tremendous impact – on not only their bottom lines, but also with overall brand affinity.
Moving away from big name celebrities and toward relatable influencers is particularly important as inclusion becomes a stronger driver for outdoor brands seeking to grow market share.
Why top outdoor brands use influencer marketing to diversify audiences
1. Emotional connection.
In order for influencer marketing partnerships to work, there needs to be an authentic connection between influencers and their followers. But opening up new audiences and revenue streams for brands requires going a step further than just leveraging a loyal follower base. It also requires empathy.
After all, buying is often an emotional decision – so connecting on an emotional level, rather than simply a logical one is key for outdoor brands. And in establishing an emotional relationship, companies learned quickly that they needed to ask their influencer’s followers what they needed instead of telling them what they had to offer, according to Vogue.
That means there’s a very human element to accessing a new audience through influencer marketing which requires a genuine interest in what their community is experiencing and living on a daily basis.
2. Finding market gaps.
Influencers are also key to identifying market gaps – and opportunities for outdoor brands to serve niche audiences. For example, athletic clothing brand Merrell noticed through social listening that the followers of their influencer partners had trouble finding plus-size clothing for certain sports. By listening closely to the needs of an untapped market, Merrell created an entire line of plus-sized sports apparel for an otherwise unheard group of their would-be consumers.
Their efforts not only increased sales of a product they otherwise would have been oblivious to, but also catapulted them to being known as the inclusive brand that cares about those with different body types. This positioned them as a conscious, relatable brand and they became the top company like-minded consumers chose for athletic apparel.
3. Improved customer retention.
As with many other benefits of influencer marketing, the result of an authentic campaign geared towards niche needs as voiced by its community members can increase conversion trifold. And what’s more is when you connect with buyers on a personal level, they’re more likely to remain loyal customers for years to come.
Using influencers as a way to promote your brand is an essential avenue to creating new markets in the ever-changing ecommerce world. In addition to getting direct “voice of the consumer” insights, brands that partner with the right technology partner can streamline efforts, improve operational efficiency, and increase ROI. For example, brands that use Creatable have seen 3x the conversion compared with previous platforms.
Not only is all influencer content owned by the brand, you receive first party attribution and connect with your audience inside your brand’s own environment – not on a third party platform.
Having the right tools to recruit authentic creators, manage operations, and analyze results enables you to spend less time in administration – and more time where it matters: connecting with people in the communities you desire.
To learn how to take out the guesswork and create simple to understand, full funnel campaigns, schedule a demo with Creatable here: https://www.creatable.io/demo.
