The long-running ‘word of mouth’ which worked wonders in dispersing brand updates, has now morphed into influencer marketing. Whether it’s for boosting the digital footprint or building awareness for a new product, brands are intertwining influencers into their marketing strategy. But is this buzzword-laden approach really worth your energy and time?

Zefmo’s 2018 Influence Report indicated that 89% of marketers find influencer marketing campaigns effective in increasing brand awareness and improving brand reputation.

That 62% of brands plan to increase the budget that’s allocated to engaging social influencers. And that eventually, 92% of the marketers will pivot to influencer campaigns.

If your interest is piqued, and you want to try this fresh-off-the-boat but highly effective technique for your brand, take inspiration from these real-life examples:

1. Amazon India 

To boost sales for the Kindle Paperwhite and encourage e-reading, Amazon India launched a campaign called #CrazyForReading.

This initiative entailed the creation and distribution of minute-long films featuring Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi, two of India’s bestselling authors.

One video highlights Ashwin Sanghi’s love for reading since childhood and how his reading patterns have evolved over time, thanks to the Kindle.

In the other, Amish Tripathi discusses the ease of reading that the Amazon Kindle has introduced in his life; he no longer has to lug around the multiple books that he reads simultaneously.

With a captivating storytelling style, these brand films tapped into the authors’ fanbase. Consumers were also asked to share their #CrazyForReading stories, and the craziest one would win a Kindle.

A smart move given the online presence both authors enjoy: Ashwin Sanghi holds more than 137K followers on Twitter, and Amish Tripathi maintains a following of more than 77.8K on Twitter.

2. Citi Bank

Citi Bank wanted to woo its Indian consumers by promoting its Dining Privilege offers. They targeted mobile consumers and offered exclusive privileges at more than 2000 restaurants.

But it was also important that consumers associated ‘dining’ with Citi Bank. Which is why they collaborated with Zomato and brought on board two of the country’s top food influencers – Kunal Vijaykar and Maria Goretti – for a campaign called ‘What’s on your plate?’

The two were shown fighting over whether Mumbai offers better food or Delhi; a move based on Citi Bank’s decision to target only those two cities. Consumers were then urged to help put this debate to rest by sending in their choice of food on social media platforms using #WhatsOnYourPlate and #LuvToDine.

Partnering with the right influencers proved useful for Citi Bank; the videos received 1.6M views overall, and the three-day contest gained the brand over 16,220 mentions.

3. Nykaa 

A market leader and the go-to online destination for beauty and wellness products, Nykaa has consistently taken the digital route to shape its brand presence.

They have collaborated with several bloggers and influencers in the past, but a noteworthy campaign was the #MakeupChallenge. For the same, a sequence of videos featuring veteran comedian and influencer Rohan Joshi was released on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

One such video presented Rohan in a highly unlikely situation where he hilariously struggled while trying to put makeup on Shivani Singh, a model.

The idea behind this campaign was to bank on Rohan’s stardom and appeal to his fan following by placing him in an out-of-the-ordinary yet comical setting.

4. Philips

Philips, true to its proposition ‘Innovation and you’, launched the Air Fryer in 2012. However, the product didn’t perform as well as expected.

To address this issue, Philips started an online show called ‘Philips SuperChef’ and signed up YouTube celebrity chef Sanjay Thumma. The six-month long campaign created awareness about the product by sharing healthy recipes and instructive videos on using the Air Fryer. Here’s one such video:

By tapping into Sanjay’s audience of 330K subscribers, Philips was able to increase the search volume for ‘Air Fryer’ on Google and garner 3.71 lakh organic views on YouTube.

5. Tata Pravesh 

To promote their new line of steel doors elegantly finished with wood, Tata Pravesh launched a campaign named ‘Doors of India’.

Based on the understanding that ‘every door has a story’, the campaign involved the creation of live videos by the crew on-ground: Shubham Mansingka, Kaushal Karkhanis, Vinayak Grover, Swati Saxena, Divyakshi Gupta and Amrita Das.

These travel experts embarked on a journey through 46 cities over a span of 5 months to curate stories that lay behind the different doors they came upon. The stories discovered were shared via a LIVE format via social media.

Significant buzz was also created on Instagram before Tata Pravesh’s product launch, and the campaign reached 4.4 million viewers.

What about your influencer campaigns?

With the rapid increase in the number of internet users, this trailblazing strategy is a game changer. So draw inspiration from the above examples and start planning your next move!

Also read: Measuring ROI for your influencer marketing campaign