6 Influencer Marketing Best Practices that All Tech Brands Need to Know
The tech sector is booming. We hear about new apps, electronics, and gadgets every single day. It’s nearly impossible to keep up! The good news is that with influencer marketing, you can break through the clutter and promote anything from a high-tech vacuum to a new video game in a cost-effective, scalable way.
In this three-part series, we’ll dig deep into influencer marketing strategies, specifically for tech brands. In this first part, we’ll discuss six influencer marketing best practices that we’ve gathered together after examining hundreds of successful collaborations on Aspire.
For more general information on influencer marketing, check out The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing. This helpful e-book covers everything from finding influencers and making contracts, to determining payments and tracking ROI.
Otherwise, let’s jump right in!
1. Create video content to easily engage people.
We all know by now that video content is an excellent marketing tool. In fact, 18% of all purchase decisions are influenced by YouTube videos, and 6 in 10 YouTube subscribers would follow advice on what to buy from their favorite creator.
And while this may be true for most industries, video works particularly well for tech brands because people want to see product demonstrations. They don’t just want to hear or read about new technology. They want to see how it works and determine for themselves how easy it is to use the product.
For example, Black and Decker collaborates with YouTubers to showcase how effortless it is to complete projects with their electronic power tools. In the video below, an influencer shows how she built a cornhole set at home with Black and Decker’s cordless combo kit.
Additionally, video content performs well in the tech sector because the products are much trickier to explain. Content about electronic devices and software is much harder to understand than, say, a clothing brand or food brand. So, a step-by-step video that spells out everything is extremely valuable.
2. Repurpose IGC for your paid ads and brand-owned channels.
Influencer generated content (IGC) is a very powerful marketing tool for several reasons. Of course, the obvious benefit of IGC is that it is a fast, inexpensive way to produce eye-catching content for social media. But more importantly, consumers prefer IGC over traditional ad creative because it’s more relatable and authentic. As a matter of fact, influencer content on social media earns more than 8 times the engagement rate of brand-directed content.
So what’s the best way to leverage IGC? Repurpose it for all of your brand-owned social channels and paid ads!
People find it especially intimidating to approach new tech products because they’re not tech-savvy, or because they don’t have enough industry knowledge. By repurposing IGC, you are putting a familiar face at the forefront of your product, making consumers feel more comfortable about trying it out.
IGC is also diverse, giving you a wide variety of content to use when targeting different audiences. With IGC, the content your brand presents can truly resonate with all of your different target markets. For instance, GoPro repurposed IGC on their Instagram, showing the many different occasions and ways people can utilize their product.
3. Work with macro-influencers to make a bigger impact.
Although micro-influencers are typically key players in the influencer marketing space, macro-influencers have a bigger impact for tech brands, especially when it comes to app and electronic companies.
Why? Because many mobile apps and tech products, such as phone cases or cameras, typically have mass appeal and need to market to a large, generic group of people. Because of this, teaming up with macro-influencers with large followings can bring brand awareness to the masses. Simply put, it’s more bang for your buck.
On the other hand, it’s certainly better to work with micro-influencers if you are promoting a very specific product to some specialty niche. Micro-influencers are known for their reliability, specialized content, and strong connection with their audience. Consequently, they typically achieve higher engagement for a lower CPE.
4. Fairly compensate your influencers.
Because technology is something that requires a lot of knowledge and expertise, tech influencers typically require fair compensation for collaborations. This could be in the form of money or a highly-valued product given for free.
For app and gaming companies, expect to pay for posts unless you’re providing a valuable electronic device to influencers. Because apps and games are typically free or not very expensive, influencers will almost always require payment in addition to free access to the product.
5. Be sure to include a clear call to action.
In order to successfully captivate your audience, it’s important to always have a straightforward call to action in your content. After all, what’s the point of creating content for your campaign if there’s no actual engagement from your audience?
The easiest ways to provide a clear call to action is by using the “Swipe Up” feature on Instagram Stories or by including a link in a YouTube video description. Encourage people to click a link, download your app for free, or use a code to get a discount on your product.
6. Work with a large variety of influencers.
There are endless possibilities of influencers to work with when you’re a tech brand because there are so many different kinds of products. The products range from electronics, such as cameras and Bluetooth speakers, to software, such as smartphone apps and online games.
That being said, influencers can promote tech products from other verticals. For example, you can work with home design influencers to market home electronics or food influencers for a food delivery app. Don’t limit yourself to one community when there are so many different kinds of influencers to collaborate with!
However, keep the “test and invest” method in mind when working with influencers. Try working with influencers from a few different niches and provide trackable links to monitor each influencer you work with. Then, use performance data to determine who fits well with your brand and re-invest in similar influencers for your next campaign.