HOMEBlogLuxury Influencer Marketing: Four Reasons Why It Works

Luxury Influencer Marketing: Four Reasons Why It Works

4 MIN READ

Luxury brands used to be all about exclusivity. However, with social media usage at record highs, high-end luxury fashion brands now embrace influencer marketing to reach new markets. In fact, influencer marketing campaigns are now part of the core strategy for the world’s most exclusive luxury fashion brands. Below are four reasons why it works.

1) Mid-tier Micro-Influencers Offer Brand’s Authenticity
Although the celebrity endorsement campaign model is nothing new, research supports that the most powerful social influence does not yield the best results for a brand. In fact it is the opposite. When an influencer’s followers count increases, the rate of authentic engagement decreases. Luxury fashion brands now embrace mid-tier, micro influencers due to their dedicated fan base and authentic content. Studies support that micro-influencers hold the most appeal among social media users.

Micro-influencers maintain this appeal among their followers because they took the time to build their audience base and are dedicated to building an active and engaged community of followers who share similar tastes, values, and brand preferences. As a result, their followers trust the influencer’s judgement on brands and products making them ideal long-term brand ambassadors or part of a different micro-influencer campaign.

Top-tier luxury influencers, similar to celebrities with large audience bases have less time, less control, and more importantly they often come across as less authentic and genuine if not managed properly.

2) Micro-Influencers Are Experts in Content Focused Campaigns
Can luxury brands collaborate with influencers? The answer is yes. Luxury brands in growing numbers are turning to influencers for content promotion and distribution campaigns. Instead of turning to an influencer for just a product launch, luxury brands are embracing the long-term influencer campaign model in increasing numbers. 72% of luxury brands indicate that influencers play a “very important” or “critical” during their product launches, more interestingly 71% responded that influencers play a similar role for content creation, promotion, and distribution.

DIfferent Types of Roles Influlencers Play
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These statistics highlight the true value of influencer marketing. The real value does not come with big brand campaigns, but subtle, long-term brand ambassadors and original content. At the end of the day, influencers are creators too, so giving them some latitude, creative freedom, and feeling of involvement is beneficial for both parties and the overall campaign to be successful. Partnering with an experienced influencer marketing agency ensures both the brand and the influencer get the best of both worlds. The agency handles the day to communication, campaign planning, influencer vetting, campaign execution and reporting on behalf of the brand 

3) Social Media Made Luxury Accessible
Luxury brands understand that social media and social media marketing opened their brands and their brand experience up to the masses. Once intimidated consumer, who would not dare enter their brick & mortar store because of how they were dressed, will now engage with the luxury brands online. In other words, shoppers can interact and experience high-end luxury brands on their own terms.

Does Your Brand Currently Use Influencer Marketing?
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There is an argument that the open and large scale nature of social media could make brands appear less exclusive in the eyes of the consumers. However, the luxury industry is rapidly warming up to social and celebrity influencers for campaigns. According to a recent survey of luxury brands 46% of them indicate that their influencer marketing programs are still in their infancy being a year or less old. Also, another 28% indicate that they have only used influencer marketing for less than two years.

4) Increased Focus on ROI
With every marketing budget line item scrutinized, it is natural and vital that luxury brands want to measure celebrity and influencer marketing campaigns ROI. Measuring ROI for influencer marketing is challenging due to the sheer mass of social, online, and press data available, creating headwinds when it comes time to drill down a single influencer, campaign, or product group.

Influencer ROI is an area of growing focus and measurement software and techniques. Close to 63% of luxury brands indicate that revenue generation is a measurement of success, compared to 44% of non-luxury brands do not place such a strong emphasis that type of conversion. Not surprisingly, luxury brands also measure the success of influencer campaigns and collaborations though website traffic, brand mentions, social media shares, and the number of likes on a campaign post.

While social media made luxury brands accessible it also created an opportunity for an expanded social media sales cycles, enabling platforms to leverage the e-commerce side of their software, through the use of affiliate programs, conversion pixels, and Instagram shoppable links.

Should Luxury Brands Invest in Influencer Marketing
Luxury brands continue to adapt to their changing demographics and the changing marketplace. According to a recent survey, 66% of luxury brands responded that their influencer marketing budget will increase “significantly” over the next 12 months, so the competition for influencers will only heat up.

With the proper influencer selection, the right type of campaign, and a good collaborator fit, the most exclusive brands continue to evolve, retain their exclusivity, and increase their market share.

 Schedule Your Influencer Marketing Consultation Today 

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