HOW TO USE INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR YOUR FOOD BUSINESS

Written by Oyinkansola Ehindero,
20 days ago

HOW TO USE INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR YOUR FOOD BUSINESS

Influencer marketing, a term we’ve been hearing a lot, has become a strategy for food businesses looking to connect more authentically with their audience.

 70% percent of consumers trust the recommendations of influencers, this shows how a good influencer marketing strategy can boost brand awareness and drive sales.

In this article, we are looking at how to use influencer marketing for your Food business.

WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING? AND HOW IT WORKS

Food influencer marketing combines the love for food with the power of social media, creating a strategy that can amplify your food brand’s presence in the culinary world.

In other words, Influencer marketing is a way of advertising where brands partner up with social media influencers to promote their products.

 This works by the influencers doing what they do best with your food products, snap it, share it, and talk it up, all while tagging your food business social and using hashtags that get the followers buzzing and make them want to try it out.

BENEFITS OF INFLUENCER MARKETING 

•Brand Awareness: The influencers create content that attracts people who are not just in their region but also all over the world. This is a great advantage for brand awareness that can spread across the world.

•Cost Effective: Influencer marketing can be an alternative option for paid advertisements which are costly for businesses.

•Accessible to all: Influencer marketing is accessible to organizations of all sizes whether you’re a major corporation or a small business.

•Building Trust: When an influencer poses a recommendation to their followers, the audience is enticed to check it out because they trust that the creator is recommending a good product or service.

HOW DO YOU USE INFLUENCER MARKETING? Getting started with social media influencers may seem overwhelming, but with a few simple steps, you will be able to develop a strategy that works for your food business.

1). Outline Your Goals

When starting with influencer marketing, the first step is to think about what you want to achieve. Are you hoping to drive traffic to your store or website? boost sales of specific products? or promote new menu items or seasonal offerings. Outline your objectives and keep them in mind as you start.

2)Identify your target audience

Before you start your influencer marketing, it's first important to identify who your target audience is. This will help you find the right influencer that has a following that matches your target audience and also who your day target audience is interested in.

3)Research Influencers That Matches Your Target

After your goals are defined and you've identified your target audience, it’s time to assemble a list of influencers that meet those goals. You can do that by. 

Option 1: Use the search function on Instagram, TikTok, or the platform you want to work with influencers on. Come up with a few keywords and targeted search terms that will help you discover influencers in your industry

Option 2: Utilizing the same keywords, do a simple Google search to see who pops up. You may even find an already curated list of influencers who specialize in your industry. 

As you are researching influencers to partner with, consider what other businesses they partner with (if it's any of your competitors?), their values, the frequency of their posts, and their engagement.

4)Influencer Outreach

Once you’ve solidified your list of influencers, the next step is outreach. Sliding into the DM’s has been tagged the most effective way to reach them but your message can get lost, as influencers receive hundreds of emails and direct messages a day. 

Most will have their email or contact information in their bio. Email is the way to go for your initial outreach for the best results, be personal and specific in your request.

5)Send a Contract and Brand Guidelines 

Before any content gets created, make sure you send them a contract outlining the scope of work, posting requirements, compensation terms, and other conditions regarding your partnership. Also include any critical information about your business, links to your social media profiles, relevant hashtags, a posting timeline, and any other brand requirements or values. 

6)Decide on the Content-Type

You can send influencers your food products for a review or tasting, collaborate with influencers to host giveaways of your food items ,or have influencers create unique recipes, food styling, or videos featuring your products. Be creative with the content type.

7)Engage with the Content 

Repost influencer content to your social media pages to maximize visibility. Like, comment, and share the influencer’s posts to boost their reach and also respond to follower questions or comments about the featured product. Influencers can add a huge value to marketing your food business.

Consider researching the influencers in your niche to curate content for your food brand, you never know what kind of fresh new ideas you will discover!