Influencer Marketing in Asia: An Interview with Aaron Brooks
Aaron Brooks
April 21, 2017
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Whether it’s cosplay shopping for Halloween, Cyber Monday or gifts for loved ones to welcome in the new year, once again the majority of customers will shop online this year. And brands will fight for their attention with social and digital strategies of every flavour.
With these seasonal moments upon us, we’ve delved into the opportunities available to brands and what we expect to see this year. This is the first of a multi-part series aimed at getting you ready for the holiday season with influencer marketing.
The holiday season has seen an unprecedented evolution over the last decade. As Black Friday (aka the Friday following the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S) and Cyber Monday (the subsequent Monday) went truly global between the years of 2013 and 2019, brands have enjoyed a heyday of opportunity with this short shopping bonanza period that’s become the cornerstone of every retailer’s annual revenue plan.
Year-on-year, brands enjoyed sales growth across nearly every sector until all that came under threat when the pandemic hit. As 2020 unfolded in ways none of us could have predicted, retail experiences went through a wave of transformation as the world embraced online shopping in an unprecedented way.
Even though 2020 saw the first dip in Black Friday sales, there was an impressive overall uplift across Cyber Week, showing that seasonal moments could still be lucrative even in the most challenging of contexts.
Looking at 2020 more broadly, it’s reported the pandemic drove a 50% increase in online shopping. 2021 then saw a further 5% increase in this behavior, which is impressive considering it was following a year of unexpected growth.
Staying with 2021, we may have seen a record dip in cyber week sales (arguably due to the fact that 2020 was singularly unique), but there were other areas of hope and opportunity. Enter social commerce and influencer marketing.
With the shift to online, social commerce became an important priority for brands looking to unlock additional revenue streams. In 2020 social commerce initiatives created a 38% lift in revenue, showing there were new areas of opportunity for marketers within the online retail landscape.
Social commerce is now projected to hit $958 billion USD by the end of 2022—a 30% increase when compared to 2021. Any marketer still not convinced by the potential of this channel as a revenue driver, should note that by 2025 revenues are expected to rise to over $1.2 trillion USD.
How should we interpret these statistics? In a way, it’s proof that when uncertainty and adversity exists, marketers and consumers alike adapt to new ways of interacting, engaging, and purchasing. With 71% of consumers saying they are more likely to make a purchase based on a social referral, many brands saw this as an opportunity to increase their influencer marketing efforts.
Within the wider global context, we are still expecting to see sales growth over this holiday season, which is projected to be between 4 and 6%. This means it’s still set up to be a crucial quarter for many businesses.
Considering 35% of salespeople believe seasonality has been a key driver of success during key periods of the year, and 70% of marketers prefer to use influencers in a campaign context, seasonal moments across the year seem like the perfect time to include creators in your campaign strategies.
With all of this in mind, how can you set yourself up for success this coming holiday season and beyond? Over the next few weeks we’ll be making recommendations for how to couple your influencer marketing efforts, and drive value from the exciting growth we’re seeing in social commerce.
Let’s start by looking at some of the holiday campaigns our customers have run successfully in the past. We’ll examine what it was that made the campaign a success, and help you identify areas of inspiration for your own campaign ideas.
The beauty of social media is that it’s a two-way conversation. User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful tools in your social media marketing arsenal. When leveraged correctly, it can really help your prospects imagine themselves becoming customers of your products.
Dr. Oetker understood this when they worked with Vamp creators on high-quality content to drive awareness of, and engagement with their Christmas baking videos.
18 Vamp creators shared their Christmas baking content with their followers. Vamp then transformed this content into ads to drive cost-effective awareness and engagement.
Dr. Oetker results
The holiday season is a period of high consumer activity, which means it’s also a time of aggressive competitiveness among brands vying for attention. Getting your product in front of the right person, at the right time can be trickier, as consumers are being bombarded across every channel.
Standing out on social media can be tricky, making driving direct sales online a concern for marketers. As Pottery Barn demonstrated with their holiday campaign, it can be done.
Pottery Barn wanted to raise awareness of their Christmas collection among new customers, and used influencer marketing to engage potential customers and drive an immediate demand for their gifting offering.
Leveraging their content into a highly-effective paid social media campaign, they drove an impressive 1,297% return on ad spend (ROAS). This campaign showed the value of presenting the correct product (gifts), at the right time (at Christmas) to a relevant audience (using paid targeting).
Pottery Barn results
There’s a reason 86% of Gen Z prefer to follow creators over celebrities. They’re relatable. It’s their authenticity that you should be tapping into with your campaigns.
Marks & Spencer UAE did exactly this during their holiday campaign. They engaged Vamp creators to highlight the convenience and safety of shopping online during the pandemic.
Vamp amplified the organic Instagram content into paid media to drive further awareness to target potential customers. This boosting strategy drove hundreds of sales, achieving a ROAS 34% higher than the industry benchmark.
This shows the power of being conscious of your surrounding cultural climate, working with creators in a way that recognises that, and then boosting that content to drive revenue.
Marks & Spencer UAE results
In part two of our ‘Influencer marketing for the holidays’ series, we look at how your brand can activate influencer marketing for the holidays and other seasonal moments.
But if you’re ready to get started with your next seasonal campaign with Vamp, get in touch now.
