“People do not buy goods and services.  They buy relationships, stories, and magic.” – Seth Godin

While our job as advertising and marketing professionals may be to sell goods and services, it is also true that people buy “relationships, stories, and magic” – and we cannot accomplish any of that without having people at the heart of our marketing efforts. This is one of the reasons that influencer marketing and podcast advertising have enjoyed such astronomical YOY growth and continue to gain share from other mediums.

Brands who partner with more traditional audio influencers such as radio DJs and podcasters, as well as digital and social influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, have seen great success.  We have found that both types of influencers elevate brand storytelling and bring credibility and authenticity to marketing campaigns that uniquely appeal to their fans and followers.  The trusted relationships that they have built over time with their audiences create a unique receptivity for brands' messages.

This could not be more true than with podcasters.  According to the 2020 Super Listeners Study, 49% of respondents said that their opinion of a company is more positive when they hear it mentioned on a podcast they regularly listen to as well as 45% said that they believe the podcast hosts are actual users of the products and services they mention on their show.

But when we examine the business results from digital and social influencers, we find them to be equally impressive.  According to a study done by Rakuten, 41% of customers discover new products through social influencers weekly and 24% do so daily1.  Additionally, 71% of marketers think the quality of influencer marketing traffic is much better than from other sources2.

When you look at the combined potential of traditional audio influencers and digital and social influencers, a few things become apparent:

  • Trust is central to the value they bring to their advertisers
  • Both types of personality-driven media deliver impressive ROI
  • They create relationships, stories, and maybe even a little magic

There is an inherent synergy between the two influencer categories and there are several instances where they pack a powerful punch when used concurrently.  For brands looking to test partnering with both traditional and digital influencers on the same campaign, we recommend the following 3 tactics:

Local Marketing

If you are a brand that is trying to penetrate specific local markets, using local radio and micro-influencers may be the way to go.  Local DJs and geo-targeted radio ads can help brands generate brand awareness within very specific DMAs that are priorities for business growth.  Local DJs are well-established personalities and can discuss the products and services with local relevance.  Micro-influencers can also be identified by where they live and activated in those same DMAs.  By using local micro-influencers, brands can get additional local coverage on social platforms.  By activating this two-pronged local influencer strategy, brands will get the targeted exposure they need and the added benefit of supporting local personalities and businesses.

Product Testimonials

If you have an awesome product, you want your happy customers to help you acquire more happy customers. While collecting product testimonials from UGC is a great way to accomplish this, this tactic is difficult to scale quickly and efficiently.  That is why brands often turn to paid partnerships with influencers.  We would recommend leveraging a mix of podcasters, radio DJs, and relevant social influencers to help tell the story about your product.  Each of these influencers are able to generate longer-form content that really digs into the detail of their experience with your product. In fact, some of the most compelling testimonial content is when they are able to take their audience on a product journey from discovery, to trial and ultimately long-term usage.

Branded Events

As both virtual and IRL branded events become more prevalent coming out of the pandemic, influencers can play a huge role in both driving attendance and elevating the content or entertainment value of the event programming.  Whether they are traditional audio influencers or digital and social influencers – they create content and tell stories for a living - and this makes podcasters, radio personalities, celebs, and social influencers the perfect compliment to your live events.  They can be used as either hosts or guest speakers but in either role, they can tell brand stories that matter and capture the attention of the event audience.

As brands look to generate more relationships, stories, and magic to catapult their business forward and grow their brand’s reputations, the combined potential of planning and activating traditional and digital influencers together is limitless.

Sources

1https://go.rakutenmarketing.com/hubfs/docs/2019%20Influencer%20Marketing%20Report%20-%20Rakuten%20Marketing.pdf

2https://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-resources/influencer-marketing-industry-statistics-survey-benchmarks/