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ENDORSEMENTS VS. INFLUENCERS
Celebrity endorsements have been key components of
advertising since the dawn of the industry. In as early as
the 1760s, pioneers began using royal endorsements
to build brand loyalty. Of course, the art of the celebrity
endorsement has grown leaps and bounds since then. In
the 1950s, there was the Whitman’s Chocolates campaign
that included celebrity endorsements including the
recognizable names of Humphrey Bogar, John Wayne,
Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart. Their
payment for endorsing said product? Amazingly, just a
box of chocolates.
Today’s most notable endorsements include the following:
• Matthew McConaughey for Lincoln
• Patrick Mahomes for State Farm Insurance
• Jennifer Aniston for Aveeno
• Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis for Cheetos
The list could go on and on and include thousands
of additional celebrities who leveraged their personal
influence for the betterment of a brand name. Of course,
you can bet that each and every one of the aforementioned
modern celebs were given significantly more than a box of
chocolates for their trouble. They were paid in thousands if
not millions of dollars for their endorsement.
Now, in the present age of advertising, we are seeing
a new kind of influencer. This differs from celebrity
endorsements in a variety of ways. In fact, the popularity
of social media has introduced a brand new generation of
influencers, the digital brand ambassador, known as the
social media influencers. Consider the following notable
social media influencers and their numerous followers:
Selena Gomez 144 million Instagram followers
Kayla Itsines (personal trainer, rated as one
of Time Magazine’s Top 30
Most Influential People on the
internet)
10.5 million Instagram followers
Cameron Dallas(young entrepreneur featured
on the Netflix show ‘Chasing
Cameron’)
21 million Instagram followers and
countless other followers on
Vine and YouTube
Cristian Ronaldo (soccer megastar who makes
$750,000 per sponsored post)
145.3 million Instagram followers
This is the new face of the celebrity endorsement and it is
only going to continue to grow in popularity. Today, the
trend is for brands to choose a social media influencer
over a celebrity endorsement for a variety of reasons. In
fact, as a business owner or marketing professional, you
need to get on board the social media influencer train or
risk being left behind.
Stats show that 71% of marketers say that the quality
of customers and the traffic they garner from the right
influencer marketing is much better than other advertising
sources. This includes leveraging the involvement of local
social media influencers to further your brand.
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As mentioned earlier, companies historically depended on the endorsement of a beloved or respected celebrity to
encourage engagement and/or ROI. Now, the whole advertising dynamic has shifted from traditional TV and movie
star endorsements to social media influencers who have built their brand using social media. So what led to the current
obsession with social media influencers?
THE RISE IN DIGITAL MARKETING as the way to connect with an on-the-go audience. People communicate on-
demand and that’s not going away. It’s more than a passing trend.
THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. This can include platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Within the last
decade, social network platforms have tripled their user base, growing from 970 million users to an unbelievable 3.81
billion users in 2020. Another interesting stat worth noting is the fact that 83.36% of all internet users have some form of
social media and another 70% of the entire United States population has a social network account.
WHAT ALL THIS MEANS is that there is a direct connection between social media and the way the public
communicates. Today, your audience is on social media, so you better be too!
INFLUENCERS OUT-RANK THE CELEBRITY
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THE FOLLOWING ARE ADDITIONAL STATS that prove the effectiveness of partnering with the right social
media influencer, demonstrating why influencer marketing is a worthwhile investment:
• Some 49% of surveyed consumers depend on the recommendations of influencers to make their purchasing decision.
• Some 60% of these consumers say recommendations from influencers have also led them to buy something in-store.
• Influencer marketing campaigns focused on engagement and branding generate an eight times greater rate-of-return.
• Some 17% of companies plan to spend over half their marketing budget on influencer marketing.
• Some 16% of marketers do note that it can be difficult to select the right influencer for their campaign.
WHAT IS A SOCIAL INFLUENCER?
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RIGHT SOCIAL INFLUENCER
Now, let’s define what it means to be a social media influencer:
A social media influencer is basically an individual who has built a digital reputation based on their expertise and
knowledge pertaining to a certain topic. They often post regularly on their preferred social media channel and in doing
so generate engagement and followers who pay close attention to their endorsements and behavior.
They aren’t just a mouthpiece. While they do use their influence to communicate various topics to their audience, social
media influencers are far from a simple testimonial voice. They also:
• Drive engagement and conversation with their followers.
• Break through the clutter of advertising messages authentically. Today’s audiences crave authenticity and a good
social influencer is a real person who shows that to their followers.
• They often develop huge followings as mentioned above, sometimes through their own personal brand.
• They are often on the cutting edge of adopting new products or services.
• They differ from celebrity endorsements in that they have a real-life, authentic, genuine person feel and their audience
can relate to them better than the typical celebrity.
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SOCIAL INFLUENCERS ARE TREND SETTERS
WHY SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCING WORKS?
Not only do social media influencers have a great deal of sway when it comes to improving engagement and audience
reach, social media influencers are also trend setters. According to stats, social media creators or influencers are at the
heart of the cultural zeitgeist and fans feel they drive culture and shape trends. Having the backing of a well-established
social media influencer can help your product or service become the latest, greatest, must-have item.
The reason social media influencing works is the fact that buyers now shop online more than ever before as mentioned
above. Gone are the days that consumers visit brick-and-mortar stores to “look” for products. Consumers also no longer
look through their Sunday newspaper to find the next must-have item (at least as their primary product evaluation).
Word-of-mouth, while important, is not as big as it once was either, at least in the traditional sense of hearing from a
neighbor on what product to buy. Now, consumers turn to the internet first to research products and services.
Social media influencers fulfill the modern role of your next-door neighbor or the newspaper ad. In addition, thanks
to streaming services like YouTube and other similar services, consumers are able to avoid unwanted advertisements.
Therefore, when they want to learn about a product, they seek it out, instead of companies seeking out consumers. In
fact, some 63% of surveyed consumers say that they trust influencers’ opinion “much more” than what a brand says
about their own products. This stat might as well read “consumers trust influencers!”
Sounds great, right!? We agree completely.
But...what if the international appeal of a social influencer with tens of thousands of followers isn’t a fit for your local business with a regional reach and a small business budget?
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SOCIAL INFLUENCERSLOCALLY & REGIONALLY
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Now that we consider how the celebrity endorsement has
shifted into the social media influencer, it’s important to
consider how you can leverage this trend to your advantage
locally. Your local radio on-air personality is the ideal social
media influencer with which to partner. Not only can they
serve the role outlined above for a social influencer but they
have local pull that is an advantage when engaging nearby
consumers.
Here are more reasons why leveraging the influence of local on-air radio personalities is a smart marketing idea:
ATTENTIVE & LOYAL FOLLOWERS. Local radio station
air talent successfully amass huge followings and spend a great
deal of time and attention developing their personal brand
both on the air and on social media. It’s about more than just
having people listen in or watch online...it’s about engagement.
They talk with, interact with and build a relationship with their
listeners - a relationship that is, in fact, more important with
local talent than a national influencer. Why? Because a local
air talent shops in the same grocery store and lives in a local
neighborhood. Their kids attend local schools and they have a
vested interest in what happens in the communities they serve.
ACCESS TO A READY AUDIENCE. They give you access
to a local and regional audience. Local regional radio station
DJs give you the ability to leverage their social influence that
they have spent years building with a smaller focused audience
in the geographical location you serve. And it’s not just the
air talent that works to build this audience. A radio station has
professional program directors whose sole focus it is to build a
loyal listener base. The combined effort of those programmers,
along with the local air talent, together grow their target
listener into a loyal champion of the station - and by default, the
companies that support it.
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BRAND LOYALTY. They often boast a sense of loyalty,
almost a local celebrity status. The local talent on these
stations, some of whom have been working in their market
for between 20 and 30 years, have built a high level of trust
and credibility within the communities they serve. DJs have
what many of us want...voice. They speak and are heard
by the masses. Local charities, as an example, host events
and compete to bring in radio station air talent to serve as
moderators, guest speakers and emcees...because the event
organizers know that their presence lends instant credibility - a
credibility they want to tap into.
MORE THAN SOCIAL MEDIA. Local air talent are digitally
savvy, which is necessary to reach a modern audience. But they
offer a lot more than just a digital connection. Local air talent
as social influencers can uniquely cross-leverage influence
using their local celebrity status to appear in radio, video, print,
email marketing, guest appearances and more. They amass a
loyal following on social channels, with the majority of those
followers living within the demographic reach of the station
they represent - and are therefore a better fit for reaching
potential customers for your business
LOCAL/REGIONAL ACCESS. Local talent offers all the
benefits of a global social influencer with a much lower price
tag and a more focused audience on a smaller scale. After all,
who really cares about Kylie Jenner’s international following?
Not only can you likely not afford to form such a partnership,
but using a local influencer can be much more impactful
overall. Local talent are local celebrities. They are recognized
in public. Their thoughts and opinions matter. Their audience
of listeners & followers pay attention to what they do, what
they like, where they go - and who they endorse.
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WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY WHEN WORKING WITH A LOCAL TALENT AS YOUR SOCIAL INFLUENCER?
No matter if you leverage a local influencer (our recommendation) or one that has a broader reach, you need some
guidelines on your role in the relationship. In other words, this is a partnership and in order to create an ideal working
relationship, you should:
GET IT TOGETHER. No social media influencer, local or otherwise, will want to attach their name to a brand that
is either shoddy, unprofessional or haphazard. When they agree to work with you, they put their personal name and
valuable reputation on the line. Make sure they don’t regret this and commit yourself to a high level of customer service
and overall quality of product and service. Make sure your Marketing Bridge is up to par and the customer experience
at all touchpoints is consistently positive and professional. The last thing you want to do is use a local celebrity as an
endorsement, and then have it fall flat because you don’t meet the expectations presented.
SHORE UP YOUR OWN DIGITAL PRESENCE. While social media influencers should be a significant part of your
overall marketing campaign, they should never be in lieu of other marketing efforts. Don’t make the mistake of thinking
you can partner with a social media influencer and then forget about doing any other heavy lifting for your business
in terms of marketing. To make sure you don’t do this, keep your website up-to-date and make sure your own social
media presence is solid. Consider the fact that a social influencer will likely lead their audience to look your brand up on
social media channels. What will they see when they do this? If it’s up to par, great! This will probably lead them to your
website. If it’s less than savvy, they might just forget it and move on.
STAY IN COMMUNICATION AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP. You need to be in communication with your
social media influencer. Schedule regular meetings, perhaps monthly, and speak about business trends, services
and new products. Talk about your target consumer, how and why people buy your products, etc. Introduce them to
key members of your team. Commit to showing and teaching them what they need to know about your products or
services. Sometimes this means offering them free samples or services so that they can experience your offering and
talk more compellingly about the interaction. The more they know about your business, the better job they can do when
representing your products and services accurately and effectively.
ENSURE AUDIENCE COMPATIBILITY. It’s important to find a connection between your brand and the personal
brand of a social media influencer. You need to have audience compatibility. Let’s face it, if you are on two different
wavelengths, a partnership between your business brand and their personal brand won’t work at all. This is why you
don’t see a fitness social media influencer promote a junk food brand. It goes against what they believe, value and
routinely promote. Therefore, make sure there is a good match between your brand and an influencer’s voice. Don’t
neglect this important step, as 48% of marketers claim audience relationship and compatibility is the most important
factor to consider when launching an influencer campaign.
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THE GOAL OF LOCAL INFLUENCER MARKETING
REACH A NEW AUDIENCE. You want to reach
people you would otherwise never have reached thanks
to the scope of an influencer’s following. While your brand
likely has some existing reach, the number of people
you can reach with the help of an influencer will likely be
substantially greater.
GROW SALES ONLINE AND IN-STORE. While
garnering likes and website traffic through lead generation
and getting more foot traffic in a brick-and-mortar store
is great, your ultimate goal with any marketing strategy
is to improve sales of your product or service. A social
media influencer will help make this happen, thanks to
their notable influence on their audience. They have your
product or have tried your service, and love it, so their
audience, who practically worships them, will run out to
buy said product or service so they can try it as well.
INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS. Social media
influencers are especially helpful when building brand
awareness. In fact, garnering brand awareness is one of
the determining factors when labeling a social media
campaign as either effective or ineffective. Some 65%
of marketers use brand awareness to judge the success
of an influencer marketing campaign. Thankfully, most
influencer campaigns are successful in this category,
which is why 93% of marketers use it in their marketing
strategies. Because of the high level of engagement
influencers have with their followers, their endorsement is
a great way to get people talking about your brand.
INCREASE BRAND ENGAGEMENT. Another
benefit of social media influencers is increased brand
engagement. Often social influencers, through cleverly
worded phrasing, can prompt quick action and increased
engagement with your brand. Be sure to talk with your
local influencer about your goals. Determine ahead of
time what the results are that you’re hoping for, and give
him/her the tools to get the job done.
CREATE A FUN EXPERIENCE. We’ve found from
experience that inviting the local air talent to participate
in entertaining and unique ways to promote the brand
and the influencer endorsement to a new level. The power
of having an influencer endorse your product or service
is tremendous...but it’s also more fun and interesting - to
the DJ AND to the listeners - when you can provide a
fun connection. It might mean a special offer or pricing
special, or it could be even more creative.
Following are the goals of any influencer marketing partnership, but especially one with a local talent as your marketing voice.
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Here are a few examples of unique ways to put a different twist on your local influencer campaign, making it more fun for both the air talent AND the audience.
• A local frozen yogurt company invited the DJ to create a new flavor blend and named it after him.
• A local antique mall provided a DJ with a booth to sell his own unique products from...another huge success!
• A local business works with the DJ to also record video for use in social media, eblasts and in television commercials -
the theme of which all ties back to the same message as the endorsements.
Bottom line, don’t think that just because most social influencers are out of your reach means that you can’t leverage this
powerful marketing technique locally. Sometimes, the diamonds you seek are in your own backyard.
The use of social media influencers as a marketing strategy is here to stay. In fact, the trend is only growing more
substantial over time as 84% of millennials claim they are likely influenced by user-generated content when making
purchases. To ensure you use social media influencers the correct way, it’s important to stay consistent. Brand building is
only possible after the hard work of trust-building. It’s a long-term strategy, not a short-term plan. Think of a social media
influencer strategy as a marathon, not a sprint. Make sure you keep your brand’s reputation consistent. Don’t sway from
one thing to the next.
Stay focused and make sure your business social media accounts are on target.
Now that we have looked at the inclusion of the social media influencer into the marketing industry, went over how
to build a good relationship with an influencer and discussed finding a local influencer for your brand, let’s get to
the bottom line of the matter. Contact us at Zimmer Communications to learn about all our available stations, which
include 13 Missouri radio stations. Our cast of local influencers are already doing what they do best. We can help you determine if your business is ready for a partnership with an influencer, and if so...help you find the right fit for your business.
WITH YOUR LOCAL INFLUENCER, CREATIVITY COUNTS
SOCIAL INFLUENCERS - HERE TO STAY
HOW TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER