The Authentic Influence Lookbook

In its infancy, influencer marketing meant big brands paying big names to promote their products. But these days, finding brand advocates doesn’t need to be a big investment. While paid promotion has its place, it’s not the only way to get people talking. 

We’re also seeing new definitions of what it means to be an influencer. ‘Influence’ comes from anyone who has the power to affect buyers’ behaviour - that includes celebrities, opinion leaders, digital creators, consumers, and even fellow brands. 

Here we’ll highlight the brands that have taken influencer marketing to the next level. These organisations have built mutually beneficial relationships with a range of influencers who genuinely love what they have to offer. 

Keep reading to discover the objectives behind authentic advocacy, the tactics and channels used by top brands, and key success metrics to track.

• Easily find people who love your brand
• Generate organic stories with amazing CPE
• Unlock high-profile personalities
• Drive awareness with a specific audience
• Choose the right tools

Easily find people who love your brand

Finding the right paid influencers for your brand can be a real headache - and there's no guarantee that your work will pay off.

Luckily, that's not the only way to generate a buzz around your offering. Using the right tools, you can tap into a market of influential people who already love your products.

O2 has used The Room since its launch to source quality influencers, driving reach and engagement across a range of campaigns.

The telecommunications provider invited influencers to a range of live experiences across the year, from music, to sport, to entertainment. For each experience, advocates collaborated to drive social reach and engagement with the brand idea #unforgettablegigs.

"It’s so easy to use and we’ve some amazing people coming to us – saving us the time and money on finding people who love the experiences we're offering and are happy to talk about on their channels."

Head of Social Media, O2

It’s so easy to use and we’ve some amazing people coming to us – saving us the time and money on finding people who love the experiences we're offering and are happy to talk about on their channels.

Head of Social Media, O2

Generate organic stories with amazing CPE

When you collaborate with influencers who appreciate your brand, you're likely to reach a highly engaged audience. There's no need to channel resources into partners - and their followers - who simply aren't interested in what you offer. 

Price comparison provider Compare The Market was looking to drive awareness of its Meerkat Meals initiative through content engagement.

Creators were offered a year’s Meerkat Meals Membership and complimentary meals out. This experience gave them plenty of material to create organic social media posts that resonated with their audience. 

The results speak for themselves. Content achieved an average Cost Per Engagement (CPE) of £0.06 - significantly less than the UK average of £0.50 - £1.00. 

We used The Room to create a layer of authenticity across our paid influencer campaign for Meerkat Meals. We had a range of influencers approach us, all of whom created organic stories about their experiences, and the result was an amazing CPE.

Senior PR Manager, Compare The Market

Unlock high-profile personalities

People of influence range from micro-influencers, through industry thought leaders, to celebrities. Depending on your audience, one or a mix of these might be more relevant. 

Diageo, the brand behind Guinness, wanted to drive awareness of the Guinness Rugby Sponsorship. The goal: to maximise value from the investment and introduce new audiences to the brand.

Guinness invited a range of personalities to an Autumn Internationals experience, which fed into social media content tagging the brand and capturing the day.

We used The Room to source rugby advocates for our autumn internationals campaign. We unlocked high profile television personalities, an actress, fitness influencers and a content creator. We were delighted with the connections we made and their brand positive activity on their social media, which amplified our overall activity.

Head of Influence and Advocacy, Beer & Sport, Western Europe, Diageo

Drive awareness with a specific audience

Whether you're looking for more penetration in your target market, or expanding into new demographics, brand advocates can help unlock a whole new audience.  

Music streaming giant Spotify was looking to drive awareness and consideration of the platform among a millennial audience. With this in mind, they offered Kylie and George Ezra fans entry to in an intimate gig hosted by Spotify.

Using The Room, the brand sourced 40 influencers within 48 hours. These advocates went on to create and share content through Instagram main feed and story posts.

In addition to reaching age-based demographics, influencer marketing can also be a fast-track to regional recognition.

Consumer electronics brand Oppo wanted to increase awareness of their headphones in the UK. 

By offering influencers the chance to experience Oppo headphones, the brand was able to generate content and reviews to amplify other media. 

The results after one month were impressive. As well as a large volume of social media posts, the headphone brand was featured in multiple blogs and even on UK television.

Choose the right tools

These brands approached influencer marketing with a variety of aims, and a broad spectrum of target audiences. But they all had one thing in common.

Each opted for brand ambassadors who were truly excited about their products and experiences. Relationships were based on collaboration, not paid-for commercials. 

We built The Room as a contra marketing platform where brands, charities and people of influence connect to form mutually beneficial partnerships. Brands simply post an opportunity and wait for relevant, interested influencers to engage.

Start connecting with influential people today: