Eye-opening Influencer Marketing Tips for Food Brands

Influencer marketing for food brands has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry over the last few years, showing no sign in slowing down. According to Google Trends, over the last two years, searches for the term “influencer marketing” grew 5000% each year. Brands that haven’t yet jumped on the bandwagon are missing a huge opportunity to authentically connect with consumers.

Millennial and Gen Z consumers are more receptive to what people have to say over ‘salesy’ branded promotions, and they’re increasingly losing trust with brands. Overall, only 22% of brands are trusted by consumers. Influencers have feelings, opinions and lifestyles that make them relatable and are more aligned to real-life than branded content. They know how to create content that speaks to their audience and are up on current trends, which is crucial in the food space.

As food lovers and marketers, we know food is as much of a visual experience as it is a tasting one. It often isn’t the taste that initially draws you to try a new food product but rather images or videos of its mouthwatering appearance or how it’s plated. When it comes to marketing in the food industry, presentation is everything. You have only two seconds to grab your audiences’ attention (or tastebuds), so why not turn to the experts when it comes to creating craving-inducing content?

Following are qualities influencers possess that boost results of food marketing campaigns. And, elements they can support and roles they can play in successful campaign implementation.

How Influencers Improve Brand Awareness

• Established community – One of the more lucrative reasons to work with influencers is their engaged audience. Influencers have spent years building a loyal fanbase who follow, like and purchase based on their recommendations. They are viewed authoritatively by people within their communities and can be highly effective in swaying purchasing habits, something that can be unmatched for building brand awareness compared to other marketing strategies.
• Trust – For brands to establish trust within their target audience, they turn to the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Ninety-two percent (92%) of consumers trust their family, friends and peers over ads. People follow influencers because they’re more relatable than any brand channel; influencers share content that shows a real-life perspective. By working with an authentic influencer, you benefit from the established relationship they’ve created with their audience to drive trust with your brand.
• They know their audience – Sixty percent (60%) of marketers state that influencer-generated content performs better and drives a higher engagement rate than branded content. Influencers curate content based on their audiences’ interests, so they know how to seamlessly and authentically promote products that align with what your shared target audience prefers to consume.
• Experienced content creators – Social media is a dominantly visual channel. The performance of your post is driven by the level of quality and creativity from your content, something influencers understand very well. From high-quality social media photography to engaging videos, influencers have a variety of skillsets that brands should be taking advantage of, especially in the food industry. Eye-catching, mouthwatering content is key to attracting customers, and food influencers have built a business around this. Plus, working with an influencer to create branded content allows for a fresh creative perspective.

Influencer Campaign Elements and Roles

Product release – You have a new food product you want to launch. You’ve done your market research, defined your launch strategy and are ready to promote. To generate buzz around your product, ensure you work with the right partner to get your product in front of thousands of people within your target audience.

At MorganMyers, we have proven success in partnering with relevant food influencers to bring new products to the market. We helped HORMEL^® Chili launch The World’s Hottest Chili through an influencer campaign led by Team Balmert and Brian Ambs, both known for their humorous food challenges. Partnering with these influencers allowed Hormel Chili to authentically share their product release in an entertaining format while connecting with an engaged community of over 1 million fans.

Additionally, we worked with baking leader, Red Star^® Yeast to launch their Platinum^® Instant Sourdough Yeast with an influencer activation at the North American Pizza and Culinary Academy to make their favorite homemade pizza recipes. The 10 influencers we partnered with helped drive consumer interest in the new product, generating 27,000 product sample requests on the Red Star^® Yeast website.

Product reviews – Influencer marketing started as a way for consumers to get real product reviews from real people. Many times, influencers are still the first source people turn to when searching for new products, with 49% of consumers depending on influencers for product recommendations.

Food influencers know how to create reviews that draw attention and provide the most value for their audience. Note that the best reviews are raw and unedited; so, before asking an influencer to share a review, do the research to ensure your product meets a high-quality standard when it comes to taste, smell, texture or any attribute that is important to your target audience.

Product tutorial – Get creative with your partnerships and have an influencer lead a live cook-along, product tutorial or have food blogger influencers create a new recipe.

During Red Star^® Yeast’s Platinum^® Moments campaign, baking influencers and professionals helped guide users through a bake-along series with step-by-step instructions and expert techniques. Additionally, each influencer hosted a live bake-along on Facebook or Instagram to connect with users and answer questions in real time. The influencer-led content served as a resource for home bakers, instilling confidence, driving brand awareness and product trial.

Brand ambassadors – Brand ambassadors are long-term partners you work with to add a human persona, or face, to your brand or product. As influencer marketing continues to evolve, consumers are growing tired of the one-off transactional partnerships because of the lack of authenticity. This makes people question whether the partnership is just another paycheck for the influencer.

Brand ambassadorships allow you to build relationships and consistently promote your product to the same audience, which builds brand retention and trust.

Food influencers have the power to inspire your target audience to make your product not just a one-time purchase, but a part of their lifestyle. With every partnership, the vetting process is crucial to drive success. So, the next time you’re launching an influencer marketing campaign, reach out to us to find the right influencers who align with your brand values, target audiences and can seamlessly represent your brand.