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Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing Case Studies

Influencer Marketing Case Studies (2024)

Artem Dogtiev | May 1, 2024

Influencer marketing is a branch of digital marketing, its campaigns are essentially endorsements by social media influencers of certain products or services and their introductions to various audiences. In this day and age, the demand for this kind of marketing exists in so many branches of the economy. It gives a level of trust that other kinds of marketing can not match.

In this article, we want to review a number of case studies to demonstrate what marketing objectives can be achieved with influencer marketing, and its potential for app marketers.

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Influencer marketing is deeply personal, it’s about a human touch, a connection between an influencer and people who trust her or his opinion. Influencers need to be creative, artistic, and authentic for an influencer marketing campaign to succeed.

Case Study #1 EA Sports

EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Being one of the oldest and the most well-known on the planet, the Electonic Arts video game company was launched in May 1982. Over the years, the company launched a number of labels such as EA Worldwide Studios, EA All Play, EA Sports, and others. In this case study we’re focusing on how influencer marketing was applied to the promotion of its EA Sports label.

Brent Rivera promo video for the Apex Legends game from EA Sports label

Source: Brent Rivera TikTok video

Influencer Marketing campaign objective

EA Sports marketing team was looking for new channels to reach gamers and boost their new title Apex Legends popularity.

Featured Influencer Marketing Companies

At that moment, the prime channels to reach gamers were Twitch and YouTube but, after considering TikTok as a new channel to try, the decision was made to run an influencer marketing campaign with influencers who are popular with gamers’ culture on TikTok. Such games-related TikTok hashtags view number as 29.5 billion for the #fortnite hashtag spoke clearly – there was a potential to tap a young, tech-savvy audience that will enjoy a new title from the world-famous EA Sports.

The influencer marketing campaign was run with several influencers, including Brent Rivera (see the TikTok video screenshot above), his hilarious video generated 900k likes.

Switching from the world of mobile games to educational apps to learn English, next up is the Cake app.

Case Study #2 Cake app

With the free Cake app, non-English or non-Korean speakers have great English or Korean learning experiences worldwide. The app offers to learn a new language via daily free content to introduce new expressions, wrapped in daily situations to show them in context.

Cake app influencer marketing campaign on YouTube

Source: Carina Fragozo video

By the moment the Cake app team approached an influencer marketing agency, they had been using YouTube as a platform to introduce the app via a series of short videos explaining the app features. The team was looking for help to reach out to people in South America who were looking for apps to learn English.

An influencer marketing agency that was hired by the Cake app team got in touch with five influencers in Latin America to run a 2-week ad campaign to raise awareness of the app and demonstrate the app’s both educational and fun elements. The influencers promoted the app on their YouTube channels, being creative in demonstrating the app’s features and benefits.

The key element of this campaign’s success was that all influencers introduced the app from an educational angle, showing people how they will be able to use the app to learn English efficiently. The total reach for the app was 1.2 million viewers.

Influencer marketing companies buyers guide

Download our Influencer marketing companies buyers guide to learn about the best companies on the market to hire. The guide covers what is influencer marketing, why it’s important, how it works, what exactly influencer marketing companies do, as well as provides a complete list of top influencer marketing companies.

Moving on, jumping from learning languages to short-form video apps launched on the wave of TikTok’s popularity.

Case Study #3 Huddles app

Huddles app, formerly known as Clash app, is a short-form video app that was launched in 2020 on the rise of the short-form format popularity sparked by TikTok. The app was developed by a team of Don Hofmann, the author of the famous Vine app that for a brief period of time got its moment of a glory after being acquired by Twitter in 2012, but later shut down in 2017 because it never managed to click with a big audience of users. Essentially the Clash app it’s Don’s second attempt to create a short-form video hosting service.

Rapper Elijah Daniel’s endorsement of the Clash app

Source: Getty Images

In this case, an influencer marketing campaign aim was to support the app’s launch in 2020. It was the moment when the TikTok app was facing a ban in the US and many TikTok users were considering switching to another app and so the core idea of the ad campaign was to leverage that uncertainty as much as possible.

An influencer marketing agency team that was hired for this task reached 50+ influencers to run an influencer marketing campaign on Twitter and Instagram.

The campaign resulted in more than 20 million impressions on Twitter and Instagram combined, 250k downloads of the app, app’s ranking of #17 on the App Store.

From video-sharing to creating unique visual stories to post on social media apps.

Case Study #4 Instories app

Instories is a mobile app to create reels and visual stories right on a smartphone, using an extensive library of templates, and publish them later on Instagram or TikTok. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms and supports all TikTok and Instagram video formats.

Influencer promo video for the Instories app

Source: Bold Creators Club

The Instories team hired an influencer marketing agency to run a promotion to increase the app market share in Brazil and introduce the latest update for the app.

The influencer marketing agency that took the task hired 15 influencers who launched ad campaigns on Instagram with reels.

The campaign achieved a high level of engagement, reaching 9.1% on average, which allowed the app to skyrocket to the top positions on the App Store, and secured the app’s high visibility in the target market. Plus to the significant jump in the app’s downloads in Brazil, the influencer marketing agency managed to create awareness among beauty, fashion, and lifestyle bloggers.

Switching the gears, from video-sharing apps to a casual gaming social platform from Prague, Czech Republic.

Case Study #5 Gamee app

The Gamee app is a casual gaming social platform, with lots of game titles, that connects gamers with brands and Web3 projects through play. The platform was launched in 2020 and was later acquired by Animoca Brands.

Gamee casual gaming social platform influencer marketing campaign on Instagram

Source: Starngage

The goal of the influencer marketing campaign was to raise awareness of the game, and significantly increase its user base, casual gamers of age 18-30, across multiple geographies within a short period of time.

The Gamee marketing team reached out to YouTube and Instagram influencers, and a big part of the campaign’s success was the platform’s ability for gamers to challenge the influencers in the games and hence engage with them directly.

As a result, at the beginning of 2017, the game acquired 500k to 1 million additional installs.

Switching from a casual gaming platform to a multi-player strategy game from the world-famous IGG.

Case Study #6 Lords Mobile: War Kingdom game app

Lords Mobile: War Kingdom is an award-winning multiplayer strategy mobile game that was published by IGG Studio in 2016. The game was praised right from the get-go, it was nominated by the Google Play store’s editors for “Best Competitive Game” and in 2017 it was nominated for the “Best Multiplayer Game” award.

Lords Mobile: War Kingdom App Store listing screenshot

Source: App Store

The objective of this campaign was to reach out to 18-35-year-old UK-based males on both iOS and Android.

The influencer marketing agency’s team reached out to 5 Instagram and YouTube influencers to generate and promote a series of Instagram Stories and YouTube videos and entice people to install the game.

As a result, the game was exposed to 1.5 million viewers, it generated 86k engagements, and brought 12k game installs with an average CPI of 4.08 pounds / install.

Moving from the world of mobile games to saving money on mobile roaming abroad.

Case Study #7 Airalo app

The Airalo app helps smartphone users to avoid high roaming bills, using its world’s first eSIM store. Using the app, users can purchase temporary mobile data plans to use in a particular country during the trip, the app covers 190+ countries and regions.

The Airalo: eSIM Phone Internet listing screenshot

The campaign objective was to reach out travel community on TikTok and raise awareness about the app. The other, more specific one, was to drive high-quality app installs from 18-35 US-based users.

One of the major trends on TikTok is sharing travel tips and hacks to save money during trips, the team of micro-influencers educated audiences on the app’s benefits, sharing with them relatable international traveling scenarios. It led to a surge of app installs from the right audiences at the right moment.

The campaign resulted in 2.1 million video views, a 12,3% engagement rate, and $.0,23 / install rates.

Final Thoughts

Today influencer marketing is one of the most kinetic digital marketing tools for app marketers to use and achieve a high level of engagement with audiences around the globe. In these 7 case studies, we demonstrated the high potential of this channel across several app categories. All case studies should be considered within the time frames indicated for each and keeping in mind that still – to this day – influencer marketing performance tracking in many cases isn’t precise and begs for more accuracy.

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8 Insane (But True) Influencer Marketing Case Studies

2020 marks the start of a new decade, and influencer marketing is already making a name for itself in the Roaring Twenties. Our Instagram feeds are full of beautiful images promoting everything from lemonade to household cleaners.

But with all the hype, where’s the truth? How do you know influencer marketing ROI is realistic in such a crowded online space?

The thing is, 89% of marketers say their influencer marketing ROI is equal to or even better than their other channels.

Influencer campaigns are like marketing on steroids: not only go they put your brand in front of new audiences and boost your reputation, but they have a hard, measurable impact on your sales .

In other words: yes, influencer marketing is still effective. But if you want to drive your customers’ purchase decisions, you’ve got to do more than hire Kim Kardashian to sell diet pills. Influencer marketing is a tool, and like any other tool, you’ve got to wield it to get results.

Influencer marketing versus paid ads

But how does influencer marketing vary from other cool marketing tools, like Facebook Ads?

We love paid ads, but when ROI is on the line, influencer marketing is the way to go. The stats don’t lie:

Influencer marketing is more influential than paid ads. 92% of consumers trust influencers more than ads , generating 11X the return on investment.
Honestly, shoppers hate ads. 49% of your shoppers find paid ads annoying or irrelevant.
Influencer marketing has a greater reach. 47% of your shoppers use ad blockers, but there’s no overlooking an influencer’s post on their social feed.

If you have the budget to do both influencer marketing and ads, we say go for it. But if it comes down to influencer marketing versus Facebook Ads, you’ll see more ROI with experienced influencers.

Still not sold? See how these 8 brands used influencer marketing to overcome sales hurdles, boosting their online presence and staking their claim in the world of eCommerce.

8 influencer campaign case studies that crushed it

Whether you’ve never tried influencer marketing before or if you’re stuck on how to create your next great campaign, don’t sweat it. Learn from the big brands that have come before you, taking the best pieces of their campaigns to refashion your own.

And if you need a little help persuading your boss to embrace influencer marketing, we’ve got just the remedy. Check out these 8 influencer marketing case studies to see how influencers affect the bottom line.

1 – Kettle + Fire

Kettle + Fire sells traditional, high-quality, grass-fed bone broths to health-conscious foodies. Voted one of the best Paleo brands by healthline.com, Kettle + Fire needed to deepen its brand reputation on social media.

But they were too busy handling the business side. Somebody had to cook all that bone broth, after all.

Kettle + Fire knew it needed help with social media marketing, but wasn’t sure how to make it happen. Doesn’t social media require a lot of work? A lot of content? Extra hands that they didn’t have? And how did influencer marketing fit in?

The Strategy

Kettle + Fire wanted to communicate the specific benefits of eating their product. They liked the idea of influencer marketing but wanted to keep the content curation on-brand.

That’s why they partnered with Trend. We made a list of targeted influencers who might be a good fit for Kettle + Fire’s bone broth products. After narrowing down the list, we selected influencers who could deliver the most powerful imagery.

The Results

A team of influencers followed Kettle + Fire’s brand requirements, creating dozens of beautiful, high-resolution Instagram posts for the brand.

Plus, Kettle + Fire used these curated images on their Facebook Ads to get more traction. In a two-birds-one-stone solution, Kettle + Fire got the beautiful imagery they always wanted, on top of a more effective Facebook Ads campaign.

The results were incredible. We tested their old creative against the new creative and found that Kettle + Fire earned $4 in revenue for every $1 spent in Facebook Ads.

If it comes down to influencer marketing versus Facebook Ads at your own business, Kettle + Fire shows it’s possible to succeed at both.

2 – Iceland Foods

Iceland Groceries may sound like a Nordic company, but it’s actually based in the UK. And this frozen food brand had a problem: its customer approval ratings had plunged to an abysmal 10%.

In the past, Iceland used big-name celebrities to promote its products, but these campaigns weren’t going well. They needed real influencer marketing ROI, stat.

Iceland realized the reason celebrity campaigns weren’t working is that they didn’t show real people. Iceland pivoted its campaigns to target everyday people, like mommy influencers.

Since customers are more likely to trust a micro-influencer over a celebrity, this proved to be a sneakily clever choice on Iceland’s part.

Iceland brainstormed a yearlong strategy where it partnered with regular-Joe food influencers to get some oh so good user-generated content .

On top of that, they implemented social listening and paid ads to really get the message out there. The goal of the campaign was to deepen customers’ bonds with Iceland products, with the ultimate goal to sell more frozen food.

Iceland had to make frozen food sexy and appealing, which was no small feat.

But during its partnership with 50 micro-influencers, Iceland hit the jackpot. By showcasing a diverse range of everyday people using their products, Iceland saw :

A 55% retention rate on Facebook videos (and a 59% rate on YouTube).
Their approval rating increase from 10% to a whopping 70%.

And if this doesn’t drive home Iceland’s influencer marketing case study, we don’t know what will:

This campaign was so effective that Iceland piggybacked on this success, targeting a new batch of micro-influencers with a second influencer marketing campaign, The Power Of Frozen.

3 – Warby Parker

Nobody wants to wear thick, granny glasses. Bespectacled people want reliable, fashionable, and affordable eyeglasses. Warby Parker entered the eyewear industry in 2010 to deliver just that.

Today Warby Parker delivers direct-to-consumer glasses with plenty of spunk . The brand is known not only for its superhero-level customer service, but its creative branding decisions.

Warby Parker is by no means a new name on the block, but they still wanted to push more product awareness and engagement on Instagram. They wanted influencer marketing ROI and took a micro-influencer approach to get it.

Warby Parker selected 7 micro-influencers with decently-sized followings on both Instagram and YouTube.

Their “Wearing Warby” influencer campaign partnered with influencers who already had an affinity to Warby.

In fact, all of Warby’s influencers had already posted about Warby organically before this campaign.

This ensured Warby partnered with influencers who were in it for the love of Warby (the cash was just a nice perk).

“Wearing Warby” showcased Warby glasses in everyday life. One influencer might be baking while wearing her Warby’s while another painted his latest masterpiece. By targeting influencers in creative industries, Warby not only expanded its audience, but pushed itself as a lifestyle brand.

Warby’s influencers showed off their specs by doing the crazy, fun, creative stuff they liked to do already. And Warby got crazy influencer marketing ROI from this campaign:

Warby Parker’s hot designer shades can’t protect your eyes from this blinding truth: influencer marketing is a must for product brands.

4 – Health-Ade

Los Angeles-based company Health-Ade makes small-batch, cold-pressed kombucha. Known for its funky flavors, emphasis on health, and a brazenly unique voice, Health-Ade still needed help penetrating the market.

Facebook Ads were way too expensive and risky for the growing brand, which wasn’t sure how to get in front of new shoppers.

The thing was, Health-Ade needed to focus on their kombucha mothers, not wooing real mothers to try their products. How do you crank out the high-quality, branded content followers expect when you don’t have the resources to make it happen?

Health-Ade reached out to Trend for help. Our team leveraged our database of vetted influencers to find people who could promote the Health-Ade name to their followers.

Health-Ade ended up partnering with several influencers, who created 214 Instagram posts for the brand. Best of all, each post was chock-full of repurpose-worthy content that Health-Ade could reuse on its site, social media, ads, and a lot more.

Thanks to their influencer campaign, Health-Ade now has brand-specific creative they can use everywhere.

But we know that alone won’t convince your boss that influencer marketing ROI is real.

Since it costs $7 to get 1,000 impressions on Instagram, we generated $11,200-worth of impressions for an eensy-weensy fraction of the cost.

If Health-Ade had hired a full-time employee to do this (at a cost of $42,000 a year, give or take), that would have been over $30,000 more expensive.

Case in point: influencer marketing gets you the content you need, the impressions you want, and the savings that make your boss salivate.

The other influencer marketing case studies on this list showcase human influencers—but as any Instagram user knows, influencers also come in different shapes, sizes, and species. Pet influencers have a lot of pull on social media.

For brands like Dyson , pet parents are a perfect target audience. Since expanding its product line to specifically address pet cleanup, Dyson has been working overtime to increase its reach in the pet space.

Dyson created an influencer marketing campaign on Instagram with the goal of pushing product awareness.

Few pet owners realized Dyson was a reliable solution, and the brand wanted to change that. It also wanted to boost its Instagram engagement.

Dyson partnered with 5 pet influencers on Instagram, largely targeting dog owners. The brand gave influencers a very loose creative brief, giving pet owners creative control over the posts themselves. The posts simply had to be humorous and show how pet owners cleaned up after their fuzzy companions.

What worked with this campaign was Dyson’s willingness to give creative control to influencers.

It also targeted influencers based not on their following size, but on their audience. One Dyson influencer had a following of just 2,500 people —but it had the highest engagement rate out of any other influencer in the campaign.

Dyson was pretty darn brave to give influencers so much control, but it paid off. Dyson saw influencer marketing ROI that included:

That’s ROI we can howl about.

6 – Kalumi Beauty

Beauty is a $49.2 billion industry worldwide . Kalumi Beauty knew it needed a piece of that pie, but there was a lot of competition for beauty mavens’ business.

Kalumi needed to promote its line of BEAUTYfood bars, but didn’t like how its branded messaging looked staged, Photoshopped, and tone deaf to its shoppers.

Today, beauty shoppers want to see real images of products in use, which meant Kalumi’s internal team couldn’t crack the code on organic, engaging content its audience would love.

Kalumi partnered with Trend to create content mapped to the entire buyer’s experience, from unboxing to product use. The brand wanted to create a repository of trustworthy, unfiltered content to share with its audience.

Trend helped Kalumi locate real product users and influencers. This way, the beauty brand was able to tell more authentic stories that would resonate with shoppers.

Trend’s team of content creators shot every piece of content, not only sharing the rights with Kalumi Beauty, but publicizing that content with their followers for even more traction.

If Kalumi had used in-house influencers, they would have spent upwards of $50,000 a year to manage the entire affair. A content studio would have run them $72,000 a year, and an agency would have been over $100,000.

Thankfully, Kalumi didn’t have to sign away their kidneys to do influencer marketing right.

They spent just $6,715 on their Trend campaign, garnering results like:

Who says beauty marketing has to be cutthroat? With Trend, Kalumi was able to make influencer marketing work while building a library of effective user-generated content.

7 – Palms To Pines

Palms to Pines is a social media management and strategy firm. The brand knew that influencer marketing and user-generated content would be a great fit for its client, KÖE Organic Kombucha .

Palms To Pines was hard at work helping KÖE launch with a key retailer. Problem was, there was little to no local recognition of the KÖE brand.

They had the genius idea of increasing local awareness with influencers, encouraging shoppers to go in-store to try KÖE’s kombucha. But to do that, Palms to Pines needed to source a lot of social media content from influencers—something that was a huge headache before Trend.

Pre-Trend, Palms To Pines had to spend weeks planning and executing just one campaign. And when they tried to get agencies involved? It was a nightmare, both for their wallet and email inbox.

Palms To Pines used Trend’s structured platform to connect with experienced content creators and influencers, using these steps:

Step 1: The firm built its campaign out in Trend’s builder, requesting certain content styles, hashtags, and specifications.
Step 2: Palm To Pine’s campaign went live and the applications started rolling in! They didn’t have to search for influencers at all—they got their pick of the litter with Trend.
Step 3: After selecting a group of vetted pre-vetted influencers, Palm To Pines sent KÖE’s kombucha to the content creators. Trend took care of the addresses and shipping, which was a big time-saver.
Step 4: Creators sent in their content, generating an immense library of licensed content for Palms To Pines.

Palms To Pines’ influencers had tremendous success with their first campaign. In one month, the brand was able to generate:

As a result, Palms To Pines significantly decreased hands-on time managing KÖE’s campaign, garnering not only a library of amazing content, but a trusted group of influencers to promote the brand with their followers.

8 – MOON Ultra

Taking your selfie game from weak to fleek requires awesome lighting. That’s why the folks at MOON Ultra created the Moon UltraLight, a mobile light accessory that connects to your smartphone.

They knew their product was a hit, but there was a problem: nobody knew about the product launch.

Plus, even if MOON Ultra managed to get the word out, there was no guarantee that shoppers would trust them enough to actually buy a Moon UltraLight.

That’s why MOON Ultra partnered with Trend. It needed social proof, stat, and our network of pre-vetted influencers was able to create some much-needed authentic content.

MOON Ultra partnered with Trend to make a splash on the market. We knew they needed a lot of horsepower, so our system matched the brand with trustworthy influencers who already had large followings.

(Oh, and the structure of our platform helped MOON Ultra keep costs low, too, by the way.)

With Trend, MOON Ultra completed its influencer campaign in a few short weeks, generating tons of high-quality content to use for its launch.

If MOON Ultra tried to source influencers itself, it would have spent over $100,000. But with Trend, the brand spent only $3,870 and got amazing results:

Instead of pumping money into something like Facebook Ads, MOON Ultra preserved its budget, generated a library chock-full of user-generated content, and put itself in front of thousands of potential customers.

Yes, influencer marketing has reached a fever-pitch in 2020. But just because something is popular doesn’t mean it won’t work for your brand. Au contraire , these 8 brands got influencer marketing ROI so insane we did a double-take at the numbers.

It’s time to try something different. Let’s make your next influencer marketing campaign a hands-free haven of ROI. Sign up for a free Trend account now to see how partnering with trusted trendsetters means more money in your pocket.

Trend is joining forces with soona. Learn what this means for the range of content you can now generate for your brand.

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3 influencer marketing case studies to learn from

Case studies , Collect content

Laura Georghiou

Global Customer Advocacy Manager

February 24, 2023

Top 3 Influencer marketing case studies

The following case studies all use influencer marketing, but all use a different type of influencer and a slightly different strategy. But they all have one thing in common: success.

Have you ever spent a lot of money on a piece of furniture only to stop loving it after a year or two? A lot of customers have. Which is why they turn to companies like Bemz to update their pieces. Bemz is a Scandinavian design company that specializes in creating made to order, high-end covers for IKEA furniture so people can update pieces in their homes to reflect their personal style better.

Over the past year and a half, Bemz has been populating its marketing channels with more visual user-generated content (UGC) to show potential customers what its products look like in real-life homes. A crucial part of Bemz’s strategy is its use of influencers. The brand relies on them to create evergreen content that Bemz continually collects and integrates into marketing programs.

But, the way Bemz partners with influencers is a little different than some of the other brands out there.

A unique partnership

Bemz mainly works with influencers in its core markets , like Sweden, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. However, it doesn’t go after the biggest names in interior design like you may think it would.

Instead, Bemz chooses to work directly with influencers that already have an Ikea product in their homes to make for a more natural collaboration and build trust with customers. Many of the influencers it works with are in the interior design space, but it also goes after those in other sectors like fashion and beauty.

“We pick influencers on a case-by-case basis depending on what the profile looks like, if we can get content out of it that matches our brand aesthetic, if they have great engagement, or if are really relevant in a certain sector,” said Alexandra Öhrlund, Social Media Manager at Bemz.

Seeking out influencers who already own Ikea products is a more natural fit for Bemz. The brand ensures that its covers are shown repeatedly when the influencer posts photos of them hanging out at home on the couch, even if it’s not a Bemz sponsored post.

Capturing the authenticity movement

In some cases, Bemz will work with influencers who don’t match the brand’s aesthetic . For example, the brand doesn’t showcase shabby chic looks or farmhouse interiors on its own site and channels. But they still choose to work with a leader within an influencer’s sector to build brand awareness and trust within that influencer’s community.

“It’s not necessarily something that we then incorporate into our content strategy, but we work with them because they have a great profile. They’re very genuine within their field,” said Öhrlund.

This strategy works because it taps into the rising authenticity movement. 72% of shoppers now choose products based on a brand’s reputation. Consumers are fatigued by insincere, fake, untrustworthy content and crave authentic UGC from real people — partly why they consider every day social media users the most trustworthy influencer.

Bemz has found that this kind of content resonates much more with its followers. The brand continues to collect this evergreen content and display it on social media, which has seen click-through rates increase by 41%.

You can read the full Bemz influencer marketing case study here to learn more.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, global fashion brand Quiz primarily focused on the in-store experience at its 250 brick-and-mortar locations. However, when stores started to close, Quiz knew it needed to focus more on its social and e-commerce strategies to increase engagement.

To start, the brand began posting more user-generated content (UGC) images from customers on its social feed, because those types of posts have always had a very high engagement rate for Quiz.

The team also knew that they needed to make these images shoppable to guide interested consumers from the social feed to product pages on Quiz’s site. But they didn’t stop there.

A micro and macro strategy

One unique aspect of Quiz’s new social media strategy is its use of micro- and macro-influencers to increase engagement.

Micro-influencer: Has a social media following between 1,000 and 100,000
Macro-influencer: Has a social media following over 100,000

For a recent winter party collection, Quiz put together a list of micro- and macro-influencers it wanted to get UGC from for that collection. Then, Quiz shipped those influencers outfits from the new collection, and the influencers took photos of themselves in the clothing and tagged Quiz in the images.

“As soon as the collection is live, we can look through our gallery feed and pull the strongest images into the homepage gallery to showcase different influencers,” said Megan Ashurst, Senior Social Media Executive at Quiz.

Quiz uses a mix of micro- and macro-influencers to maximize the impact of campaigns. Macro-influencers have a lot of followers, so their posts see a wider reach. But micro-influencers have smaller fanbases, so their followings are typically more loyal and tend to engage more with posts. Instagram’s own research of 8000,000 accounts supports this:

“We tend to find that we do get really valuable content and engagement from smaller influencers as much as we do from the big influencers,” said Ashurst.

Quiz’s use of influencer content — on its website and social channels — led to a 276% increased time on site, a 23% higher average order value, and a 154% increase in conversion rates, making them one of the great influencer marketing case studies we’ve seen.

You can read it in full here .

There’s only one thing better than an influencer marketing strategy: an Influenster marketing strategy. The Influenster App is a community of over 7.5 million every day creators, eager and willing to create authentic content about your brand.

Actually, they’re already creating this content. You just need to activate the community, which is exactly what British beauty brand Rimmel London did.

Rimmel activated the Influenster community through a hyper-targeted sampling campaign, where samples of products are sent to community members in exchange for honest reviews, product imagery, and social posts.

Because of the ability to choose a highly-specific audience, Rimmel was able to send products to an audience of 18-30 year old beauty enthusiasts in key markets. Recipients were asked to share their thoughts and feedback through reviews and social media posts.

The campaign led to over 1,200 product reviews and 15.7 million impressions on social, driving brand awareness and sales along the buyer journey. Incidentally, the campaign led to a 44% higher sales lift for the featured products.

Learn more about how the campaign led to increased advocacy, brand awareness, and a 69% higher sales lift for the product categories in which the sampled products compete by reading the full case study here .

Become an influencer marketing case study

Play your cards right and it could be your brand featured here amongst the other successful influencer marketing case studies. We continue to see the rewards our clients have from working with influencers and content creators, so we know it’s the way forward.

Last year, influencer marketing spend jumped from $3.69 billion to $4.14 billion in the U.S alone, according to HubSpot . It’s past time to get started with influencer marketing. But whatever avenue you choose, you’ll first need to know how to reach out to influencers and get a yes in return .

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Influence Insider

Best influencer marketing case studies: success stories you need to see.

As influencer marketing continues to gain prominence, businesses are increasingly turning to influencer marketing case studies to understand what works best in the industry. These success stories provide valuable insights into the strategies, tactics, and outcomes of influencer collaborations, making them a treasure trove of knowledge for marketers.

By delving into real-world examples, brands and marketers can gain a deeper understanding of the various approaches and techniques that have yielded remarkable results. From engagement metrics to conversion rates, these case studies offer a comprehensive view of the impact of influencer campaigns .

Exploring the best influencer marketing case studies not only offers inspiration but also presents an opportunity to fine-tune and enhance influencer marketing strategies. By learning from the success stories of others, businesses can leverage valuable insights to boost their own influencer marketing efforts.

Ready to delve into these compelling influencer marketing case studies ? Visit our website to learn more and get started today! Click here .

How Influencer Marketing Transformed Brand X's Success

Brand X's journey with influencer marketing stands as a remarkable testament to the transformative power of influencer collaborations. Through strategic partnerships with industry-relevant influencers , Brand X managed to amplify its brand visibility, engage a wider audience, and boost its overall brand success.

The authenticity and credibility that influencers brought to Brand X's marketing efforts resulted in a surge of customer trust and loyalty . This not only translated into improved sales figures but also solidified Brand X's position as a dominant force in the industry.

Brand X's success story serves as a testament to the significant impact that influencer marketing can have on a brand's reputation and bottom line . By embracing innovative influencer strategies and fostering authentic connections with their audience, Brand X achieved a remarkable transformation that continues to inspire marketers globally.

The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Company Y

Influencer marketing impact - Company Y style=

Company Y's experience with influencer marketing showcases the profound impact that influencers can have on a brand's growth trajectory . By strategically leveraging influencer partnerships, Company Y witnessed a substantial uptick in brand awareness and engagement , leading to a notable expansion of its customer base .

The authenticity and relatability that influencers brought to Company Y's marketing initiatives resonated deeply with the target audience, fostering a sense of trust and loyalty that proved instrumental in driving conversions and revenue growth .

Company Y's journey exemplifies how influencer marketing can propel a brand towards unprecedented success by tapping into the influencer's rapport with their followers and harnessing it to amplify the brand's impact within its industry.

Lessons Learned from the Best Influencer Marketing Case Studies

Studying the best influencer marketing case studies unveils a treasure trove of insights and lessons for aspiring marketers. These real-world examples demonstrate the power of authentic storytelling , the impact of targeted audience engagement , and the potential of strategic partnerships with influencers to drive business growth and brand success .

By analyzing these case studies, marketers can gain a deeper understanding of effective influencer collaborations and implement best practices in their own campaigns . Learning from the successes and challenges of others empowers businesses to optimize their influencer marketing strategies and achieve remarkable results .

Visit our website to learn more and get started today! Click here .

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Get Inspired by These Influencer Marketing Case Studies

From milkshakes to skincare products, here are some of our favorite influencer marketing case studies

Hidden valley ranch.

Hidden Valley Ranch wanted to drive more awareness of its secret sauce and dry dips. The campaign was built around “The Big Game,” making it the ideal time to reach users who are looking for innovative, tasty but simple party food ideas.

IZEA collaborated with mid-tier and micro-influencers whose audiences were interested in recipes, lifestyle, and sports. Using Instagram and Pinterest, influencers shared custom recipes along with appealing photos of their creations. Then, through a partnership with Click2Cart, we provided a one-click shopping experience so the audience could purchase Hidden Valley Ranch directly.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kita Roberts | Girl Carnivore (@girlcarnivore)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Claudia South Florida Blogger (@uptoclaudia)

Read the Case Study

Looking to reach parents and millennials who want fast, affordable, but tasty meal options, Tyson wanted to push awareness of its products and increase purchases among its target audience. Its overriding goal was to encourage consumers to make it a part of their regular shopping list.

IZEA partnered with Tyson to develop a campaign that focuses on three retailers — Walmart, Publix, and Meijer — and used influencers to share recipes. Each retailer had a different meal or product to spotlight, and followers had the Click2Cart commerce option to let them buy directly from the social platform.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lindsay (@paperclipsandconfetti)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Melissa | Bubby & Bean (@bubbyandbean)

Hair and service brand Mayvenn teamed with IZEA an ambassador campaign that not only boosted brand awareness but empowered Black women to embrace beauty on their own terms.

The campaign’s success hinged on collabing with authentic creators who have a powerful connection with our target demographic: African-American women between the ages of 24 and 54. IZEA teamed up with creators who love to switch up their gorgeous hairstyles and have a knack for creating eye-catching content.

The result of the three-month influencer marketing campaign: Powerful and inspiring content showcasing Mayvenn’s excellent quality and position in hair and beauty.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Robin B, Pharm D. (@dr.robinb)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by JODI (@thebrilliantbeauty)

Nylabone worked with us on an influencer marketing campaign to boost awareness about its Dura Chew line: durable chew toys that can help anxious dogs settle down.

The campaign’s goal was to show how Nylabone’s flavored Dura Chew toys can help in situations that cause stress and emotional distress in dogs, like their owners’ return to the office after being remote workers for the past couple of years.

The pups stole the show, bringing in an engagement rate of 49.05% with their adorable content. Our brand awareness campaign reached more than 1.46 million followers in August 2021 and garnered 422K engagements.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ducky the Yorkie (@duckytheyorkie)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tonka (@tonkathebulldog99)

IZEA collabed with Cuddl Duds, a clothing brand known for its soft, comfortable and stylish base layers, for a social media campaign that spotlighted how influencers wore the warm and fashionable pieces in their everyday lives.

Our goal in this campaign was to show women how they can style the pieces or gift them to loved ones — bringing traffic to the collection at Kohl’s during the holiday season. Team IZEA surpassed expectations in terms of organic and paid reach, engagement and high-quality content.

The target audience in this campaign was 24- to 54-year-old women. IZEA shipped each influencer a care package of clothing so they could showcased how they #LiveinLayers thanks to the features of the Cuddl Duds clothing items, like thumbholes, cowl necks and soft fabrics.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by C A R O L I N A H E L L A L (@chictalkch)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jackie ✨ Living After Midnite (@jackiegiardina)

Guess Eyewear

With an international reach, Guess Eyewear wanted a campaign that would cover 20 countries in North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The goal was to raise awareness of its eyewear collection.

IZEA partnered with international male and female fashion influencers to create original content from their unique location. Using Instagram Photos and Instagram Stories, the influencers were tasked with providing high-quality visual content that not only promoted the collection but would drive their followers to make a purchase.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nadya Hasan (@nadyaa)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by André Hamann (@andrehamann)

Go RVing wanted to change the perception of RVing among millennials and raise awareness about the RV lifestyle. Specifically, the brand was looking to increase diversity among RVers and wanted to focus on engaging people of color.

IZEA coordinated a massive campaign, enlisting three influencers to discover the RV lifestyle; each spent the summer of 2019 chronicling life on the road and IZEA amplified their messaging by using 71 additional influencers to drive further social engagement. A video crew also followed each influencer to provide additional content to support the campaign.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Local Adventurer 🇰🇷🇺🇸 Esther (@estherjulee)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Local Adventurer • Jacob Fu (@jacobthefu)

IZEA partnered with TikTok influencers on behalf of f’real to showcase their favorite f’real flavors and customizations. The posts were mainly centered around comedy and dancing, and a custom song featuring f’real was used in content that included vlogs, skits and dance routines. Gen Z influencers who share authentic, engaging lifestyle content were hand-picked for the campaign.

Creators showed how easy it is to choose their favorite flavors in stores and use the f’real machines to DIY their milkshakes. Their 10 videos captured 1.7M views and reached nearly 12M followers. IZEA and the creators over-delivered on impressions, video views, and click goals with this campaign.

@angelicapham How did I JUST find this out?!? #ad @therealfreal #freal ♬ Rip it, Sip it, Blend It - F'Real

@yvngflickk Yall gotta try this!😮‍💨🔥 #ad @therealfreal #freal ♬ Rip it, Sip it, Blend It - F'Real

Visit Tampa Bay

Visit Tampa Bay collaborated with IZEA to share the local gem that is Tampa Bay with the rest of the country, encouraging travel and overnight stays to people who love great brews and delicious food. IZEA tapped four foodie and craft beer lifestyle influencers to create 19 pieces of content as they experienced Bay Crafted, a local craft beer-themed event hosted by Visit Tampa Bay.

Content included Instagram carousel posts, Reels and stories. The Instagram Reels gathered a combined 17,030 views and a strong 32.47% engagement rate. The sponsorship campaign reached over 4.88 million followers through July and August and garnered 563K engagements.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Annie Alvarez (@anniealvarez)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dani & Nico - Travel in USA (@twooutsiders)

Bondi Sands

IZEA partnered with Bondi Sands, an Australian beauty brand, to convey the visible benefits of its Eye Spy Brightening Eye Cream and Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturizer and share how they can be purchased at Boots U.K. stores.

IZEA reached out to 51 skincare and beauty creators across the globe to showcase Bondi Sands’ brightening eye cream on TikTok for the first campaign. These influencers were sent the eye cream to film content highlighting their results, delivering 52 pieces of video content for a total reach of more than 1.2 million. The second campaign promoted both the eye cream and the moisturizer with 60 U.K. creators. Combined, the two campaigns generated a reach of over 6.8 million and 2.7 million engagements with 111 pieces of content on TikTok.

@mikaimikai_ AD: instantly brighten with Eye Spy! @Bondi Sands @Boots UK #bondisands #bondisandsskincare ♬ original sound - Mikai

@mygentleskin Next viral product! Eye Spy Eye Cream ❤️ by ad @Bondi Sands #bondisands #bondisandsskincare #skincaretiktok ♬ original sound - Joshua

Use these influencer marketing case studies to inspire your brand’s next campaign. Contact us to get started .

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Top Etsy Influencers Sharing Their Finds, Creations

College Influencers Sharing Student Life

2. Fake Influencers

The menace of fake influencers is a challenge for pretty much every brand that tries to dip its toes in influencer marketing.

Partnering with fake influencers would mean wasting your marketing budget and getting sub-standard results.

Even if you do reach a large audience through them, the chances of driving real engagement are quite low. That’s because many of their followers might be bots.

So, when we started looking for influencers for our client, we had to make sure that we were analyzing each influencer profile thoroughly to spot fake followers.

3. Long Campaign Duration

The other challenge was a long campaign duration. Our client wanted us to run their campaign from July to February and deliver consistent engagement.

We needed to partner with influencers to create multiple content pieces throughout the duration. However, the real challenge was to find influencers who would perform well enough all through this long course of the campaign.

So, how did we go about it all?

Let’s find out in the next section of this case study.

How to Develop an Influencer Marketing Strategy

Influencer Marketing Case Study: The Process

To help our client get the results they desired, we came up with a powerful influencer marketing strategy. The goal here was to activate as many right influencers as possible to deliver maximum impact.

We decided to partner with only those influencers who could reach the exact audience our client was targeting.

Let’s take a look at how we went about the process in this section of the case study.

1. Scouted for Influencers

The first step of launching this influencer marketing campaign was to find relevant influencers. We decided to approach nano- and micro-influencers.

The reason here was that the audience of these influencers tends to be loyal and more credible. As a result, these influencers were more likely to drive better campaign results.

By partnering with these influencers, our client could reach out to niche audiences, which fulfilled our campaign requirement.

But that wasn’t all.

We also had to ensure that each influencer was truly genuine and drove real engagement. For this, we came up with a filtering approach.

First, we filtered influencers by their engagement rate and only selected those with an engagement rate above 5%.

Next, we thoroughly analyzed each influencer’s profile and shortlisted those who had a good audience quality score (95%). This helped us eliminate influencers with fake followers.

How to Do YouTube Influencer Marketing

2. Reached Out to Influencers

In this section of the case study, we’ll tell you how we got in touch with influencers for our client’s campaign.

We sent out emails to all of the influencers we had shortlisted and pitched the idea for the client’s influencer campaign to them.

Based on their responses, we took the arrangement forward and recruited 20 influencers for the campaign.

These influencers included:

12 Instagram nano-influencers
6 Instagram micro-influencers
2 YouTube micro-influencers

3. Launched the Campaign

Once we finalized the client’s campaign requirements with the influencers, it was time to finally launch it.

We decided on the content formats for each influencer and platform and asked the influencers to come up with content. The content they created was then approved by the client before they published it on their social media accounts.

We also brainstormed on methods to get traffic to the client’s landing page through our influencer campaign.

Finally, here’s what we decided to do:

12 Instagram nano-influencers: 12 Instagram feed posts (1 post each)
6 Instagram micro-influencers: 6 Instagram feed posts and 6 Instagram Stories (1-1 each)
2 YouTube micro-influencers: 2 YouTube videos (1 each)

We asked influencers to add a “Swipe Up” button to every Instagram Story and link it to the client’s landing page. As a result, we drove traffic to client’s website through six influencer Stories.

4. Managed the Campaign

This section of the case study delves into how we managed our client’s influencer campaign.

We monitored the performance of each influencer, post, and Story over the course of six months. This was to ensure that the campaign was hitting the right spots.

We also allotted a portion of the marketing budget to amplify the reach of our influencer-created content to reach a wider audience.

We prepared a detailed monthly report of the client’s campaign and the performance of each influencer we had partnered with.

Want to learn how the influencer marketing campaign performs?

We’ll share our client’s campaign results in the next section of this case study. Read on to find out.

Best Influencer Marketing Agencies

Influencer Marketing Case Study: The Results

We helped our client get the results they wanted from this campaign, including better brand awareness, increased traffic, and higher engagement.

Through the campaign, we were also able to help the client get more earned media value.

Let’s take a look at the results our influencer marketing drove for the client.

1. Case Study Results At a Glance

Through our influencer marketing case study, we helped our client:

Engage over 1 million people in six months.
Generate $160K earned media value (EMV).
Get an average engagement rate of 4.56% .
Generate over 207K interactions from influencer-created content.
Reach over 4.5 million people through the campaign.

2. Numerous Interactions

We generated 207K+ interactions for our client through this influencer campaign, including 205K+ likes and 1.6K+ comments.

We also got our client 637K+ video views solely on Instagram. On average, this meant driving nearly 1K interactions per day.

3. Greater Reach

Our selected influencers created engaging content and we amplified its reach further. In all, our client reached over 4.5 million people through the influencer campaign.

We also got the client a $160K earned media value and a 4.56% average engagement rate.

4. Right Audience Targeting and Engagement

We were able to target, reach, and engage the right audience demographics.

Nearly 41% of the audience our influencer marketing campaign reached was in the age group of 25-34. About 11% of it comprised 35-44 year-olds and 3.6% of it were 45-64 year-olds.

Those were exactly the audience groups that our client wanted to reach.

Let’s move on to the next section of this case study. We’ll answer common questions about running successful influencer marketing campaigns there.

Top 38 Influencer Marketing Agencies in 2021

Q1. How do you create an influencer case study?

A. To create an influencer marketing case study, you should first go through the campaigns you’ve run so far. Choose the ones where you delivered great, shareworthy results.

Once you shortlist the influencer marketing campaigns you want to talk about, jot down the strategies, process, and results related to them.

Take screenshots that can act as proof of your campaign success and include them in your case study.

Also, ensure that you cover all important metrics such as:

Brand’s reach and awareness
Number of impressions
Engagement rate
User-generated content
Individual performance of each of the influencers
Number of leads
Amount of referral traffic from influencers’ posts and Stories

Putting all of this together will help you create a sharable influencer marketing case study and help you attract more clients.

Q2. Which brands use influencers?

A. Brands from a wide variety of niches/industries work with influencers, including:

Fashion industry
Beauty industry
Health and fitness industry
Travel industry
Food industry

Q3. How much should I pay influencers per post?

A. The amount you pay an influencer for every post depends on a number of factors such as:

Their engagement rate
The number of followers they have
The number and types of posts you want them to create
Whether or not you want the rights to repurpose their content

Typically, a micro-influencer charges about $250-$500 per post. On the other hand, a mega-influencer may charge thousands of dollars for one post.

Q4. How do influencers get paid?

A. There are numerous ways through which you can pay influencers including:

Monetary compensation
Social media shoutouts
Free goodies
Affiliate commissions per lead or sale

Most brands use a combination of these payout options to pay influencers.

Q5. How do I ask for an influencer’s rate?

A. You can ask for an influencer’s rate by sending them a message or an email.

All you have to do is specify your campaign requirements and expectations, and request a quote from them.

Q6. How much does influencer marketing cost?

A. One of the best things about influencer marketing is the flexibility it offers with its costing.

You can plan and run influencer campaigns with the smallest of budgets by partnering with nano- and micro-influencers. In this case, you’ll have to limit the number of content pieces and the duration of your campaigns.

On the other hand, you can also run big-budget influencer campaigns by partnering with mega-influencers or multiple micro-influencers. This will help you expand your reach significantly.

While some of the nano-influencers might be willing to work in exchange for a shoutout or free products, celebrities may charge millions per post.

Q7. How much do nano-influencers get paid?

A. Most nano-influencers get paid between $50-$100 per post.

Many of them also work in exchange for free products or services without any monetary compensation. Some of them might also work as affiliates.

Q8. Is influencer marketing effective?

A. Yes, influencer marketing is a highly effective way of promoting your brand online.

Influencers can help you drive real results in terms of reach, number of impressions, user engagement, leads, website traffic, and more.

As you saw in this case study, we engaged over 1 million people through our campaign. You can achieve similar results by using the right strategy, influencers, and social media channels.

YouTube Influencer Marketing: All You Need to Know in 2021
B2B Influencer Marketing: How to Get It Right From the Beginning

Ready to Replicate the Results Discussed in This Influencer Marketing Case Study?

This case study is proof that influencer marketing is a very effective mode of promoting your brand online.

Together with Americanoize, we successfully helped our client boost their reach and engagement through our influencer campaign.

We were also able to drive a significant amount of traffic to their landing page. This, in turn, helped us boost their lead generation efforts.

However, our campaign was successful because we thoroughly vetted each influencer. Additionally, we reviewed every post they created and optimized the campaign to deliver maximum returns.

Do you want to replicate the campaign success discussed in this influencer marketing case study? Check out our influencer marketing ebook to learn how to run your campaigns efficiently.

About the Author

Gaurav Sharma -

CEO/Founder @ Attrock Gaurav Sharma is the Founder and CEO of Attrock , a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years | 10X leads | 2.8X conversions | 300K organic monthly traffic | 5K keywords on page 1. He also contributes to top publications like HuffPost, Adweek, Business2Community, TechCrunch, and more.

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9 Influencer Marketing Case Studies That Got Incredible Results

The power of influencers can turn a brand into a phenomenon and a product into a movement.

The same philosophy also applies to the B2B SaaS (Software as a Service) industry. It is an extremely competitive and ever-evolving industry where new features, tools, and software are born every day to take their place in the market. In this market, the insights derived from influencer marketing case studies become invaluable. It offers a road map to navigate success through the competition.

Being a part of the SaaS brand marketing team, your responsibility lies in showcasing the tangible benefits of an intangible product. To stay ahead of the competition, thinking strategically and innovatively is necessary, and it starts with having an impeccable marketing campaign.

Influencers are starting to hold a major place in every brand’s online marketing campaigns, and so are influencer marketing case studies. It helps you to evaluate your steps and learn from others’ mistakes.

To promote and sell a SaaS product, winning trust is the top-of-the-funnel task, and it can be achieved with influencers. These personalities have a great online presence, and their audience strongly trusts them.

To drive a successful influencer marketing campaign , staying up-to-date with the industry trends and success strategies is most important. You should start by reading some impactful influencer marketing case studies.

These case studies will help you know how to shape brand awareness, growth, and engagement in the B2B SaaS arena with influencer marketing.

Power of Influencer Marketing in B2B SaaS

In the past decade, the marketing landscape has taken a huge turn. Industry niches that used to stick to their same old marketing schemes are not experimenting.

B2B SaaS, a field that used to rely completely on traditional advertising strategies, is now testing its luck in influencer marketing. They overcame the misconception that influencers are not limited to one-size-fits but a versatile approach that works wonders for SaaS.

Influencer marketing is a relationship-demanding approach that is not just restricted to consumer-based brands, but it’s achieving huge success in the B2B domain.

As per the data from Stastica, the SaaS market will reach $374.50 billion by 2028 . Influencer marketing was estimated to be worth $21.1 billion in 2024 . Imagine the profit you can generate by combining these two different segments of businesses.

To plan a successful influencer marketing campaign for your B2B SaaS brand, start by learning from the best. This blog will walk you through the Top 9 influencer marketing case studies to understand their planning, execution, and outcome. It will help you protect your strategy from possible down-slides and take note of beneficial tips.

Here we go!

9 Top B2B & SaaS Influencer Marketing Case Studies

1. hubspot (#inbound2023).

HubSpot is a leading B2B SaaS Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform trusted by several agencies worldwide. With its horizon expanding in B2B, it is also well renowned in the B2C industry. It helps you manage all your sales and customer relationships in one place.

HubSpot’s latest influencer marketing campaign aimed to derive more registration and brand awareness for its INBOUND 2023 conference . The activities are planned to attract a larger target audience to their conference.

By leveraging the strong presence of influencers relevant to their reach, HubSpot aims to increase its scale in the competitive CRM and marketing software industry. HubSpot wants to gain more reach in the online and offline sales and marketing industry.

Execution and Collaboration

HubSpot executed its influencer marketing for the online + offline INBOUND 2023 conference by collaborating with prominent marketing and sales influencers .

They invited influencers like Neil Patel , Eric Siu , Reese Witherspoon , and Ann Handle . They were part of keynote sessions, panel discussions, workshops, etc.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eric Siu | Leveling Up 👾 (@ericosiu)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by HubSpot (@hubspot)

For the online campaign, influencers jointly created social media content, blog posts, and videos with HubSpot to highlight the upcoming event, expert insights, and industry trends.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Christina Kay | #GrowthMarketer | #HubSpotAdvocate | #GTM (@the.christinakay)

Through the collaboration activities, influencers promoted the event on social media platforms to encourage their followers to register for the conference.

With their messaging style, HubSpot was able to generate yet another milestone with more than 12K attendees offline and 100K viewing online .

Online sessions before and during the event witnessed higher attendance, with the audience eager to learn from the industry experts . The online influencer marketing campaign got a high reach, making this event a phenomenal success.

This entire influencer marketing case study discusses the enhanced HubSpot reputation presented by the popular faces, making it stand out as the industry leader.

Key Takeaways

Best thing to learn from HubSpot influencer marketing case study:

Align with industry experts online and offline to tap the wider audience related to your niche.
Go for bigger faces for offline events so attendees find their insights more reliable and take them seriously.
Give place to influencers for every part of the activity like workshop, hosting, etc. This way, every aspect of your event will be popularized.

2. Salesforce (#CNX23)

Salesforce is a prominent name in the technology and B2B SaaS business world. It is globally recognized for its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions. One-stop destination to manage all your sales, services, marketing, and analytics that is capable of fostering stronger customer relations and growth for businesses.

Being a very active event organizer such as Dreamforce, Salesforce World Tour, Trailblazer, and more, Salesforce has generated immense buzz with its newest event, “Connection 2023,” with influencer marketing campaigns on social media .

Its main objective was to attract as many people and businesses as possible who have an interest in growing in technology and customer relationships. With influencer reach, Sealsforce plans to establish a stronger position within the B2B SaaS industry.

With its unique promotional style and authentic ideas for influencer collaboration, Salesforce wishes to leave a lasting impact and convert many into Trailblazers .

Salesforce invited not only numerous influencers but businesses too to be keynote speakers, share ideas, and discuss digital transformations and insights on CRM. Powerful personalities and leaders such as Dan Levy, Marc Benioff, and Reid Hoffman were invited as a speakers.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leonie Woolf (@leoniekwoolf)

Their never seen before collaboration style with the influencers of not just their niche but of different fields was also remarkable. Salesforce has capitalized on every possible medium to promote its “Connections 2023” event.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Salesforce (@salesforce)

Forming connections with their various products and events to squeeze more juice out of their influencer marketing campaign has resulted in their favor.

Thanks to their influencer marketing activities, “Connections 2023” attracted a 35% increase in event attendance , seeing a prominent rise from the previous year.

Overall, the event got millions of mentions on all the global social media platforms, and influencers benefited by reaching over 12 million users .

Influencer marketing has made it easy for Salesforce to generate sales in this B2B SaaS industry with a boost in brand authority.

Things to learn from the Salesforce influencer marketing case study:

Cross-industry collaboration with influencers to expand the horizon and reach.
Co-connecting other relevant events can drive the audience from there to your pages.
Going for platforms more relevant to your industry, like X (formerly Twitter), for the entrepreneur field.

3. Shopify (#POCGo):

Shopify is a B2B SaaS e-commerce platform that works as a catalyst to empower entrepreneurs. A suite filled with powerful tools that help you manage your store online + offline.

Shopify is a top choice when it comes to any new business owner to build a website for their business online. Along with that , Shopify also takes steps to simplify offline store management for its users.

The Aim of their newest Shopify influencer marketing campaign is to promote their POC Go . It is a portable device that offline stores can use to take payments from their customers anywhere in the store.

The objective was to take advantage of the influence successful business owners and entrepreneurs have. Collaborating with e-commerce experts to get their inspirational image to speak for Shopify POS Go.

The campaign was centered around this new product, taking advantage of the influence and reaching as many businesses with their reach. Shopify wishes to showcase its POS Go better than any other point of sale system.

The game plan of Shopify was to benefit from traditional influencer marketing and also leverage the actual Shopify store owners. Campaign talks about their success stories, tips, and tricks circling around their product.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shopify (@shopify)

The real-time experience shared by influencers and store owners was used to convince buyers. This collaboration between Shopify, store owners, e-commerce experts, and entrepreneurs generated a series of content, like videos, social media posts, website features, and blogs.

By making the smart move of collaborating with the physical store, this influencer marketing campaign reaches more than just social media channels. Causing a real influence through e-commerce experts, the campaign successfully showcased the benefits of POS Go .

Shopify gained new users by deriving commitment and authenticity and actively engaging with the community. By July 2023, Shopify generated a revenue of $3.202 billion . Gaining over a thousand purchases on website apps , Shopify influencer marketing campaign provided visibility to the brand.

Value gained from Shopify B2B influencer marketing case study:

The real influence lies mainly in Shopify customers . This way, they promote their product and their customer product, too. #WinWin
The success stories were able to demonstrate the real-world impact of their product and services.
With the multi-platform influencer campaign (blogs, videos, giveaways, website features, etc.), both Shopify and their store owners benefited.

4. Microsoft

Microsoft is an organization that needs no introduction, with a 21% market share worldwide in the tech industry. Most used for its cloud solutions, productivity tools, and operating systems, it has always reserved the front seat for innovation in technology. Microsoft caters to both B2C and B2B SaaS industries, providing software such as Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365.

Microsoft’s strategy behind its influencer marketing campaign was to establish authority in the competitive B2B SaaS industry. For product promotion, they were aiming for its AI companion, “Copilot.”

As influencer marketing turns out to be the most trusted source of promotion, Microsoft wishes to leverage influencer reach to set Copilot above other AI software . This will improve brand trust, gain audience engagement, and educate everyone with its new software.

Starting the influencer marketing campaign by collaborating with tech influencers and cloud experts, Microsoft took advantage of industry MVPs and businesses, too .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Teen Vogue (@teenvogue)

Find influencers who can demonstrate a comparison of Copilot and other tools for promotion. Microsoft ensured that the audience was educated with the basic guide to the software with influencer marketing. With the help of the established credibility of top influencers and tech-savvy in the B2B SaaS and IT, this influencer campaign reached millions.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Microsoft (@microsoft)

Microsoft’s influencer marketing campaigns to promote their AI Assistant Copilot yield impressive results. It created a buzz among the B2B SaaS and IT industries.

Audience reach and engagement grew, and the conversion rate took the hype for Copilot and other Microsoft software.

Pointers to take home from Microsoft influencer marketing case study:

Strategic planning to partner with influencers and businesses . Pick the personalities who can genuinely provide valuable results.
Drive a Win-Win partnership with those who believe in your product to louder your authenticity.
While launching a new product, make sure to educate the audience with the influencer collaborative content .

5. SquareSpace

SquareSpace is an all-in-one B2B SaaS website-building platform that supports businesses and individuals to create professional websites. Its backhand building interface is user-friendly, which helps you customize your templates and add tools. SquareSpace is a very popular solution for web designing to empower your business.

The primary aim of the influencer marketing campaign was to showcase versatility and user-friendliness while targeting small business owners and entrepreneurs .

By taking advantage of influencer collaboration. SquareSpace wants to create authenticity to relate with the target audience. It should be able to demonstrate the tool’s ability to build websites with ease through SquareSpace.

SquareSpace influencer marketing begins with collaborating with a diverse group of personalities from different niches relevant to theirs . Influencers were picked for their expertise in various content forms such as blogging, e-commerce entrepreneur expertise, artistic front, and photography .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jazmine Rogers 🌷 (@thatcurlytop)

By providing free access to influencers to demonstrate the area of website building , SquareSpace leveraged its online presence. These influencers create their personalized websites to convince their audience to pick SquareSpace for their online business.

As a result of the influencer’s reach and online engagement, SquareSpace received increased sign-ups . And its social media channels generated higher engagement .

Improved customer response to SquareSpace features, with 95% citing their influencer content . Its ability to pick the perfect influencer for the activity has supported the campaign’s success.

The following are the learnings from SquareSpace B2B influencer marketing case studies:

Encourage influencers to use the features and demonstrate their benefit to the audience in real-time.
Create not just videos but also blogs, memes, social media updates, etc., to reach more audiences faster.
Making the best-fit choice when it comes to influencers and celebrities to ensure you reach the most suited niche.

We all know what Canva does. With its intent to empower individuals and businesses to create visual content effortlessly, Canva has a user-friendly B2B SaaS module. It has a vast template library and tools for design for social media graphics and more.

With the latest influencer marketing campaign, Canva aims to increase awareness about its improved tools and features . The primary goal is to showcase the streamlined design process to elevate the quality of visual content.

Mark it as an easy-to-use tool as a substitute for several other complex design software.

Collaborating with well-known influencers in the field of creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners , Canva went for diverse groups. It conducted the influencer marketing campaign primarily across platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Toshi | Content Designer | Canva Designer | Social Media Manager (@designwithtoshi)

All the influencers picked have one thing in common: a passion for design, creativity, and content creation. Canva provided influencers free access to Canva Pro and encouraged them to showcase their design journey through it.

Thousands of social media posts were shared during this campaign, making it a buzz of its time and attracting several potential users.

An increase in Canva Pro user sign-ups every month made this campaign a success. The combined social media reach of influencer marketing was in millions, which gave Canva the place it worked for. By 2023, over 150 million people will use Canva Pro.

The Canva influencer marketing case study shares value such as:

By sharing free access or samples of your product , you can provide value to the influencers. This interests them and encourages them to create their best content.
Canva leveraged user-generated content to create a belief in the audience for the product.

7. Monday.com

Monday.com is a premium B2B SaaS organization of Work Operating System (Work OS). This helps businesses organize, manage, and execute projects and teamwork. It offers a customized workspace for collaboration and tracking the team’s workflow with ease.

Monday.com planned an influencer marketing campaign to increase its brand awareness and showcase the product’s versatility . This campaign was designed to highlight real-life examples and product usage from across the industry.

By partnering with top influencers from diverse niches and businesses, Monday.com wants to demonstrate its tool as a medium to improve productivity .

Choosing influencers from diverse fields, relevant or non-relevant to their niche , allowed Monday.com to expand its horizons. This list of influencers includes project managers, entrepreneurs, and remote work companies . Also, they went for many offline work organizations and small business owners.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Done & Done (@chiefgetitdoneofficer)

They provided each influencer with free access to their Work OS software and gave them the liberty to manage work in a customized manner. Influencers created various content formats, such as blog posts, video tutorials, and social media updates, talking about the benefits of Monday.com.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa Valiente (@alyssa.mov)

Monday.com then leveraged these influencers’ created content on their social media channels and website blogs.

This influencer marketing campaign generated an increase in Monday.com’s social media reach and millions of impressions .

With a significant increase in trial sign-ups, this collaborative campaign between Monday.com and influencers succeeded.

Major pointers to learn from Monday.com Instagram influencer marketing case study:

Monday.com succeeded in the objective of reaching a wider audience by picking some influencers who were out of its niche .
Making interactive content (videos & demos) can generate more reach than regular and boring content to promote the product.

Adobe is a global leader in B2B SaaS organization of creative software solutions. It has a diverse range of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat products. It works with the idea to allow creative professionals to bring their ideas to life.

The latest influencer marketing campaign run by Adobe was centered on creating buzz for their new product, Adobe Creative Cloud suite . This campaign plans to target influencers from the creative and design field and also the students of design schools .

The objective was to increase brand awareness and product knowledge by showcasing the tool’s capabilities.

Adobe went for very selective influencers and artists already using Adobe Creative Cloud . By conducting exclusive workshops for education on YouTube and Instagram, these influencers targeted their audience.

With the tint of the casualness of Behind-the-scene content, Adobe wanted the community to feel authentic about the product. Also, with the contest of creative challenges to artists, Adobe plans to attract new users.

Generating immense reach with its creative challenge to creative artists, Adone got what it aimed for. There was a significant increase in the Creative Cloud subscription.

The combined collaborative content and the creative challenge got thousands of entries from Adobe users. Millions of impressions were generated from the influencer’s created content.

Primary value to take from Adobe influencer marketing case study:

Collaborate with influencers who are already passionate about your products ; this will ensure positive conversions.
Engage through education to enlighten the audience with the features and tools of your software.
Engage your community with contests to convert more user interest and create more interactive challenges.

Semrush is a SaaS platform that works as a perfect digital marketing toolkit to empower businesses and marketers. Equipped with numerous tools for SEO, content marketing, and content analysis, this tool helps succeed online. It is a resource that no SEO or a marketer can work without, over 10 million users have used it since 2008 .

The latest influencer marketing campaign run by Semrush had a very clear objective. It aimed to improve its brand image in the digital marketing and SEO community to be more than just a tool to analyze online presence .

Having the objective to establish itself as the industry leader in its specific niche, Semrush collaborated with top influencers and experts with a loud voice.

Starting with the strict influencer selection process, Semrush picked only the ones who have well-known positions. The arena of influencers includes marketers, SEO enthusiasts, content creators , etc.

They promoted several new features of Semrush, etc. The collaboration involved co-creating content that provides insights, best practices, and tips for this digital marketing tool .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Semrush (@semrush)

Semrush reached millions through this influencer marketing campaign. It also got an increase in engagement on its own social media. An increase in the number of new users and sign-ups was seen.

With the Semrush influencer marketing case study, you can learn:

Develop a long-term relationship between brand + influencer so your collaborative content can relate better with your audience .
Also create some educational content that is remotely relevant . This will direct more audience by educating them.

After being through with the most prominent and educating influencer marketing case studies, you must have learned how important influencers are.

In this existing world of B2B SaaS, influencer marketing works as a secret sauce of success. It is not just a trend but a strategy that can take a brand to new heights.

One common element that resonated with all the case studies was the careful selection of influencers. Taking a very calculated risk to promote the brand. Keeping your eye on these influencer marketing case studies will help you learn.

Your brand might just become a big thing in the B2B SaaS industry and part of our next case study.

About the Author

Megha Sharma

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Integrations

Some Killer Influencer Marketing Case Studies

Interested in adding influencer marketing to your campaign? We know a thing or two about working with awesome influencers who know how to get your target audience to pay attention.

From TikTok users to content creators on Instagram and other popular social platforms, we have dozens of influencer marketing campaign case studies to share and show just how visually exciting and successful our influencer strategies can be.

Best Influencer Marketing Case Studies of The Last Few Years

Over the course of a decade-ish in the influencer marketing industry, we have built and managed campaigns across an INSANE (and impressive) range of verticals.

Whatever kind of influencer campaign you’re looking to run – and even if you have no idea what kind of campaign you want – we can come up with creative concepts, bring in the right influencers, and build a campaign that hits all the important KPIs.

Our client list includes some of the biggest names in any industry – Beauty 💄, Fashion 👗, Construction 🚧, Real Estate 🏠, Toiletries 🚿, Apps 📱, Precious Gems 💎, Ecomm 🖥, Telecom ☎︎, Housewares 🍽, Food 🥑, Nonprofits ❤️, Outdoors 🌳, Weddings 👰🏽, Fertility 👶🏾, Parenting 👨‍👩‍👧, Haircare 💇🏼‍♀️, Automotive 🚙, Environment 🌍, Health 🏃🏾‍♂️… you name it.

Here are some of our favorite influencer marketing case study examples:

Christmas dinner table for Lenox influencer campaign

Influencer marketing played a key role in Lenox’s big rebranding push

Engagements

St Pierre Bakery

We enlisted influencers who we knew could create drool-worthy pics and video content.

The Honest Company

We found 30 influencers that fit their brand story and generated content that looked like Honest produced it themselves.

Woman holding up mascara for KISS influencer campaign

We got 1,493,630 ORGANIC video views! (Is there a taking-a-bow emoji we can use here?)

Dog wearing glowing leash for Nite Ize influencer campaign

Due to product requirements, we targeted influencers with niche photography skills and the content literally lit up Instagram.

Video Views

Man holding a flower for Blued influencer campaign

A complex campaign that yielded a Bachelor-style live show (which our account managers fully produced).

Two small girls wearing face masks inside a store for Famous Footwear influencer campaign

Famous Footwear (Pandemic Shopping)

We highlighted in-store shopping during a pandemic so that people could see how safely they could shop.

Woman on top of a mountain for Moosejaw influencer campaign

This campaign was designed to capture the beauty, the thrill, and quirks of a group of 37 outdoor adventure influencers.

Man with facemask standing in front of his business for Popular Business Directory influencer campaign

Popular Business Directory (Black-Owned Businesses)

The campaign, slated to kick off during Black History Month, positioned our client in helping Black-owned businesses.

Woman wearing a white bra for Natori influencer campaign

These campaigns celebrated strong,confident women that shared personal stories sparked genuine conversations across social channels.

Sweet Defeat

We had influencers do the “Sweet Defeat Challenge” – the reactions on influencers’ faces alone convinced audiences that this product works.

Mom and daughter holding up cd's for KIDZ BOP influencer campaign

We rolled out a campaign to generate excitement and awareness around the brand’s summer and holiday releases and the 2018 tour.

American Standard

This campaign set out to show what a difference American Standard can make in your often-neglected bathroom.

Earthjustice

We raised awareness about the importance of intersectionality within the environmental justice movement.

Potential Reach

Essense of Australia

We found influencers for this campaign that were diverse in just about every way – race, body shape, personal style, and lifestyle.

Impressions

Feit Electric

For this campaign, we worked with home decor, lifestyle, and DIY influencers to create brand awareness and drive traffic to Feit’s landing pages.

Greenvelope

We found 8 outstanding fiancés to share their stories and nudge other betrothed followers toward considering Greenvelope for their wedding.

The Smile Generation

We generated brand awareness and hype about the Smile Generation services, while driving families to use their remaining benefits before the end of 2019

RefrigiWear

We found 24 US influencers to post on Instagram and their blogs, showcasing RefrigiWear as THE brand to keep workers warm while doing their jobs

Woman pushing a toddler in a stroller for Quinny influencer campaign

We launched a year-long brand ambassadorship program to promote five different strollers set to launch throughout the year.

Influencer Amy Roiland in bunny ears for eos spring pack influencer campaign

Our campaigns showcased the product creatively to different audiences – and they agreed on one thing: what their favorite body care brand is!

Susan G. Komen

We’ve run four campaigns for Susan G. Komen, to keep both their mission and breast cancer survivors top-of-mind.

Girl wearing pink crocs for Famous Footwear influencer campaign

Famous Footwear (Global)

This case study highlights 6 campaigns that we really enjoyed amongst the dozens that we’ve run for them.

Influencers

Influencing The Curve

The Shelf team created the #InfluencingTheCurve campaign to build an army of influencers committed to spreading the truth

Total Reach

And with these successes, we hope we were able to convince you that The Shelf is the influencer marketing agency to partner with!

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Case studies

Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? These 10 Case Studies Shout: YES!

We can be all talk for a month, but no theory compares to the inspirational drive that a good example can bring. Today’s 10 influencer marketing case studies are going to reveal the practical side of a social media campaign and how it reaches the sweet spot of virality.

1. Encapsulate Brand Culture in One Inspirational Trademark

Nike has remained true to its essence since 1988. Shout: Just Do It! and your train of thoughts takes a short turn to hard training, sculpting your body through sweat, accomplishment, Nike, champion, active lifestyle.

Nike transported its trademark to modern times, without spilling any bit of its meaning, in the form of a hashtag: #justdoit. The official Instagram account tells stories of its fitness ambassadors. Each post reveals one insight that has shaped characters into progressive athletes.

In their turn, users and influencers create content organically inspired by Nike’s perennial invitation to movement. The sports brand activates micro-influencers mostly, even those with as few as 10k followers. Being part of Nike’s community of sports leaders incentivizes content creators to accept rewards other than financial.

2. Win the Spotlight in the Competitive Luxury Landscape alongside Influencers

DSW is a small discount shoe brand with a big dream: to be as sparkly and empowering as any of its high-end competitors. Therefore, the retailer skipped traditional marketing and unlocked the influence of content creators.

However, it’s not just about shoes. The winning tweak was for DSW to elevate the fascination for footwear with the ubiquitous desire for traveling. As such, the brand reached out to influencers active mostly on the adventurous side of Instagram.

By partnering with big accounts complementary to its industry, DSW tapped into unconventional sources of new leads. Back in the third quarter of 2018, the 17.2% increased revenue stood proof for the success influencers produced for DSW. So far, our influencer marketing case studies underline the power of influencers of converting leads into customers.

3. Ask the Community (Not Your Intuition) What They Want You to Create

Prices for all budgets, innovative designs, flamboyant apparel – that’s how H&M intended to revigorate its image when it launched the Nyden collection in 2018. However, instead of predicting trends, the fast-fashion retailer is asking their community for style ideas.

Under the #HMxME hashtag, H&M devised a whole new production strategy. This keyword alone generated more than 286,000 posts, an impressive number that indicates a campaign success.

The innovative H&M plan goes like this. First, influencers receive prototypes that they are allowed to show in their Stories. For each post, they ask their audience to answer polls regarding looks, colors, features, and details.

Afterward, H&M gets feedback from each influencer, rounding up clear guidelines on how to improve their new designs. By using influencers for data collection, H&M rests assured that every piece they create has already a fan base ready to spread the buzz and generate a shopping spree.

On the downside, this level of transparency allows any prying eyes to see what audiences love and replicate their looks. On the other hand, H&M is known for its fast-paced factories. This enables H&M to always be the first to launch a new collection.

4. Unleash the Entire Product Awesomeness

Renowned brand Hugo Boss made waves when it launched a challenge around its Boss perfume featuring Marvel star, Chris Hemsworth. The video concept was anything but ordinary.

Viewers witnessed how Chris plunged into the ocean waves on a surfboard. All this time, the dashing actor was wearing a smart black suit. At the end of the clip, Hugo passed the challenge to all men with a desire to do great things in style.

Eventually, this adrenaline-pumping commercial started a #SuitChallenge movement which resulted in hundreds of resourceful images. Shortly after, Instagram saw a slew of out-of-the-box visuals. Men started wearing suits but on tennis or basketball fields, in the wilderness, on paddleboards, doing parkour, and in other uncomfortably perfect backgrounds.

Usually, an expensive suit and the salty ocean water don’t work together. However, the Boss influencer marketing campaign managed to pull this off in the most original way and inspired men for greatness.

5. Steal a Ferarri-Level Macro-Influencer for Your Ambassador Program

Automotive market Autotrader dreamt big so the company looked for a macro-influencer. Doug DeMuro is the number one influencer in the automotive industry. He’s funny, entertaining, but he never neglects core details that make up the character of a car.

In the past, the reviewer shook hands on some amazing partnerships with the likes of Porsche and Ferarri. However, Autotrader managed to add the Doug empire to its portfolio of brand ambassadors.

Their partnership covered waves of content on multiple-channels: website, Instagram, blog, YouTube, etc. The company even assigned a new Autotrader page to Doug called Oversteer . All in all, our influencer marketing case studies show us that one macro-influencer with a high compatibility score can raise more awareness than any ad.

6. Give Influencers Free Rein to Make Your Startup Worldwide Known

If you have heard so far about drones and their enchanting aerial captures, it is all thanks to DJI. Chinese brand entered the mainstream by taking full advantage of influencer campaigns.

With each new product launch, DJI collaborated with new influencers with a fresh vision on life. So far, the strategy was to equip creators with DJI only video tech. Concept, location, details were all up to account owners to decide.

Consequently, the brand unlocked an endless source of unique visuals. Each entry proves that DJI drones and cameras have amazing features to record ambitious productions.

7. Humanize Products through the Innocent Eyes of a Famous Pet

One of our 10 influencer marketing case studies brings to our attention the impact the presence of a dog can create for a brand. Mercedez Benz skipped Instagram and collaborated instead with YouTube canine celebrity, Loki.

Together with his master, Loki starts an adventure in Colorado. They take to the secluded streets hidden under a Christmassy layer of snow on a Mercedez Benz. Thanks to the immersive 360° format, viewers feel like they are part of the experience.

The video charm springs from the story narrated in the background, uplifting song, mesmerizing view, and the happiness of the furry friend. In contrast to traditional ads and commercials, the advertised product runs silently in the background. There hovers just a hint to its quality, and what we see is a fulfilling moment in the life of two best friends.

8. Reinventing the Mattress One Snooze at a Time

Casper was the first mattress company to bring some fresh air into this old-fashioned industry. Instead of store distributors, the brand mails mattresses in a box. Instead of traditional ads and stiff CTAs, Casper worked with influencers on growing awareness.

First of all, the new approach to advertising included a curated list of young influencers of hip taste. Their requirements for YouTube and Instagram content were limited to authenticity and transparency.

Secondly, Casper gave influencers more power by creating customized coupons for them. This way, creators receive one more resource to energize loyalty levels across their communities. On top of that, this is a seamless way to promote a product and naturally bring it to their audiences’ attention.

Through these reviewers outside the mainstream, Casper managed to raise brand awareness and strengthen its position as to veteran competitors. In a span of two years, Casper was ranking higher than other established names in the industry.

9. Influencer Campaigns Work Their Magic for B2B Too

Our influencer marketing case studies reveal a fertile environment for B2B promotion as well. Software company SAP develops solutions solely for enterprises. However, this didn’t stop this brand from managing a strong presence on social media.

Unlike B2C practices, their list of influencers contains only top names in decision-making positions. Consequently, their influencer marketing consists of executives, CEOs, and even academics and consultants.

SAP visioned an organic method to make its software solutions visible to a wide professional audience. Their idea focused on invitations for specialists and experts to industry events. Once there, influencers populated their content plans with live Facebook streaming, interviews, and YouTube talks.

In its turn, SAP was able to repurpose influencer-generated content for its own Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. Eventually, the B2B corporation kept in touch with enough specialists to build its own program with SAP Technology Ambassadors.

10. Your Brand Cares

To begin with, BoxedWater based its entire business on an eco-friendly concept that links the brand to altruistic traits. Drinkable water, a completely recyclable package, and raw materials taken from certified forests are key ingredients that can spark a sustainable movement.

By positioning themselves as environmental activists, BoxedWater speaks directly to the two generations that care: Millennials and Generation Z . Moreover, the brand keeps true to its philanthropic efforts at all times.

After a campaign of repopulating forests, BoxedWater continues in this direction with a #NoPlasticPledge. In a word, the company challenged users to 30 days of no plastic usage. To encourage them to stay on track at all times, the company sent a free kit to any new entry consisting of stickers, a T-shirt, a tote bag, and a pledge bracelet.

These type of humanitarian projects on social media usually boosts visibility. On top of that, they create quality customers as they tend to stay loyal to those brands that display authenticity and social engagement.

All in all, our 10 influencer marketing case studies reveal how flexible marketers can be on social channels to drive results. Personalized coupons, an inspirational trademark, one extremely niche macro-influencer, and ambassador programs are just a few of the strategies brands can enact organically to attract new leads.

Let us know in the comments what campaign example applies to your business the most! How would you improve it?

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11 Influencer Marketing Case Studies With Incredible Results

11 Influencer Marketing Case Studies With Incredible Results. You may have already heard how influencer marketing has become the best strategy to increase brand awareness. So, if you’ve been looking for information about this type of marketing, there’s nothing better than real-life examples of its success.

That’s why today we bring you 11 cases of successful advertising campaigns with influencers. This way, you’ll easily understand how to create a real campaign with the trendiest influencers on social media.

How to do an influencer marketing campaign?

Influencer marketing can become your brand’s best ally, as long as you know the tools you should use to create an effective campaign. That’s why taking a look at the next 11 example influencers and brands is a great idea. After all, this will help you achieve each of your brand’s objectives together with the help of influencers:

For this campaign, the main idea was to have these influencers carry out a normal routine including the latest collection launched by H&M. Part of its success was thanks to the choice of two profiles that could reflect the true style of the brand on their own.

Both the blogger and model were struck by what was offered by this brand, and that is why their recommendations were 100% sincere which the audience noticed.

By using the content generated by users on Instagram, many influencers asked their users to send photos. This way, they had the chance of being models of the Adidas brand campaign launched during the spring season.

It’s worth noting that this campaign had the inclusion of celebrities of the level of Selena Gomez. This, of course, gave a great boost to this campaign. Because of this, the results of this campaign on social media were very positive. In fact, it obtained over 10,000 entries in the hashtag #MyNeoShoot, which was the name of the campaign.

On the other hand, this hashtag also achieved over 70,000 mentions and an increase of 40,000 followers. Definitively, this strategy has been one of the most successful influencer marketing campaigns with a sales increase of 25%.

However, to increase awareness of their brand, they had the wonderful idea of recruiting some influencers. In this case, the famous PewDiePie managed to direct his over 57 million YouTube subscribers to this campaign.

They also invited Jack Douglas, also known as Jacksfilms. Together they created videos to explain and give their opinion regarding the content of these jack-in-the-boxes.

The success of this campaign was due to the correct selection of these influencers. After all, the brand’s audience already trusted them and their word. Because of this, it was easy for them to trust the brand too.

Similarly, this campaign also allowed the brand to showcase its best products. All while taking advantage of the opportunity to interact with the public and create authentic links.

Educational Insights

This children’s educational game store used Tik Tok to launch its campaign with influencers.

To promote its product “Playfoam Puffle”. To do this, together with the influencers agency “The Influencer Marketing Factory” they selected 10 influencers with great relevance in the platform to have a reach of more than 14 million followers.

For 4 weeks the influencers shared different videos, thus achieving more than 2.5 million video views.

This is a very clear example of influencer marketing with good results.

The video in which the actor Nick Offerman appears sitting for 44 minutes in a chair by a fireplace, while he looks in front of the camera in total silence and drinking whiskey, went viral. The idea presented by this alcoholic beverage company ended up being a real success.

The reason is that this video turns out to be very addictive since while the video is running you wait for something to happen, and in the end, nothing happens. So, that desire of the users to see a different twist in the video makes it special.

This idea has been so creative that it got an award for being rated as one of the best cases where an influencer marketing campaign was implemented.

American Express

American Express aimed to boost the Premium benefits associated with its Amex Platinum cards. To achieve this, they went in search of Shaquille O’Neal and other popular people on Instagram.

They were all invited to a large number of exclusive events that consisted of both parties and trips.

However, the request was that they share their experiences through their social media.

This way, this strategy shows that influence shouldn’t only focus on physical products. After all, promoting experiences associated with a given service can be more effective.

In this case, the brand launched a campaign with Victoria Bachlet around the topic of “back to school”. Said in influencer has over 3 million followers on TikTok, which made her an ideal choice for the role. What she did was post a video of her visiting Target and buying Vera Bradley products for her personal care. These videos also had her using these products at home as she prepared for the start of the new school year.

The main goal of these videos was to create brand awareness marketing for both Vera Bradley’s and Target’s X Venues collection of personal care products. This influencer was the best choice for this campaign given her audience which consists of teens and adult women.

Also, although Bachlet’s video was an advertisement, she managed to make it look like her usual videos, which made them a very eye-catching factor.

Tom’s of Maine

This brand focused on the manufacture of personal care products also sought the help of influencers to boost itself. In this sense, they took into account that not everything is about quantity, but quality.

Tom’s of Maine uses only natural ingredients to create its toiletries. Therefore, they needed to create a campaign that would directly target shoppers who care about their health. For this, the brand resorted to micro-influencers with few followers, but with an audience made up of their target audience.

This way, micro-influencers began to touch on topics related to these toiletry products, seeking the interaction of their followers. As a result, this campaign managed to capture more than 4 million potential customers in the first three months of its launch.

The success of this campaign depends on the fact that the smaller the audience, the more trust users have in the influencers.

Walmart also worked on a marketing campaign with influencers, in this case, they used Tik Tok. This international retail corporation sought the collaboration of this platform’s influencers to create a Black Friday-themed campaign using the hashtag #DealDropDance.

To carry out this campaign Walmart worked specifically with 6 influencers. Montanatucker, kidrl, dreaknowsbest, OurFire, bdash_2, and kingcamo_1 had the task of motivating their followers to post videos in the store while they danced or had fun.

These videos were very effective since just their posts reached over 16 million followers. In fact, this campaign resulted in influencers and followers alike filming themselves in the aisles of Walmart to win a $100 gift card.

The Pedigree brand was intended to humanize its brand to champion its cause. In fact, this has been a movement of excellence if we take into account that more than 90% of consumers expressed their willingness to switch to a brand capable of promoting a positive cause.

“Buy a bag, give a bowl” was the motto of this campaign, led by influencers to promote it. The way they did this was through their social media content , as well as through videos and blog posts.

Kristyn Cole was one of the influencers called to promote this campaign on Instagram. Like Cole, other influencers uploaded stories to Instagram to share heartwarming stories with their pets. This way they were able to attract the emotions of their followers.

As a result, this campaign generated over 43 million impressions and 9,000 interactions. All of this allowed the brand to easily reach its target audience.

Hulu wanted to promote its new show “Casual” to reach its audience, as well as the existing audience of Thrillist, a brand focused on men with a digital lifestyle. That’s why, besides organizing an event, they needed an influential person to publicize everything related to this campaign.

Therefore, they decided to work with Andi Dorfman, a very influential personality on television. This influencer was invited to the event held in Los Angeles . This way, she was able to attract her social media fans by using the event’s images with which she was able to share her pleasant experience.

However, to promote this new program and event, the posts included hashtags such as #casualonhulu and #keepitcasual. Later, these images along with others were added to a page connected to Thrillist.

By simply enlisting the help of an influencer, Hulu had the opportunity to reach over 1 million people, with Andi’s content achieving higher engagement numbers.

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Top 5 Influencer Marketing Campaigns & Case Studies [2024]

Imagine a world where traditional advertising takes the backseat and authentic voices drive the narrative. Influencer marketing is where authenticity intersects with massive reach to create campaigns that garner attention and drive action.

In this blog, we unravel five case studies of influencer marketing, showcasing how diverse brands have harnessed this approach to achieve remarkable outcomes. From fashion giants to tech leaders, these stories are not just about marketing; they’re about creating connections, sparking conversations, and engaging audiences in ways that traditional methods cannot.

Related: Influencer Marketing Pros & Cons

Case Study 1: Aloft Hotels’ Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Aloft Hotels

Aloft Hotels set out to position itself as the preferred hotel brand for those passionate about music, both creators and fans. The objective was to generate influential content led by musicians that would resonate with Aloft’s key demographic, known as ‘self-expressers’. This initiative also highlighted the brand’s commitment to supporting up-and-coming music talent. The content needed to be lasting and versatile across various digital channels.

Aloft Hotels collaborated with Universal Music Group to launch a tour spotlighting rising stars in the music scene, strategically set in music-rich cities. The cornerstone of this campaign was “EMERGING,” a show hosted by Karli Henriquez, chosen for her alignment with the brand’s focus on music and technology. The series included five episodes showcasing an artist’s path, an interview, and their performance. The content strategy was multifaceted, featuring short social media teasers, Instagram behind-the-scenes content, and full episodes on YouTube. The aim was to merge genuine storytelling with extensive digital outreach seamlessly.

The campaign generated impressive results:

14,279,200 overall video impressions
28,784 clicks
Total Organic Impressions: 1.27M
Total artist impressions: 7,314,240
Total artist engagements: 245,900

Key Learnings:

The Importance of Authenticity and Relevance: Choosing an influencer (Karli Henriquez) who aligns well with the brand’s ethos and the target audience’s interests.
Content Versatility: Customizing content to fit various digital platforms for enhanced reach and interaction.
Strategic Collaborations: Partnering with organizations like Universal Music Group to boost credibility and reach relevant audiences.
Focus on Measurable Results: Having clear, quantifiable metrics to evaluate a campaign’s success on which future strategies can be based.
Long-term Connections: Establishing ongoing relationships with influencers and artists for enduring benefits beyond the immediate campaign outcomes.

Case Study 2: Adobe Premiere Pro’s Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe’s mission was to familiarize the emerging generation of video editors and filmmakers with the capabilities of Premiere Pro. The challenge lay in differentiating Premiere Pro in a market crowded with free and less sophisticated editing tools, providing an enticing reason for these creatives to opt for Premiere Pro.

Adobe initiated a competition in collaboration with the music group Imagine Dragons. This contest granted participants access to the band’s “Believer” track and unedited music video clips exclusively for editing via Premiere Pro. This innovative strategy, enhanced by a $25,000 prize and widespread promotion across diverse social media channels, was designed to attract experienced professionals and young, aspiring creators. The global campaign offered the contest and resources in 11 different languages, leveraging the extensive fan base of Imagine Dragons and Adobe’s strategic social media outreach.

Global reach of 1.5 billion fans through social engagement and earned media.
677k visits to the contest microsite from 106 countries.
80,000 downloads of video footage resulted in 10,000 comprehensive video submissions from creators across 28 countries.
Premiere Pro trial – 13K downloads
Significant engagement from young creators – 18-25 year olds got in about 64% of submissions.

This campaign demonstrates the effectiveness of combining influencer collaboration with creative, participatory challenges. Key insights include:

Leveraging Popular Influencers: Partnering with Imagine Dragons provided instant appeal and broad reach.
Engaging Content Offering: Providing raw footage for editing offered a unique, hands-on experience with the product.
Global and Multilingual Approach: Localizing the contest maximized global participation and inclusivity.
Targeted Multi-Platform Marketing: Utilizing various social media platforms ensured a wider and more effective reach.
Fostering Community Engagement: The contest format encouraged active participation, fostering a community of young, creative users around Adobe Premiere Pro.

Case Study 3: Michael Kors The Walk Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: Michael Kors

Michael Kors set out to attract a new audience and highlight their signature handbag styles through “The Walk,” an all-encompassing street-style initiative. The key challenge was to incorporate a variety of talents in a way that appealed to a wide-ranging audience, capitalizing on the street-style photography trend and spurring customer engagement using the hashtag #SidewalkSpotted.

This digitally-centered and shoppable campaign featured prominent figures like Solange Knowles and Sofia Richie. It revolved around an engaging online hub displaying both videos and User-Generated Content (UGC), with fans showcasing their Michael Kors ensembles tagged with #SidewalkSpotted. Renowned street-style photographer Tommy Ton captured the campaign, which included a mix of events like “Michael Kors The Walk: Shanghai” to foster interactive audience participation. The campaign remained vibrant by regularly introducing fresh faces and fashion styles by harnessing social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, and tapping into the influencers’ substantial social influence.

Generated 137 million impressions, with 40% from Instagram.
#SidewalkSpotted featured in over 1,000 Instagram posts.
The Shanghai event alone amassed 64 million impressions from brand channels and an additional 23 million from influencers.

Michael Kors’ campaign underscores the power of integrating influencer reach, user-generated content, and global events to enhance brand engagement and refresh content for sustained audience interest.

Related: Branding vs. Marketing Strategy

Case Study 4: Dunkin’ Donuts’ Influencer Marketing Campaign with Liverpool F.C.

Company: Dunkin’ Donuts

Objective/Challenge:

As the Official Coffee Partner of Liverpool F.C. (LFC), Dunkin’ Donuts aimed to amplify awareness of this partnership in the United States, where soccer isn’t as widely followed. The objective was to connect with American LFC fans and showcase the harmonious relationship between Dunkin’ Donuts and LFC.

Under the banner of ‘The Big Thank You,’ a component of the ‘ReDDer Together’ initiative, Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated the union of LFC and their brand. The campaign involved contacting U.S.-based LFC Supporter Clubs to identify the most ardent fan. Kacey Keller, the selected fan, was treated to a surprise live Skype call from LFC players. This personal approach to engaging with dedicated fans demonstrated Dunkin’s deep understanding and appreciation for the LFC fanbase. The narrative of this campaign was broadcast across social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, featuring filming locations at the winner’s home and Anfield, the home stadium of LFC.

The campaign’s video achieved over 1.2 million views on Twitter and Facebook.
It notably exceeded expected performance metrics, recording 855,000 impressions and reaching an audience of 3.3 million

The Dunkin’ Donuts campaign underscores the value of genuine engagement with passionate, niche communities. By acknowledging and celebrating the enthusiasm of LFC fans, Dunkin’ Donuts effectively bridged two distinct brands.

Case Study 5: American Rag’s Influencer Marketing Campaign

Company: American Rag

American Rag, aimed to promote their holiday collection featuring humorous onesies and ugly sweaters. It was available only at Macy’s. The challenge was to turn this seasonal gag gifting into a shareable, socially-driven experience, targeting millennials who prefer online inspiration over traditional mall visits.

Understanding the shift in shopping habits, American Rag partnered with popular influencers like Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, KrispyShorts, and Matt Cutshall. These influencers were selected for their resonance with American Rag’s target audience and their ability to create engaging, humorous content. They crafted comedic vignettes showcasing the collection in their natural, authentic social media feeds. Additionally, American Rag sent oversized holiday gift boxes containing the collection to 50 influencers, comedians, and celebrities, aiming to generate organic, viral content.

Video views – 2,211,416
Engagements – 588,894
Instagram followers – 3% increase

Influencer-driven content was well-received, with enthusiastic audience reactions. The visibility gained from high-profile influencers like Logan Paul and Lele Pons significantly boosted the collection’s popularity, leading to a complete sell-out before the season’s end.

American Rag’s campaign highlights the effectiveness of leveraging influencer marketing with relatable, humorous content to engage millennials. Authenticity in influencer partnerships and creative, shareable content can significantly amplify a brand’s reach and drive product demand, particularly in a digital-first consumer environment.

Related: Motivational Marketing Quotes

These examples underscore the importance of authentic engagement, creative content, and a deep understanding of the target audience. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, influencer marketing remains a crucial strategy for brands looking to connect with consumers in meaningful, memorable ways. By applying the key learnings from these case studies, businesses can craft successful influencer marketing campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive tangible results.

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Influencer Marketing Best Practices

Do you think that influencer marketing is meant only for B2C businesses? While 49% of B2B businesses are still experimenting with influencer marketing, the effectiveness of B2B influencer marketing is undeniable. Influencer marketing programs have been known to generate 11 times higher ROI than other forms of marketing.

Maturity of B2B IM Programs

Integrated program: 4%

Ongoing program: 11%

Campaign-driven: 36%

Experimenting: 49%

One of the best influencers that any B2B business can possibly leverage is their CEO. However, with 60% of CEOs having no social media presence, influencer marketing is difficult to accomplish.

The good news is that influencers can help such businesses overcome this problem. B2B influencer marketing campaigns can help B2B businesses reach customers they might not have found otherwise.

B2B influencer marketing has several other benefits compared to traditional marketing:

Influencers drive greater visibility and credibility for B2B companies. With many B2B companies craving credible recognition, influencer marketing is a powerful means of accomplishing such goals. Because influencers bring their genuine opinions and expertise to the table.
Influencers are powerful storytellers . And they can share their stories in a way that resonates with their target audiences. If you can get influencers to create powerful stories around your brand, you already have a winning strategy.
And of course, apart from credibility and visibility, influencers can also drive conversions

To demonstrate the power of B2B influencer marketing, here are 15 incredible case studies for you to check out.

1. LinkedIn

With over 500 million professionals, including 61 million influencers and 40 million decision makers, LinkedIn is the largest professional network today. Commonly referred to as the dark horse of social media platforms, LinkedIn connects businesses with professionals.

Their platform can help recruiters attract and engage with talent and can also help businesses attract customers. But how are B2B brands using the voice of influencers to grow and expand their reach?

Here’s an example.

Snapshot of Ask the Expert: Shane Atchison

They’ve created a handy 48-page resource called, “ The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn ” in collaboration with B2B influencers. These influencers are various experts in the fields of social media marketing and digital marketing.

Every chapter in this guide ends with an “Ask the Expert” section that contains insightful Q&As with these influencers.

Apart from these 10 experts who’ve shared their insights, LinkedIn also mentions 25 social media experts that readers need to know.

Snapshot of 25 social media experts you need to know

How Does Influencer Marketing Benefit LinkedIn?

The authentic voice of an expert adds credibility to the guide. When they share their personal experiences of using LinkedIn and how it has helped them, it encourages more people to leverage LinkedIn too.
When these influencers share this content on their networks, it helps LinkedIn with greater visibility and to reach new audiences.

SAP is a market leader in enterprise application software with thousands of corporate customers who benefit from their solutions. So how are they leveraging influencer marketing?

SAP influencers are top corporate executives and industry experts. SAP is known to invite its influencers to events which helps them increase social engagement and brand awareness.

In one of their recent events in Germany, SAP invited five influencers to talk about topics like machine learning, data analytics, and IoT. The results of having influencers at the event? The event was uptrending in Germany for two days. And these influencers drove 50% of all of the social media mentions about this event.

For another event in Florida, SAP collaborated with 11 influencers. The influencers reached 80,000-100,000 people online via live video streaming. The influencers went live and answered questions from people who could not attend the event. And, later SAP reused that content on their blog and social media profiles.

3. TopRank Marketing

TopRank Marketing is a digital marketing agency with expertise in content marketing, social media marketing, and influencer marketing. Their blog is deemed to be one of the most influential blogs and is very popular.

So how did TopRank Marketing leverage influencer marketing? To promote their Content Marketing World conference , TopRank brought together 40 influencers in marketing. These influencers shared insightful advice that aspiring content marketers need to know.

The content was curated into ebooks, slides, and blog posts to be distributed at scale.

Using an “Alice in Wonderland” theme, they created a content marketing wonderland. This conference turned out to be immensely successful.

The biggest benefit of leveraging influencers for the event was that Content Marketing World was greatly applauded. In terms of numbers, the campaign generated 217,000 ebook views and 145,000 SlideShare views.

4. American Express

American Express is one of the top companies that invest heavily in their marketing – both B2C and B2B marketing. So when it comes to influencer marketing, you know they won’t be far behind in joining the bandwagon.

AmEx has implemented numerous influencer marketing campaigns for acquiring both corporate clients as well as consumers. So how are they leveraging influencer marketing? Here’s an example.

American Express collaborated with influential bloggers Grace Bonney and Emily Henderson to reach out to small businesses. The campaign was called “ Love My Store .” The objective was to let customers know that even small businesses accept credit cards. And of course, to promote American Express too.

The campaign resulted in the distribution of 400,000 Amex decals and earned 5 million impressions.

#AmexAmbassador is another popular influencer marketing campaign run by American Express. In this campaign, influencers help them attract executives and businesses for their premium services.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Natasha Oakley (@tashoakley)

From partnering with celebrities to micro-influencers , AmEx has left no stone unturned in influencer marketing.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Black Tomato (@blacktomatotravel)

5. Microsoft

When creativity and intelligence meet, miracles happen. And that’s the best way I can summarize Microsoft’s influencer marketing campaign.

Microsoft partnered with National Geographic ’s photography influencers. The campaign’s purpose was to motivate women to participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). It was launched on International Women’s Day 2017.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Geographic Travel (@natgeotravel)

They called it the #MakeWhatsNext campaign and partnered with National Geographic and 30 women scientists and adventurers.

The partnership with the influencers was not just for a single post. These influencers also provided free workshops to interested women in collaboration with Microsoft.

The results of this campaign? Microsoft’s influencer campaign reached 91 million people and earned 3.5 million likes on the same day. The results were amazing and clearly demonstrated the power of influencer partnering.

6. Video Fruit

Video Fruit provides tools and coaching to grow your email lists. Being a startup, they are obviously on the lookout for new customers. But do you know how Video Fruit was able to increase traffic to their website? By leveraging the power of B2B influencer marketing.

Video Fruit’s founder, Bryan Harris, thought about writing a guest post on an influential site. And so, he wrote a guest post on Noah Kagan’s blog, OkDork .

This guest post exposed him to audiences that he wouldn’t have reached on his own. Their comments on the post were something like this.

Not only that. Video Fruit used to receive an average of 285 visitors to their site per day before Bryan wrote this post. On the same day of publishing the guest post, they received 1086 visitors.

And not just visitors. Within two days, 215 people subscribed to his site. So, you can imagine how effective this guest post turned out to be.

The lesson to be learned here? The right influencer can give you incredible results from influencer marketing.

IBM has always been an innovator in its field. And they’ve continued being so in their B2B influencer marketing as well. IBM is one of the pioneers in leveraging employees as influencers in its marketing campaigns.

Employees are obviously the ones who know the products of a business best. While some employees are actively engaged in creating these products, others are engaged in selling them. So if you can get them to talk about your products on social media, imagine how many people you can influence.

IBM enables their employees to promote their products on social media by providing them the content for posting.

Program Director, Digital and Social at IBM, Amber Armstrong , spoke about how they encourage custom tweets from employees at the SXSW event.

8. Salesforce

We’ve seen how IBM has leveraged employee advocacy in its B2B influencer marketing program. However, another market leader, Salesforce , shows us how the CEO is the finest influencer a company can leverage.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is welcomed by Lynne and Marc @Benioff following the @Salesforce announcement of an investment that will create thousands of jobs in Canada. pic.twitter.com/onpI9yEqy3 — CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) February 8, 2018

Marc Benioff, the CEO and founder of Salesforce, is a well-known personality in his niche. Naturally, his words mean quite a lot. He also has more than 970K followers on Twitter.

You won’t just find him promoting Salesforce on Twitter. Instead, he also shares his views on equality and leadership. His popularity, expertise, and influence levels have made him the most valuable influencer for Salesforce .

What can we learn from this example? If a CEO is able to make his presence felt on social media, there’s nothing like it. This can be a powerful B2B influencer marketing strategy that can help your company grow by leaps and bounds.

If you’ve been searching on Google about SEO, content, or social media-related topics, you must have stumbled upon HubSpot . A software company that helps businesses with their marketing and sales, they’re quite well-known for their content too.

Now, you may not have noticed but HubSpot has been leveraging influencer marketing for ages. They’ve partnered with various influencers in sales and marketing niches. These influencers contribute to HubSpot’s blog and talk about their experiences and expertise.

Because they are experts in their fields, their content is valuable and insightful for readers.

And in turn, these influencers benefit from the huge HubSpot’s huge readership.

How does partnering with micro-influencers help HubSpot?

When influencers share these posts with their networks, HubSpot can reach a wider audience and potential customers.
Influencers bring in fresh content that helps Hubspot continue to engage its audiences.
And of course, they add more credibility to the HubSpot blog.

We’ve spoken about employees being leveraged as influencers. But what about customers? Can they be influencers too? Absolutely. Your customers, too, can be greatly influential because they’ve experienced your products or services first-hand. So, their reviews are not only credible but essential for potential customers.

So, how did Okta leverage its customers for influencer marketing? They got their customers to speak about their experiences using Okta’s products. The CIO of 20th Century Fox , for example, spoke about their success story.

He spoke about the benefits of using Okta and how it has reduced the workload from days to minutes. And how they could integrate all the features for their employees seamlessly.

Okta also shared success stories from clients like Adob e and News Corp. These stories included statistics, figures, and real examples of how Okta has helped them. These testimonials were also converted into blog posts and shared on Okta’s social channels.

So what does this teach us? Leveraging customers for influencer marketing can be great for your business. The benefits of customer advocacy are:

Testimonials from customers boost your credibility, so your prospects are ready to invest their money in your products.
Having customers as your influencers is way more cost-effective than hiring industry influencers.
And if your customers are industry leaders, sharing their success stories is bound to get you more conversions.

11. InspireBeats

InspireBeats helps startups as well as bigger companies with lead generation. They provide outbound email services to their clients.

InspireBeats wanted to use influencer marketing to drive more leads to their site and increase conversions. They had a simple goal–to create ten guest blogs, ten podcasts, and ten blog features with influencers every month. They found bloggers in their niche and connected with them for this campaign.

By bringing influencers to their podcasts and blog posts, they delivered greater value through authentic content. They targeted podcasts that worked well. For example, the ones with more than 3000 listeners on each episode.

So how did B2B influencer marketing benefit InspireBeats? It increased the number of leads to their website substantially. Apart from that, influencers helped them build credibility among industry leaders. InspireBeats earned B2B leads worth $12 million with their marketing efforts.

We’ve always known PwC as one of the big four auditing firms providing services to corporations across the globe. However, very few people were aware of the role they’ve been playing in the Oscars.

So for the Oscars in 2016, PwC incorporated influencer marketing in one of the coolest ways possible. Their objective was to create brand awareness about their association with the Academy Awards. And to engage with millennials.

How did they do it? Their influencer was a briefcase . Yes, quite literally. They used an actual briefcase that carried the Oscar ballot nominations. The briefcase was promoted like a celebrity on social media by PwC.

The results of the campaign?

700 Snapchat story views in the first two weeks
126K Instagram impressions and 406 Instagram mentions
12.3M Twitter impressions

Given the potential of millennials as a customer segment, most B2B businesses are trying to get closer to them. HP , too, had this objective in mind. And so they leveraged influencer marketing for this purpose with a series of influencer videos .

How did they do it? HP partnered with Olympic medalist and influencer Samantha Peszek . They partnered with an influencer marketing agency, Collectively, to create the video. And the video showed Samantha using the HP Spectre x360 notebook while practicing her gymnastic routine.

They also partnered with New York City Ballet dancer Sara Mearns and D.J. LCAW to promote the HP x2 detachable PC.

So what were the benefits of this influencer marketing campaign? HP’s influencer campaign had an engagement rate seven times higher than the average influencer campaign. They also benefited from numerous shares on social media.

One of the best things that HP did with its influencer marketing campaign was to treat its influencers as partners. They also focused on storytelling in their videos to make them more appealing to millennials.

Cisco is a market leader in B2B communications and networking technology. They took an innovative approach to influencer marketing and created the Cisco Champions program .

This program gave IT professionals a chance to talk about their expertise and showcase their knowledge of Cisco products. Cisco did quite a lot to build this community of advocates. Here are some of them:

They started #CiscoChat on Twitter.

Bring the power of the IT network to the #IoT edge. See the latest Cisco IoT portfolio additions connecting industrial & operational assets & environments at scale. Experts will be taking your questions live as we discuss how to Unite Your Edge. #CiscoChat https://t.co/CETpBDkV0x — Cisco IoT (@CiscoIoT) June 29, 2021

Cisco Champions were featured in Cisco’s blog posts.
They started an unplugged video series with the Champions.
These influencers were also featured in Cisco’s weekly podcasts
Influencers were given exclusive access to Cisco’s products.
Cisco Champions were also invited to exclusive events.

So what were the results of this influencer marketing campaign? Cisco received over 8000 social media mentions and 55,000 tweets about its brand. The blog posts also received more than 44,000 hits.

The Cisco Champions program turned out to be a huge success. Even today, it continues to develop as a community of expert professionals.

Aegora is a professional marketplace for finding jobs and talent. Their founders were freelancers who were aware of the drawbacks of traditional freelance marketplaces. As part of their influencer marketing program, they reached out to entrepreneurs, freelancers, and marketers who were also aware of this.

Their idea was to get these influencers to join their first adopter group, try the product, and share their honest reviews. They approached anyone having knowledge in this field who shared their vision.

The results of Aegora’s influencer marketing campaign? In about 90 days, Aegora received 50 0 sign-ups for their program. Some of the early adopters became their key influencers who helped them to promote their products further.

Final Thoughts

There’s a lot that you can learn from these 15 amazing B2B influencer marketing examples. What’s most noticeable is that every company has a different way of implementing influencer marketing. There are no set rules or industry standards. So you can be any creative as you want to be.

B2B influencer marketing is more about creating continual engagement through content. The focus is on generating value that will build long-term relationships with your audiences.

I hope these examples will help you get some ideas for implementing influencer marketing for your B2B company. However, ensure you avoid the common influencer marketing mistakes while you’re at it.

B2B influencer marketing focuses more on building valuable community, content, and relationships. And it is gaining more popularity with time. We’re not far from the time when businesses might entirely replace traditional marketing with influencer marketing .

Updated: June 2023

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Shiseido: Influencer Marketing Case Study

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The Opportunity

The past few years have been a litmus test for the beauty industry. Brand teams had to use their skills in data analysis, experimentation, and strategic execution to find focus and adapt to challenges posed by the pandemic.

Shiseido was able to defy those odds, and even saw a growth in influencer marketing success in 2020. The key? The team found a way to translate key data and performance insights into strategic areas of focus.

To carry that momentum through 2021, Shiseido focused on building visibility, impact, and trust amongst key influencer populations and audiences. Here’s how they did it with the support of Traackr.

The Shiseido team uses Traackr’s VIT Score as a framework for measuring the impact of content generated from its influencer marketing program. The VIT score is broken down into three categories that the Shiseido team tracks and actively sets goals against: visibility (reach of content), impact (engagement generated), and brand trust (quality of content on brand image).

“VIT was developed to accurately measure influencer marketing performance. An increase in VIT has been correlated with improvement in key performance indicators including engagement on owned social channels, website traffic and organic search.” — Evy Lyons, CMO of Traackr

Shiseido’s overarching goal was to grow its overall VIT score in 2021, with an eye on continuing its success in the trust category, and improving its performance in the visibility and impact categories.

To achieve that goal, the brand team set specific objectives for 2021:

Prioritize video content
Execute experiential moments and events
Leverage on-brand VIP talent

The Strategy

As a first step, Shiseido used Traackr’s platform and professional services team to review the strengths and weaknesses of their 2020 strategy.

“We built our 2021 strategy by using Traackr to identify what drove the most VIT for us – so we knew what to keep doing – and for our competitors – so we could identify what new things to experiment with. Having that clear and actionable insight really helped us hyper- focus our team.” — Erin Kelly, director of integrated communications and influencer engagement at Shiseido

Based on that analysis, the Shiseido team created specific campaigns for each of their objectives.

Objective: Prioritize Video Content

Using Traackr, the team evaluated content performance from 2020 and discovered that video content contributed significantly to the “visibility” portion of Shiseido’s VIT score. Based on that insight, the team shifted its 2021 strategy to involve more sponsored video content and include platforms like TikTok. Elements of success included:

Creative freedom

The brand recognized the necessity for creative freedom - especially in video content - so it encouraged influencers to create content in their tone, style, and wheelhouse.

Authentic product reviews

The Shiseido team leaned into authenticity, asking creators to speak with their unique voices when promoting products. Creative briefs focused on general asks like highlighting product texture, filming close-ups of packaging, and showing product application.

Hyper-focused influencer discovery

The Shiseido team felt it was critical to take a nuanced approach to influencer discovery. They added to their pre-existing influencer list by identifying folks who had high performing video content in relevant categories.

Objective: Execute experiential moments and events

Experiential moments had proven successful for Shiseido in the past. However, influencer events have become so popular that the team knew it was important to go big in 2021.

In July 2021 Shiseido hosted its third annual Malibu Beach House Event, with the goal of impacting every aspect (visibility, impact, and trust) of its VIT score.

In collaboration with long time PR Agency partner, Innovative PR (IPR) and founder Jennifer Betts, the brand activated a highly curated set of 165 influencers and press to participate in multiple experiences across 3 days. Elements of success included:

Influencer selection

Finding and partnering with the right influencers was key to success. Shiseido used Traackr to shortlist high-performing influencers that were loyal (paid and organic) and aligned with the brand. Getting this right was extra important because the influencers had bigger roles than previous years!

Tailored influencer-led experiences

Each experience was hosted by a VIP influencer and centered around a purpose-driven theme. For example, Adrian Grenier and Kat McPhee are known for their work in environmental activism so they hosted Shiseido’s Blue Project Beach Cleanup. Meanwhile, Rosie Acosta (a popular meditation instructor) led a guided meditation class that incorporated the power of scent using Shiseido’s Ultimune product. Shiseido brought on OCNY Event Production to produce the events, led by former Director of Production Operations, Samantha Cremona and Robbie Burns .

Platform experimentation

For this event, the Shiseido team also activated new, high-performing TikTok influencers based on recommendations from Traackr. For example, Traackr recommended inviting TikTok influencer, Tinx (@ itsmetinx), because she had a proven track record of successful campaigns with other premium skincare brands.

Objective: Leveraging on-brand VIP talent

The Shiseido team excels at analyzing what’s working for them and implementing new strategies to take advantage of opportunities for growth. In this case, they used Traackr to discover that VIP influencers earn the brand a lot of VIT. In 2020, the team wanted to expand their VIP partner roster, with the aim of making each selection as impactful as possible.

Enter: Hunter Schafer

In August 2020, the brand signed Hunter Schafer on as a category ambassador for makeup. At the time Hunter was still a macro influencer (858K followers), but based on a growth analysis with Traackr, Shiseido’s team knew she was a rising star. The team also loved Hunter’s bold red carpet looks and audience’s proclivity towards makeup artistry.

Fast forward to 2021, and Hunter is now a VIP influencer. Unlike other influencers of her size (who often lose momentum after a year or two) she is still seeing buzz in traditional media outlets and her social media following and engagement rates are continuing to rise. Shiseido chose to expand their partnership, making Hunter a full brand ambassador. Pillars of success:

Analytical approach to partnerships

In 2020 and 2021 the team started using an analytical approach for selecting VIP partners. The team used Traackr to refine their selection based on attributes including brand affinity, audience demographics, and alignment of content/audience with brand themes and imagery. This strategy helped them identify Hunter as a potential partner.

Upleveled creativity with makeup artists

Luxury brands and Gen Z influencer collaborations are often called out for being forced and hyper branded — Hunter Schafer and Shiseido are an exception. The Shiseido team made sure to partner closely with Hunter and her makeup artists, looking to both for creative direction. Shiseido’s collaborations with Hunter have been praised for being authentic, interesting, and continually evolving to feel “more like Hunter” over time. In fact, the highest performing collaboration to date was featuring Hunter’s 2021 Met Gala look, which earned a 47% engagement rate!

How Shiseido Uses Traackr

Influencer Discovery
Influencer Vetting
Campaign Management & Reporting
VIT Measurement
Team of Experts for Insights & Advice

“We haven’t had just one moment of success with Traackr, but rather many moments that have culminated in a program that continues to succeed. The Traackr team and platform have been instrumental in helping us build a data-led strategy.” — Erin Kelly, director of integrated communications and influencer engagement at Shiseido

The Results

For its overarching goal, the Shiseido team truly hit it out of the park. It was able to increase its VIT by 54% in 2021, placing it in the 93rd percentile in regards to year-over-year growth.

Shiseido’s 2021 VIT success was absolutely driven by its team’s ability to hyper-focus on a few specific objectives. Here are those objectives and how the team performed on each:

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Explore Influencer Marketing Case Studies for Fashion Brands

In the world of advertising, influencer marketing has become a significant industry, with spending in the U.S. reaching nearly $5 billion in 2022 and expected to grow to $7.14 billion by 2024. As per current trends, in 2023, it is expected to reach $6.16 billion. This strategy has become popular among brands aiming to drive sales and improve brand awareness. Fashion brands , in particular, have taken advantage of influencer marketing to create a buzz around their products and connect with their target audience.

Several effective influencer marketing case studies aim to promote fashion brands . These case studies illustrate how brands can build communities , generate buzz , and drive sales through this strategy. Moreover, these trends are creating an impact by preferring nano and micro-influencers due to their lower rates and higher likelihood of accepting free products.

In this article, we will explore different case studies of successful influencer marketing campaigns of fashion brands . Additionally, we will examine how the industry is shifting towards first-party data and how long-term partnerships with authentic content creators can benefit brands’ campaigns.

Keep reading to learn how influencer marketing can help promote fashion brands and optimize their marketing strategies.

The Rise of Influencer Rates

One trend in influencer marketing is the rise in influencer rates . As influencer marketing continues to grow, rates have been increasing. In 2022, spending on influencer marketing reached $4.99 billion, and it is expected to reach $7.14 billion by 2024. Brands have been prioritizing nano and micro influencers over macro and celebrity influencers, as smaller creators often have lower rates and are more likely to accept free products. This shift allows beginner and enterprise brands to partner with influencers without breaking the bank.

Another factor contributing to the shift towards smaller creators is the industry’s move from relying on third-party data to first-party data . Privacy updates and the phaseout of third-party cookies have resulted in the need for long-term partnerships with authentic content creators and accurate metrics. First-party data allows brands to gather data directly from their customers and utilize this data in their influencer marketing campaigns.

This shift towards smaller creators and first-party data highlights the effectiveness and importance of influencer marketing in driving sales and improving brand awareness. Brands that are able to adapt to these changes in the industry are likely to see success in their influencer marketing efforts.

Shift from Third-Party to First-Party Data

Another trend in the influencer marketing industry is the shift from relying on third-party data to utilizing first-party data for campaign optimization. As privacy concerns have heightened and platforms like Google have phased out third-party cookies, marketers must turn to alternative methods for discovering brand-aligned creators.

First-party data refers to the data collected directly from a brand’s audience, including customer interactions and behaviors on owned channels like websites and social media. This transition offers several benefits, including more accurate metrics for selecting brand partners and the ability to establish long-term partnerships with authentic content creators .

Long-term partnerships with content creators can generate significant value for brands. These partnerships allow brands to build a community of loyal followers and create a consistent brand narrative across channels. Additionally, these partnerships provide content creators with the opportunity to better understand the brand and develop more authentic and engaging content for their audiences.

When using first-party data, brands can identify creators who align well with their specific audience and brand values. This leads to more effective campaigns, as the creators’ followers are more likely to engage with the content and potentially convert into customers.

Overall, the shift towards first-party data emphasizes the importance of establishing long-term partnerships with authentic content creators. This method allows brands to optimize their influencer campaigns and build a community of engaged followers, ultimately driving sales and brand awareness.

ICHIGO Inc.: Building a Community of Influential Fans

ICHIGO Inc. : This fashion startup from Tokyo, Japan, offers a subscription box service focusing on Japanese culture through candy, snacks, and kawaii merchandise. The company has successfully built a strong community of influential fans through its highly effective influencer marketing program.

By partnering with high-performing creators who are genuinely passionate about Japanese culture, ICHIGO Inc. has been able to nurture authentic relationships and engage audiences more effectively. The program supports creators of all sizes, primarily on YouTube, and pays them a flat rate or commission based on conversions.

“Our goal was to recruit and retain creators who appreciated the brand and our mission to celebrate Japanese culture,” says ICHIGO Inc.’s founder.

With the help of intuitive affiliate marketing features, the company was able to increase its creator roster by 30x, and execute multiple campaigns each month. The program has been instrumental in driving sales, building brand awareness and creating loyal brand advocates.

ICHIGO Inc. has relied on GRIN, an all-in-one Creator Management platform, to manage its influencer program effectively. With GRIN, the company has been able to streamline its processes, track performance and optimize influencer campaigns according to first-party data. The platform has helped ICHIGO Inc. to establish long-term partnerships with authentic content creators, and achieve better ROI on its influencer marketing efforts.

Through its innovative approach to influencer marketing, ICHIGO Inc. has redefined the way fashion startups can leverage content creators to build a community of influential fans.

Branch Basics: Scaling Through Affiliate Partnerships

Branch Basics is a direct-to-consumer brand that provides non-toxic cleaning products . Their goal was to scale their influencer program through affiliate partnerships and building an army of brand champions. They executed their influencer marketing program in two tiers – affiliate and paid.

Affiliates worked on a commission basis and received links to share with their followers. When an affiliate performed well, Branch Basics offered them a paid partnership. The company sent free products to potential creators to ensure they genuinely liked them and could create authentic content.

The company utilized GRIN’s affiliate marketing features to increase its creator roster, execute multiple campaigns each month, and maintain a large creator roster that loves the brand. With the help of GRIN’s creator management platform , the company was able to effectively manage and optimize their influencer campaigns, resulting in increased awareness and sales.

Inkbox: Driving Awareness Through Gifting Campaign

Inkbox : This Toronto-based company offers semi-permanent tattoos and accessories. In October 2022, the company ran a gifting campaign to drive awareness and build positive sentiment for the launch of its extended Freehand Tattoo Marker collection . The purpose of the campaign was to send the products to 200 creators, with a focus on those who had used Inkbox before and enjoyed the experience. By doing this, the goal was to have the creators fall in love with the new suite of Freehand Tattoo products.

Inkbox also partnered with influencers of all sizes, paying them a flat rate or commission based on the number of conversions they brought in. The campaign aimed to tap into the influencers’ audiences and engage potential fans.

With the help of GRIN, a creator management platform, Inkbox was able to execute multiple campaigns and report on their success. The company experienced significant growth in its creator roster and was able to recruit and retain creators who had a deep appreciation for Japanese culture and the Inkbox brand.

The gifting campaign was successful due to Inkbox’s refined targeting . The company ensured that the products were sent to creators who had already expressed an interest in Inkbox and its products, increasing the likelihood of positive reviews and social media posts. By partnering with both nano and micro-influencers, Inkbox maximized its reach and was able to engage with audiences on a more personal level.

Overall, Inkbox’s gifting campaign was a great example of how to effectively use influencer marketing to drive awareness and build sentiment for a product launch. By utilizing GRIN’s creator management platform and focusing on refined targeting , Inkbox was able to execute multiple campaigns and report on their success, resulting in significant growth for the company.

Illustrating the Effectiveness of Influencer Marketing for Fashion Brands

These case studies illustrate the effectiveness of influencer marketing for fashion brands in generating buzz, building communities, and driving sales. With spending on influencer marketing in the U.S. reaching nearly $5 billion this year, fashion brands are discovering the cost-effective benefits of partnering with smaller creators like nano and micro influencers who are often more willing to accept free products in exchange for promotion.

Brands are also shifting towards using first-party data instead of third-party cookies for tracking and targeting purposes. This allows for more refined and customized influencer campaigns that target specific audiences, resulting in increased engagement and conversion rates.

ICHIGO Inc., Branch Basics , and Inkbox are just a few examples of fashion brands that have successfully leveraged influencer marketing to build communities and drive sales .

ICHIGO Inc., a Tokyo-based startup, used a strong community of creators and an affiliate marketing program to increase brand awareness and execute successful campaigns. Branch Basics, a provider of non-toxic cleaning products , implemented an influencer program with both affiliate and paid partnerships, resulting in a large creator roster and increased brand exposure. Inkbox, a Toronto-based tattoo company, ran a gifting campaign with creators who had previously used and enjoyed their products, which helped build awareness for a new product collection.

These examples demonstrate the diverse ways in which influencer marketing can be successful across various industries. For instance, fast-food chains like Jack in the Box have used analytics to refine their influencer programs and target specific audiences, resulting in increased sales and overall engagement. HubSpot also demonstrated the effectiveness of influencer marketing by creating a roundup post with contributions from sales experts, resulting in increased website traffic and engagement.

Ultimately, these case studies highlight the importance of strategic partnerships with authentic content creators. By leveraging long-term relationships and using first-party data, fashion brands can optimize their influencer campaigns and generate buzz , build communities , and drive sales.

Leveraging Long-Term Partnerships and First-Party Data

By leveraging the power of content creators, brands can generate buzz , build communities, and drive sales. Influencer marketing has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with brands using it as a cost-efficient way to improve brand awareness and increase sales. As the industry shifts from third-party data to first-party data, it highlights the importance of establishing long-term partnerships with authentic content creators.

With the phasing out of third-party cookies, marketers are transitioning to first-party data to have more accurate metrics when selecting the perfect brand partner. By focusing on long-term partnerships, brands can build a community of influential fans who are more likely to promote products with genuine enthusiasm.

Several influencer marketing case studies showcase the benefits of leveraging long-term partnerships and first-party data. For example, ICHIGO Inc. used an affiliate marketing program to generate buzz for its subscription box service , which increased its creator roster by 30 times. Branch Basics scaled its influencer program by working with both affiliates and paid partners and sending prospects free products to ensure authentic content. Inkbox ran a successful gifting campaign to drive awareness and build positive sentiment, targeting creators who had used their products before. Jack in the Box used data analysis to refine its influencer program and engage with its audience, focusing on sports-related content. HubSpot created a successful round-up post by collaborating with influencers and tracking the traffic generated from their promotions.

By leveraging long-term partnerships and first-party data, brands can optimize their influencer campaigns and achieve better results. Authentic content creators who have established a relationship with the brand are more likely to produce high-quality content that genuinely resonates with their audience. This approach ultimately generates more buzz, builds a stronger community, and drives more sales.

In summary, influencer marketing for fashion brands has become a significant industry with spending expected to reach $7.14 billion by 2024. Brands are adapting to the rise in influencer rates by prioritizing working with nano and micro influencers , and the industry is shifting towards first-party data. These trends have led to successful campaigns, such as ICHIGO Inc.’s affiliate program that increased its creator roster by 30x in one year, as well as Branch Basics’ two-tiered influencer program that utilized affiliate and paid partnerships. Additionally, Inkbox’s gifting campaign drove awareness for their new product collection.

These case studies highlight the effectiveness of analytics in refining campaigns and the power of co-creating content with influencers to generate massive website traffic. They provide valuable insights for marketers, business owners, and entrepreneurs looking to optimize their influencer marketing strategies. By leveraging long-term partnerships with authentic content creators and utilizing first-party data, fashion brands can drive sales, build communities, and generate buzz.

Successful Case Studies

The success of several influencer marketing case studies highlights the potential for brands to see significant results. ICHIGO Inc. increased its creator roster by 30x, while Branch Basics scaled its program to include 100-150 affiliates per month. Inkbox’s gifting campaign drove awareness for its product launch, and several fashion brands have successfully built communities and driven sales through long-term partnerships with authentic content creators.

The Power of Influencer Marketing

Overall, influencer marketing offers a powerful way for brands to engage with their target audience. By partnering with influencers who resonate with their audience, brands can generate buzz, build communities, and drive sales. As the industry continues to evolve, it’s important for marketers to stay up-to-date on trends and strategies to optimize their influencer campaigns.

Source Links

https://grin.co/blog/incredible-influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://www.theshelf.com/influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://nealschaffer.com/influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://izea.com/resources/influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://www.businessofapps.com/marketplace/influencer-marketing/research/influencer-marketing-case-studies/
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/marketing-pr/the-state-of-fashion-2023-report-digital-marketing-privacy-customer-acquisition-retention/
https://grin.co/blog/first-party-data-vs-third-party-data/
https://www.businessoffashion.com/case-studies/marketing-pr/fashion-beauty-brand-influencer-marketing-strategy-guide/
https://grin.co/case-studies/ichigo-inc-case-study/
https://grin.co/case-studies/branch-basics-influencer-marketing-case-study/
https://branchbasics.com/pages/partnerships
https://grin.co/case-studies/inkbox-influencer-marketing-case-study/
https://www.affable.ai/blog/why-a-fashion-brand-must-use-influencer-marketing
https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2021/making-personal-connections-how-brands-are-leveraging-social-influencers/
https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/pivoting-to-long-term-influencer-partnerships-in-2022
https://sleeknote.com/advanced/best-practices/the-best-influencer-marketing-strategy-for-fashion-brands
https://shanebarker.com/blog/influencer-marketing-case-studies/

Influencer marketing trends across industries

Written by by Jamia Kenan

Published on May 9, 2024

Reading time 7 minutes

When singer Shay Lia showed off her vivacious dance moves during Kaytrandas’ iconic Boiler Room set in 2013, she dazzled audiences and quickly became a meme. Over a decade later, people still reminisce and rave over the viral moment.

A post talking about the reveal of "Boiler Room Girl." The post features clips of Shay Lia dancing at the Boiler Room circa 2013 and modern day.

As the creator economy grows, today’s landscape resembles a dance floor. The brands are the DJs, guiding the tone of the party with music (products) while consumers are the crowd. Then, there’s influencers—the dancers commanding the room with their magnetic energy and vibrant moves.

There’s no denying the impact of influencers on social media, culture and commerce. Trendsetters and culture drivers like Lia have made influencer marketing an essential piece to social media strategies. Brands will need to be aware of the dance floor if they want to disrupt the music in a way that resonates with influencers and consumers alike.

We’ll explore five influencer marketing trends shaping the social media landscape in 2024. We’ll also share trends in influencer marketing by industry to help you benchmark your brand.

Influencer marketing trends shaping 2024

Let’s explore five influencer marketing trends, based on data from The Influencer Marketing Report and other sources. For this report, we conducted a survey with over 2,000 consumers and 300 influencers to get perspective on what makes influencer marketing successful and predict how the landscape will evolve.

1. Consumers are more discerning

One of the top influencer marketing trends surrounds a popular buzzword marketers hear all the time: authenticity. But authenticity isn’t enough to grab the attention of audiences, especially younger consumers.

Our report shows only 35% of Gen Z consumers rank authenticity as a top trait they care about when it comes to influencers. While older generations, like Millennials, seek out influencers who align with their personal values, younger consumers are more discerning. They are digitally savvy, spotting inauthentic endorsements and partnerships a mile away. They aren’t loyal to brands. Instead, they value personal recommendations and trending products from influencers that entertain or interest them.

2. Purchase decisions are evolving

Goodbye window shopping and in-person demo—social commerce functionality and in-app shopping are here to stay. Influencer marketing has transformed how we shop. According to our Influencer Marketing Report, nearly half of all consumers (49%), make purchases once a month because of influencer posts.

Content like hauls, GRWM and live reviews, give consumers a chance to learn and engage in community while considering products or services their favorite influencers are raving about. Nearly half of consumers trust influencers as much as they did six months ago, and another 30% trust them even more.

3. Influencers and brands seek stronger, long-term partnerships

Influencers understand their impact on the culture of social media and purchase decisions. They don’t want to simply collaborate with any brand. Influencers are leaning into their agency and use discretion when considering new influencer-brand partnerships .

Influencer marketing report data shows a majority (93%) agree they consider the quality of a brand’s existing social content when determining if they want to collaborate, followed by 63% who work with brands with shared values and 59% who work with partners with defined budgets and payment structures.

Brands using B2C and B2B influencer marketing benefit from strong, long-term influencer relationships because it enables them to nurture organic communities, reach new audiences and build brand awareness and trust.

4. Niche influencer marketing trends continue to grow

Millions of followers doesn’t equate to a successful influencer marketing campaign or record sales. Micro and nano-influencers with loyal followings have the ability to persuade and funnel consumers throughout the buyer journey.

Sprout’s data reflects this influencer marketing trend. Our Q1 2024 Influencer Marketing Survey found 40% of consumers say they prefer to interact with micro and nano-influencers. Influencers are experts in their niche or industry, making them prime partners for vertical markets like higher education or healthcare.

5. Diversity and representation are more important than ever

Brand diversity in social media is non-negotiable. Today’s top influencers are diverse, coming from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and identities. Consumers, content creators and influencers alike take note of how brands approach diversity and representation. Younger generations take note of inclusive marketing when considering their next purchase. In a Deloitte report , respondents 18-25 years old took greater notice of representative advertising at the time of purchase.

Communities also take notice when brands only feature diverse voices during cultural heritage or identity celebrations like Pride Month. Instead, you need to incorporate DEI year-round to demonstrate their efforts aren’t rooted in performative allyship or activism. Brands should also consider how they want to honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month , Black History Month , National Hispanic Heritage Month and other calendar milestones that are important to underrepresented communities to craft an inclusive strategy. Brands who are intentional when collaborating with influencers will resonate with diverse audiences.

It’s no surprise that influencer marketing trends have evolved across fields and social networks. Each sector has its strengths and challenges. Brands in fitness, beauty and fashion have led the charge on social media for over a decade while other sectors like higher education are still experimenting.

Let’s explore some of the top trends in influencer marketing across industries, based on data from The 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report . The benchmarks data was sourced from Tagger by Sprout Social , analyzing posts from more than 10 million vetted social profiles from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, X (formerly known Twitter) and YouTube between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.

An infographic from The 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report showing consumers' favorite influencer marketing topics by demographic. Food and drink, beauty, fashion, music and DIY/crafting are the most popular topics across consumers.

Food and drink influencer trends

Food and beverage is a top influencer content category across all consumers. Consumers enjoy posts featuring #aesthetic photos of meals, homemade goodies, mocktail recipes, restaurant reviews and more. The average engagement rate is 1.19%, with Instagram and TikTok having the highest engagement rates.

Nutella regularly collaborates with food influencers and creators to showcase how people enjoy the hazelnut spread. For example, for Nutella’s brand collaboration with Krusteaz, the Dashleys shared a recipe for Mother’s Day pancakes:

Key takeaway: Food is a universal language. Industry brands benefit from engaging and activating influencers with food-forward content that can showcase their food or beverages in a new way by connection to familial experiences.

Beauty influencer trends

Beauty is the second most popular topic category across all consumers. It’s also a top category for women across generations. The beauty industry has been at the forefront of social media for decades and consumers remain hungry for tutorials, new aesthetics and hauls. In 2023, there were 25.8 million beauty influencers posts that had an average engagement rate of 1.95%. TikTok and Instagram were the most popular networks.

Fenty Beauty was one of the most popular beauty brands mentioned by influencers in 2023. The beauty brand features content from influencers that feels genuine to their style and personality. For instance, to promote a new foundation the brand showed influencer Monet McMichael with the product at the Soft Lit Luminous Foundation launch party. McMichael is known for her unique editing style and flawless skin so showing her using it at a brand event resonates.

A TikTok video featuring influencer Monet McMichael at the Soft Lit Luminous Foundation launch party.

Key takeaway: Beauty brands can continue to highlight products by working with influencers through social media posts and event activations.

Fashion influencer trends

Among all consumers, fashion is the third most popular influencer topic for consumers. Women, Gen Z and Millennials are the top demographics interested in fashion influencer marketing. Gen Z consumers look to influencers for fashion inspiration, catapulting the category to one of the most viewed on social media. In 2023, influencer fashion content reached 1.21 trillion impressions. Instagram is the most popular channel for fashion content, followed by TikTok. However, the average engagement rate for TikTok (2.26%) is higher than the industry average (1.56%), making it a favorable network for the fashion space.

Finesse is an excellent model for brands who champion representation, target Gen Z and focus on building strong partnerships. Along with mega and macro influencers, Finesse connects with micro and nano influencers across networks. The AI-generated fashion house consistently partners with influencers within the LGBTQIIA+ and BIPOC communities. Many of these influencers wear multiple hats, working as models, fashion commentators, stylists and other aligned roles.

On Instagram, you’ll find influencers adorned in Finesse attire like model Jade Buzangu, shown below:

A post of model and influencer Jade Buzangu on Finesse's Instagram page. Finesse interacts with users in the comment section.

Instagram is popular globally for content, especially fashion influencers in the United Kingdom . Our Q1 2024 Pulse Survey found UK consumers are most likely to engage on Instagram at a higher rate than participants in the US (38% UK vs. 27% US).

Key takeaway: Fashion brands should use visual-forward networks like Instagram and TikTok to showcase their collections, engage younger, diverse consumers and foster community with niche audiences.

Sports and fitness influencer trends

From workout gear recommendations to form tips and athlete interviews, sports and fitness influencer content is a fan favorite across generations. Sports ranks highly for Gen X while Gen Z and Millennials are more interested in fitness content. Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter) are the most frequented networks. Average engagement rate for this category is 1.6%, but TikTok engagement surpasses it with 2.51%.

The WNBA takes advantage of the athlete-turned-influencer phenomenon by connecting with brands who support women’s health and wellness. To celebrate the WNBA’s partnership with Opill®, the first non prescription contraceptive, the league posted several social posts featuring Betnijah Laney, point guard for the New York Liberty.

Key takeaway: The sports and fitness industries can use professional athletes, trainers and other related careers to support brand partnerships, especially those that support the organization’s overall goals and values.

Travel influencer trends

What better way to enter your wanderlust dream than through social media? There were over 6.5 million travel influencer posts in 2023. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube enable consumers to immerse themselves in influencer destinations and adventures because they can get a peek inside the best accommodations, restaurants and excursions.

Sonder, an award-winning hospitality platform, featured several travel influencers for their #ABetterWayToStay campaign on Instagram. In the Reel below, Sarah Witpeerd encourages viewers to embrace intentional travel by slowing down and enjoying simple moments like brewing a cup of tea:

A sponsored post from Sarah Witpeerd for Sonder. She encourages viewers to embrace slowing down by enjoying simple moments like brewing tea.

Witpeerd is a lifestyle blogger and creator known for travel, coffee and “slow city life,” so she’s a natural partner for Sonder, a platform that aims to provide immaculate, personalized hospitality experiences.

Key takeaways : Travel and hospitality industries work with influencers to highlight unique product offerings while alluding to customer experience through strong storytelling and eye-catching imagery.

Create impactful influencer marketing strategies to win 2024

Consumers know they’re being sold to and seek influencer content resonates with them. Building stronger partnerships, leveraging niche communities and championing diversity are relevant trends for brands looking to craft the ultimate playlist for the crowd to enjoy.

Read the full 2024 influencer marketing report see other influencer marketing trends and learn what it takes to create meaningful influencer marketing strategies.

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[REPORT] Measuring ROI: The #1 Influencer Marketing Challenge For 49% Of Brands (And How To Solve It)

A full-service marketing agency for international premium and luxury brands, WHITE Communications, has released a report titled “Influencer Marketing Report 2024.”

The research aggregates data and best practices from WHITE Communications’ 30 years of experience running luxury influencer campaigns for brands like Pepe Jeans, Steve Madden, Silhouette Eyewear, Eisenberg Paris, and LuisaViaRoma. Case studies demonstrate how strategic influencer programs increased sales, brand awareness, and cultural relevance.

The report surveyed companies in industries such as fashion, jewelry, automotive, and beauty to understand the biggest obstacles they face with influencer campaigns. Nearly half of companies cite measuring return on investment (ROI) and proving branding impact as their biggest challenge with influencer marketing.

“If there is no coupon code for direct sales measurement, the campaign results are often overlooked or evaluated only after the campaign has already concluded,” the report states. “This leaves a lot of potential for campaign optimization untapped.”

To address this, WHITE advises brands to establish clear KPIs (key performance indicators) before launching influencer campaigns. Metrics like total reach, content interactions, click-through rates, user-generated content, and growth of owned and earned media can help quantify performance.

The report highlights three specific KPIs to focus on:

media value
customer acquisition cost (CAC)

For campaigns focused on revenue, WHITE calculates ROI by subtracting the total investment costs (influencer fees, production, employee hours, product discounts) from the revenue generated and dividing that net return by the investment costs.

If the goal is awareness rather than sales, the report advises calculating the cost per new follower, video view, download, or other metric by dividing the total spend by the volume of that KPI achieved.

To measure CAC, brands take their total campaign costs and divide them by the total number of new customers acquired during that period. They then compare the CAC to the average revenue generated per new customer to assess profitability.

“It is important to continuously measure success and optimize ‘on the fly’ if necessary,” the analysts state. “Ensure that your influencers are clearly informed about what you expect from them and how success will be measured.”

The research also cites “failure to tailor the strategy to the luxury segment” as a top mistake, with the most common reason for campaign failure being “the absence of a suitable strategy.” 73% of luxury brands consider preserving exclusivity their greatest challenge on social media.

Other critical errors include poor influencer selection that doesn’t align with the brand identity, choosing campaign types that don’t match the marketing goals, and not evaluating results until after the campaign ends.

To solve these issues, WHITE recommends defining clear objectives and relevant KPIs upfront, conducting in-depth research to identify authentic influencers who are the right fit, and implementing established campaign formats like product seeding, paid sponsorships, collaborations for new launches, or cause marketing.

With younger consumers like Gen Z and Millennials set to comprise 70% of the total luxury market by 2025, WHITE positions influencer marketing as crucial for lifestyle brands. However, measuring impact remains the top challenge that brands must address upfront through proper planning, execution, and analysis. Read the full report here .

Cecilia Carloni, Interview Manager at Influence Weekly and writer for NetInfluencer. Coming from beautiful Argentina, Ceci has spent years chatting with big names in the influencer world, making friends and learning insider info along the way. When she’s not deep in interviews or writing, she's enjoying life with her two daughters. Ceci’s stories give a peek behind the curtain of influencer life, sharing the real and interesting tales from her many conversations with movers and shakers in the space.

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Influencer Partnership Strategies: Key to Marketing Success

Douglas Lamont
May 7, 2024

Understanding the Rise of Influencer Marketing

In the swiftly shifting terrain of digital marketing , we at TLG Marketing have witnessed the meteoric rise of a compelling force: influencer partnership strategies. These strategies harness the power of notable social media personalities to foster brand relationships and drive engagement. Recognizing the significance of this evolution, we’ve embraced influencer collaboration as an integral aspect of our campaign designs. By aligning with influencers who resonate with our ethos and audience, we create authentic connections that thrive in today’s content-saturated marketplace.

Importance and Benefits of Influencer Partnership Strategies

Navigating the nuances of brand collaboration methods, influencer partnerships stand out for their ability to cut through the noise of traditional advertising. These collaborative efforts yield rich rewards: heightened visibility, amplified brand messaging, and a more intimate connection with target demographics. By leveraging tailored social media marketing tactics, influencers breathe life into our campaigns, fostering trust and relatability among consumers. This synergy not only propels brand narratives but also engenders consumer loyalty and advocacy—the hallmarks of marketing success.

Setting Expectations: What Businesses Can Achieve with Effective Influencer Partnership Strategies

Embarking on the journey of influencer collaboration, we set forth clear expectations, mindful of the fact that the true potential of these partnerships extends well beyond numerical metrics. Effective influencer partnership strategies lay the groundwork for sustained brand growth, sparking conversations and interactions that resonate with genuineness. We turn our gaze not only to the immediate impact but also to the long-term ripple effects—enhanced brand reputation, expanded reach, and the cultivation of communities around our brand’s vision and values.

Our approach is founded on a philosophy of mutual benefit. We understand that a successful influencer partnership is more than a promotional transaction; it’s the fusion of two brands—ours and the influencer’s—resulting in a compelling narrative that captivates and engages. This deep integration is why we prioritize influencer partnership strategies, considering them one of the most dynamic social media marketing tactics in our arsenal.

With these strategies, we aim to transcend mere advertising. We endeavor to weave our brand into the fabric of everyday conversations, making our presence on social media platforms feel as natural and welcome as that of the influencers themselves. This immersive experience allows us to not only convey our message but also listen, learn, and evolve in concert with the communities we serve. Such is the power of influencer collaboration: it is a dialogue, an ongoing exchange that nurtures both our brand and our audience.

Commitment to these strategies is a commitment to the future of brand storytelling. It’s an acknowledgment that in the digital age, the most persuasive voices may not come from the brand itself, but from those who use, love, and elegantly share their passion for the products we create. It is with great enthusiasm that we continue to explore and refine our influencer partnership strategies, ensuring they remain at the forefront of our marketing initiatives.

Developing an Influencer Partnership Strategy: Key Steps for Success

In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, influencer partnership strategies have become paramount in achieving marketing objectives. At TLG Marketing, we’ve boiled down the key steps to crafting a successful strategy. It begins with identifying influencers whose audience aligns with our target demographic. Subsequently, we foster transparent and mutually beneficial relationships. We invest time in understanding an influencer’s content style and audience, ensuring our brand message is conveyed appropriately.

Focusing on authentic connections rather than one-off promotions, we weave storytelling into our partnerships. This approach not only enhances brand recall but also drives engagement. Finally, setting clear goals and KPIs is critical; this enables us to measure the effectiveness of our collaborations and adjust tactics as needed.

Leveraging Influencer Partnerships for Various Business Aims

In our pursuit to elevate a brand’s visibility, we leverage influencer partnerships across various business aims. Whether it’s boosting brand awareness or launching a new product, we customize our approach to suit the specific objective. For brand awareness, we engage influencers known for their wide reach. When launching products, we prefer those with high engagement rates, who can motivate their followers to take action.

Brand Awareness: Amplifying reach through influencers with significant following.
Product Launch: Driving sales with credible influencers who possess highly-engaged audiences.
Events: Creating buzz and encouraging attendance by collaborating with local or niche influencers.

Through these tailored approaches within our influencer partnership strategies, we’ve witnessed transformative results.

Case Study Analysis: Businesses Excelling with Influencer Partnership Strategies

When we dissect case studies of businesses flourishing with influencer partnerships, a common theme emerges: strategic alignment and creative execution. For example, a notable fashion retailer elevated their brand collaboration methods by partnering with eco-conscious influencers. This initiative not only reinforced their sustainability commitment but also resonated well with their audience, leading to an increased consumer base.

Another case involved a tech company launching a product via social media marketing tactics. By collaborating with tech influencers who conducted in-depth reviews, they not only informed potential customers but also enhanced product credibility. These cases exemplify how brands can harness the power of influencer partnerships to meet and exceed their marketing goals.

In understanding these multifaceted strategies, we’ve come to appreciate the subtle nuances present in brand collaboration methods. While we continue to innovate our social media marketing tactics, the essence of successful influencer partnerships remains constant—relationship building, alignment of values, and strategic execution. By embracing these elements, we at TLG Marketing are poised to propel our clients towards their intended success.

Did you know that businesses leveraging influencer partnerships not only boost brand awareness but can also see an average increase of $6.50 in revenue for every $1 spent?

Assessing the Impact of Your Influencer Partnership Strategies

In our pursuit to maximize the advantages of influencer partnership strategies, understanding their impact is crucial. Are our efforts driving the results we envision? Are there areas in our strategy that need improvement? Successfully gauging the success of our influencer partnership strategies allows us to answer these key questions.

We often look at quantifiable indicators such as metrics on engagement, reach, and ROI. However, the power of qualitative data shouldn’t be overlooked. Insights gained from audience feedback can offer valuable information about how our brand is perceived, influencing future marketing efforts.

Though marketing services like ours can help in this endeavor, it’s essential for businesses to take an active role in assessing the success of their strategies.

The Evolution of Influencer Partnership Strategies

The dynamic digital landscape inevitably influences the evolution of influencer partnership strategies. To stay ahead of the competition, it’s important that we continuously adapt our social media marketing tactics and brand collaboration methods. Emerging trends such as the rise of micro-influencers, the increased use of video content, and a shift towards authenticity in brand messaging, all have significant implications for how we form and manage influencer partnerships.

As a company, we strive to stay abreast of these changes and equip our clients with strategies that take advantage of emerging trends, drawing from industry insights and our rich experience in influencer marketing .

Why Prioritizing Influencer Partnership Strategies is Key

In our digital-centric world, influencer partnership strategies have emerged as a significant cog within our broader social media marketing efforts. The ability of influencers to connect with audiences on a personal level is a unique advantage that other marketing channels simply cannot replicate.

When strategically implemented, these partnerships have the potential to significantly amplify our message, engage our target audience, and ultimately, drive business objectives. Given these benefits, it’s clear that influencer partnership strategies should be a top priority in our marketing efforts.

As we navigate through the dynamic and evolving digital landscape, let’s remember the value that influencers bring to our brand and incorporate this powerful strategy into our future marketing plans.

To create a successful influencer strategy, our core focuses include identifying the right influencers aligning with our brand values, setting clear objectives, cultivating authentic relationships, and being adaptable to change. Monitoring and analyzing engagement and feedback is also integral to refining our approach.

Effectiveness is measured through a combination of quantitative metrics like engagement rates, conversion rates, and ROI, along with qualitative feedback from the audience that can provide deeper insights into brand perception and impact.

Absolutely, this approach is scalable and can be leveraged by businesses of all sizes. We focus on connecting with micro-influencers who often have highly engaged audiences, which can be particularly beneficial for small businesses aiming for growth.

We can achieve a range of objectives including increased brand awareness, enhanced product launches, a stronger online presence, and direct sales growth. Additionally, strategic partnerships can lead to valuable content creation and heightened trust among our target audience.

While they are broadly effective, success varies across industries. It’s essential to tailor our approach to the nuances of our industry and audience. Through careful planning and research, we can ensure these partnerships resonate regardless of our industry.

Authenticity is achieved by partnering with influencers whose values and content genuinely align with our brand. In this way, sponsored content comes across as heartfelt, fostering a trustworthy relationship between our audience, the influencer, and our brand.

We select influencers based primarily on alignment with our brand values, their engagement rates, the relevance of their audience to our target market, and their reliability and professionalism in past collaborations.

We should keep an eye on the growing emphasis on video content, a shift toward long-term collaborations rather than one-off campaigns, and the increasing importance of transparency and disclosure in our engagements.

We prioritize communication, respect, and mutual benefit in all our dealings. Regular check-ins and flexible collaboration terms can help nurture long-lasting relationships that are beneficial to both our brand and the influencer.

A specialized service provides expertise in strategy development, influencer vetting, campaign management, and performance analysis, ensuring our efforts are guided by experience and are more likely to result in success.

How Can TLG Help?

Helpful articles, privacy-focused digital marketing: embracing consumer trust trends, user-generated content marketing: elevate your brand strategy, behavioral targeting in digital advertising: key strategies & future, podcast marketing in 2024: trends & success strategies.

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Success Stories
About HyperSKU

One-Stop Dropshipping Platform – HyperSKU

Inspiring online business triumphs: 4 business models, 4 success stories.

Introducing a thought-provoking collection of case studies meticulously collected and crafted by our team at HyperSKU. These four representational Success Stories covering 4 diverse business models including Dropshipping , DTC brands , Boutique Stores , and Mega influencers , serve as a wellspring of inspiration for your own ventures.

In this article, we delve into the distinctions between these four distinct business models, encompassing both online and offline operations. Furthermore, we explore the success stories of our clients within each model, offering insights and lessons to fuel your own accomplishments.

Without delay, let us immerse ourselves in these captivating narratives and uncover the keys to thriving in the dynamic world of business.

Supply Chain Solution For Online Business- Hypersku

Exploring Types of Business Models

B2c dropshipping.

The global dropshipping market is projected to reach a substantial value of USD 1,253.79 billion by 2030 , with a notable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4% during the forecast period, as reported by Grand View Research Inc.

In the dropshipping business model, companies eliminate the need to hold inventory. Instead, they fulfill product orders as they are received from customers. By leveraging dropshipping, businesses can effectively reduce costs associated with packaging, shipping, and storage, as these responsibilities are assumed by the suppliers. This empowers online retailers, wholesalers, and small businesses to focus their efforts on driving sales, boosting profits, and streamlining operations.

Dropshipping offers numerous benefits to businesses. It allows for rapid expansion of product offerings without the risk of excess inventory. Moreover, the flexibility and scalability of dropshipping make it an attractive option for those aiming to enter new markets or test new products with minimal upfront investment.

By implementing a well-structured dropshipping strategy, businesses can optimize their supply chain, minimize operational overhead, and maximize profitability. Explore the world of B2C dropshipping to unlock its potential for growth and success within your own business.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands have been on the rise, data from Shopify shows that it is projected to reach $161.22 billion by 2024 . In this business model, brands or manufacturers sell their products directly to end customers, bypassing traditional third-party retailers and wholesalers. This shift allows brands to establish direct connections with their consumers, resulting in deeper brand loyalty and increased customer engagement.

One of the key advantages of DTC brands is the ability to gather valuable insights into consumer behavior. By interacting directly with customers, brands gain a better understanding of their preferences, purchasing habits, and pain points. This knowledge can be leveraged to refine products, personalize marketing campaigns, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

DTC brands also have greater control over their brand narrative and customer touchpoints . With direct access to consumers, brands can create compelling storytelling and memorable experiences that resonate with their target audience. By building strong relationships and fostering trust, DTC brands can drive repeat purchases and brand advocacy.

In an era of digital transformation and evolving consumer expectations, the DTC model offers brands a unique opportunity to thrive. By embracing this approach, brands can cultivate meaningful connections, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive long-term success.

Boutique Store

The Clothing Boutiques industry generated an impressive revenue of $22.4 billion in 2022 (Source: IBISWorld). According to Forbes , the boutique model is reshaping the future of retail , offering a unique proposition that fills a void left by online giants like Amazon. While Amazon serves its purpose as a functional platform for targeted purchases, it fails to address the essence of the shopping experience.

Boutiques thrive because they go beyond being mere stores; they are style educators. In a fast-paced world where time is precious and fashion trends can be intimidating, many consumers lack the expertise or confidence to style themselves. Boutiques step in to guide and inspire customers, helping them embrace new trends and break out of their fashion comfort zones.

Moreover, boutiques create a sense of community by connecting like-minded individuals who share a passion for fashion. Through interactive mediums like live video sessions and dedicated Facebook groups, boutiques foster engagement and encourage discussions about personal style and emerging trends.

Unlike mainstream retailers, great boutiques don’t limit themselves to stocking popular items. They embrace the spirit of discovery by curating unique brands that resonate with their customers’ tastes and preferences. By offering an elevated shopping experience and introducing customers to hidden gems, boutiques create a loyal customer base that values the art of fashion curation.

The growth and success of boutiques demonstrate the significance of personalized service, style education, and community-building in the retail industry. As the future of retail continues to evolve, boutiques remain at the forefront, redefining the way we shop and inspiring us to embrace our individual style journeys.

The Global Influencer Marketing Platform Market is poised for remarkable growth, with an estimated value of $26.4 billion projected by 2025, exhibiting a significant compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6% during the forecast period (Source: ReportLinker).

Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful strategy, allowing brands to promote their products and services through social media influencers who have gained a significant following and established trust with their audience. Influencer Marketing Platforms provide a direct avenue for brands to connect and collaborate with influencers, enabling them to monetize their channels while helping brands reach potential customers and enhance engagement.

With the influencer marketing landscape rapidly evolving, leveraging Influencer Marketing Platforms offers brands and influencers a strategic advantage for expanding reach, driving business growth, and achieving success in the digital era.

Case Study 1 (From Dropshipping to DTC Brand)

The challenge: turning order fulfillment obstacles into opportunities.

Warren , the experienced ecommerce seller, desired to establish his own brand and expand his business with a monthly order volume exceeding 3000. Despite his loyalty to his current fulfillment agent, he perceived a lack of growth potential and a need for optimized shipping options. At that time, he had no intention of switching to HyperSKU.

The Solution: Empowering Growth with Seamless Support

After a year of continuous communication, Warren witnessed the remarkable capabilities of HyperSKU in supporting large-scale businesses. Our dedicated team, including top leaders, immediately stepped in to address Warren’s concerns and establish effective communication with his original supplier. Additionally, HyperSKU provided faster shipping solutions and a wide range of branding services to facilitate his business expansion. These experiences were pivotal in convincing Warren to choose HyperSKU’s service.

The Result: Scaling Success through Trust and Efficiency

HyperSKU consistently delivered transparent and professional service , empowering Warren to scale his business effectively. With prompt order processing, efficient after-sales support, proactive identification of alternative suppliers to prevent negative customer reviews, and swift resolution of issues, HyperSKU earned Warren’s trust. As a result, his monthly order volume quickly skyrocketed from 3000 to 18000 , solidifying the growing partnership with HyperSKU.

Case Study 2 (Dropshipping)

HyperSKU Case Study-Dropshipping Case Study

The Challenge: Unearthing the Winning Product: Benjamin’s Journey from Testing Tools to Clothing

Benjamin and his two partners , who were college classmates, embarked on their dropshipping journey as a side business. With each team member assigned clear responsibilities, they diligently tested products from various categories such as tools, toys, and clothing. Despite their efforts, they struggled to find that one winning product that would bring in the desired profits. Their revenue remained in the four-figure range, and they yearned for a breakthrough in their venture.

The Solution: HyperSKU’s Synergistic Support: Enhancing Product Development and Inventory Management

During their partnership with HyperSKU, the team received proactive updates on logistics, system enhancements, product recommendations, market insights, and anticipated issues from HyperSKU. Our team diligently addressed customer demands for product exchange, assisting in refining every product detail. Ultimately, the team developed around 2-3 ideal winning products, resulting in a surge of orders. HyperSKU promptly planned stock inventory solutions, negotiated prices with suppliers, efficiently managed the warehouse, and helped overcome cash flow challenges related to inventory.

The Result: Achieved Less than 2% Returns & Reached 6 Figure Revenue

Benjamin’s team witnessed remarkable growth, scaling from four-figure revenue to six-figure revenue . As order volumes and revenue increased, they faced inevitable after-sales issues. However, the HyperSKU team swiftly responded, introducing customized packaging solutions to enhance the end-user experience and improve shipping accuracy. As a result, Benjamin’s return rate decreased from 10% to less than 2% , leading to enhanced customer satisfaction.

Case Study 3 (Fashion Boutique Store)

Hypersku Case Study-fashion boutique stores case study

Customer Background

Customer’s Name(s): Chloe & Olivia (Anonymous)

Type of Business: Boutique Store

Niche: Fashion Clothing & Accessories

The Challenge:

High Local Procurement Costs: Difficulty in sourcing products quickly from offline channels.
High Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) for Brand Customization: Wholesale purchases through local channels require a relatively high MOQ.
Limited Profit Margins: Various factors such as transportation, handling, seasonality, and external influences impact original profit margins.
Difficulty Integrating Online and Offline: The physical local store generated revenue exceeding $750,000 in the first 2 years. However, online sales rely solely on organic traffic due to limited resources for website development and business expansion.

HyperSKU’s Leveraged Solution:

Reduced Purchasing Prices by at least 30% and Lowered Brand Customization MOQ.
Provided Support for a Vast Selection of Brand Packaging and an Order Management System (OMS) for Order Tracking and Delivery Status.
Established Strategic Collaboration with the Entire Boutique Store Structure.
Offered Customized Product Recommendations and Pricing Services.

Case Study 4 (Influencer)

Hypersku Case Study-Influencer case study

Customer’s Name: Ashley (Anonymous)

Type of Business: Mega Influencer with over four million followers on social media

Niche: Building her own brand of clothing and related niches

Ashley, a budding entrepreneur who gained significant influence at a remarkably young age, is currently a high school student with ambitious aspirations to establish her own brand. Drawing inspiration from her favorite characters, aesthetic lifestyles, and outfit styles, Ashley aims to create a unique and captivating brand identity that resonates with her target audience.

HyperSKU’s Solution:

Upon meeting HyperSKU’s Business Development (BD) team, Ashley discovered a comprehensive supply chain solution offered by HyperSKU. This includes product recommendation and sourcing, systematic fulfillment, and logistics support to assist her in building her own brand. To expand Ashley’s product collection, HyperSKU sources high-quality products conducts thorough sample examinations, and offers a wide selection of branding services, including customized products, packaging, product labels, thank-you cards, and more.

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Open access
Published: 08 May 2024

Exploring the dynamics of consumer engagement in social media influencer marketing: from the self-determination theory perspective

Chenyu Gu ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6059-0573 1 &
Qiuting Duan 2

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume 11 , Article number: 587 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Business and management
Cultural and media studies

Influencer advertising has emerged as an integral part of social media marketing. Within this realm, consumer engagement is a critical indicator for gauging the impact of influencer advertisements, as it encompasses the proactive involvement of consumers in spreading advertisements and creating value. Therefore, investigating the mechanisms behind consumer engagement holds significant relevance for formulating effective influencer advertising strategies. The current study, grounded in self-determination theory and employing a stimulus-organism-response framework, constructs a general model to assess the impact of influencer factors, advertisement information, and social factors on consumer engagement. Analyzing data from 522 samples using structural equation modeling, the findings reveal: (1) Social media influencers are effective at generating initial online traffic but have limited influence on deeper levels of consumer engagement, cautioning advertisers against overestimating their impact; (2) The essence of higher-level engagement lies in the ad information factor, affirming that in the new media era, content remains ‘king’; (3) Interpersonal factors should also be given importance, as influencing the surrounding social groups of consumers is one of the effective ways to enhance the impact of advertising. Theoretically, current research broadens the scope of both social media and advertising effectiveness studies, forming a bridge between influencer marketing and consumer engagement. Practically, the findings offer macro-level strategic insights for influencer marketing.

COBRAs and virality: viral campaign values on consumer behaviour

Exploring the impact of beauty vloggers’ credible attributes, parasocial interaction, and trust on consumer purchase intention in influencer marketing

The persuasive power of social media influencers in brand credibility and purchase intention

Introduction.

Recent studies have highlighted an escalating aversion among audiences towards traditional online ads, leading to a diminishing effectiveness of traditional online advertising methods (Lou et al., 2019 ). In an effort to overcome these challenges, an increasing number of brands are turning to influencers as their spokespersons for advertising. Utilizing influencers not only capitalizes on their significant influence over their fan base but also allows for the dissemination of advertising messages in a more native and organic manner. Consequently, influencer-endorsed advertising has become a pivotal component and a growing trend in social media advertising (Gräve & Bartsch, 2022 ). Although the topic of influencer-endorsed advertising has garnered increasing attention from scholars, the field is still in its infancy, offering ample opportunities for in-depth research and exploration (Barta et al., 2023 ).

Presently, social media influencers—individuals with substantial follower bases—have emerged as the new vanguard in advertising (Hudders & Lou, 2023 ). Their tweets and videos possess the remarkable potential to sway the purchasing decisions of thousands if not millions. This influence largely hinges on consumer engagement behaviors, implying that the impact of advertising can proliferate throughout a consumer’s entire social network (Abbasi et al., 2023 ). Consequently, exploring ways to enhance consumer engagement is of paramount theoretical and practical significance for advertising effectiveness research (Xiao et al., 2023 ). This necessitates researchers to delve deeper into the exploration of the stimulating factors and psychological mechanisms influencing consumer engagement behaviors (Vander Schee et al., 2020 ), which is the gap this study seeks to address.

The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework has been extensively applied in the study of consumer engagement behaviors (Tak & Gupta, 2021 ) and has been shown to integrate effectively with self-determination theory (Yang et al., 2019 ). Therefore, employing the S-O-R framework to investigate consumer engagement behaviors in the context of influencer advertising is considered a rational approach. The current study embarks on an in-depth analysis of the transformation process from three distinct dimensions. In the Stimulus (S) phase, we focus on how influencer factors, advertising message factors, and social influence factors act as external stimuli. This phase scrutinizes the external environment’s role in triggering consumer reactions. During the Organism (O) phase, the research explores the intrinsic psychological motivations affecting individual behavior as posited in self-determination theory. This includes the willingness for self-disclosure, the desire for innovation, and trust in advertising messages. The investigation in this phase aims to understand how these internal motivations shape consumer attitudes and perceptions in the context of influencer marketing. Finally, in the Response (R) phase, the study examines how these psychological factors influence consumer engagement behavior. This part of the research seeks to understand the transition from internal psychological states to actual consumer behavior, particularly how these states drive the consumers’ deep integration and interaction with the influencer content.

Despite the inherent limitations of cross-sectional analysis in capturing the full temporal dynamics of consumer engagement, this study seeks to unveil the dynamic interplay between consumers’ psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—and their varying engagement levels in social media influencer marketing, grounded in self-determination theory. Through this lens, by analyzing factors related to influencers, content, and social context, we aim to infer potential dynamic shifts in engagement behaviors as psychological needs evolve. This approach allows us to offer a snapshot of the complex, multi-dimensional nature of consumer engagement dynamics, providing valuable insights for both theoretical exploration and practical application in the constantly evolving domain of social media marketing. Moreover, the current study underscores the significance of adapting to the dynamic digital environment and highlights the evolving nature of consumer engagement in the realm of digital marketing.

Literature review

Stimulus-organism-response (s-o-r) model.

The Stimulus-Response (S-R) model, originating from behaviorist psychology and introduced by psychologist Watson ( 1917 ), posits that individual behaviors are directly induced by external environmental stimuli. However, this model overlooks internal personal factors, complicating the explanation of psychological states. Mehrabian and Russell ( 1974 ) expanded this by incorporating the individual’s cognitive component (organism) into the model, creating the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. This model has become a crucial theoretical framework in consumer psychology as it interprets internal psychological cognitions as mediators between stimuli and responses. Integrating with psychological theories, the S-O-R model effectively analyzes and explains the significant impact of internal psychological factors on behavior (Koay et al., 2020 ; Zhang et al., 2021 ), and is extensively applied in investigating user behavior on social media platforms (Hewei & Youngsook, 2022 ). This study combines the S-O-R framework with self-determination theory to examine consumer engagement behaviors in the context of social media influencer advertising, a logic also supported by some studies (Yang et al., 2021 ).

Self-determination theory

Self-determination theory, proposed by Richard and Edward (2000), is a theoretical framework exploring human behavioral motivation and personality. The theory emphasizes motivational processes, positing that individual behaviors are developed based on factors satisfying their psychological needs. It suggests that individual behavioral tendencies are influenced by the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Furthermore, self-determination theory, along with organic integration theory, indicates that individual behavioral tendencies are also affected by internal psychological motivations and external situational factors.

Self-determination theory has been validated by scholars in the study of online user behaviors. For example, Sweet applied the theory to the investigation of community building in online networks, analyzing knowledge-sharing behaviors among online community members (Sweet et al., 2020 ). Further literature review reveals the applicability of self-determination theory to consumer engagement behaviors, particularly in the context of influencer marketing advertisements. Firstly, self-determination theory is widely applied in studying the psychological motivations behind online behaviors, suggesting that the internal and external motivations outlined within the theory might also apply to exploring consumer behaviors in influencer marketing scenarios (Itani et al., 2022 ). Secondly, although research on consumer engagement in the social media influencer advertising context is still in its early stages, some studies have utilized SDT to explore behaviors such as information sharing and electronic word-of-mouth dissemination (Astuti & Hariyawan, 2021 ). These behaviors, which are part of the content contribution and creation dimensions of consumer engagement, may share similarities in the underlying psychological motivational mechanisms. Thus, this study will build upon these foundations to construct the Organism (O) component of the S-O-R model, integrating insights from SDT to further understand consumer engagement in influencer marketing.

Consumer engagement

Although scholars generally agree at a macro level to define consumer engagement as the creation of additional value by consumers or customers beyond purchasing products, the specific categorization of consumer engagement varies in different studies. For instance, Simon and Tossan interpret consumer engagement as a psychological willingness to interact with influencers (Simon & Tossan, 2018 ). However, such a broad definition lacks precision in describing various levels of engagement. Other scholars directly use tangible metrics on social media platforms, such as likes, saves, comments, and shares, to represent consumer engagement (Lee et al., 2018 ). While this quantitative approach is not flawed and can be highly effective in practical applications, it overlooks the content aspect of engagement, contradicting the “content is king” principle of advertising and marketing. We advocate for combining consumer engagement with the content aspect, as content engagement not only generates more traces of consumer online behavior (Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013 ) but, more importantly, content contribution and creation are central to social media advertising and marketing, going beyond mere content consumption (Qiu & Kumar, 2017 ). Meanwhile, we also need to emphasize that engagement is not a fixed state but a fluctuating process influenced by ongoing interactions between consumers and influencers, mediated by the evolving nature of social media platforms and the shifting sands of consumer preferences (Pradhan et al., 2023 ). Consumer engagement in digital environments undergoes continuous change, reflecting a journey rather than a destination (Viswanathan et al., 2017 ).

The current study adopts a widely accepted definition of consumer engagement from existing research, offering operational feasibility and aligning well with the research objectives of this paper. Consumer engagement behaviors in the context of this study encompass three dimensions: content consumption, content contribution, and content creation (Muntinga et al., 2011 ). These dimensions reflect a spectrum of digital engagement behaviors ranging from low to high levels (Schivinski et al., 2016 ). Specifically, content consumption on social media platforms represents a lower level of engagement, where consumers merely click and read the information but do not actively contribute or create user-generated content. Some studies consider this level of engagement as less significant for in-depth exploration because content consumption, compared to other forms, generates fewer visible traces of consumer behavior (Brodie et al., 2013 ). Even in a study by Qiu and Kumar, it was noted that the conversion rate of content consumption is low, contributing minimally to the success of social media marketing (Qiu & Kumar, 2017 ).

On the other hand, content contribution, especially content creation, is central to social media marketing. When consumers comment on influencer content or share information with their network nodes, it is termed content contribution, representing a medium level of online consumer engagement (Piehler et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, when consumers actively upload and post brand-related content on social media, this higher level of behavior is referred to as content creation. Content creation represents the highest level of consumer engagement (Cheung et al., 2021 ). Although medium and high levels of consumer engagement are more valuable for social media advertising and marketing, this exploratory study still retains the content consumption dimension of consumer engagement behaviors.

Theoretical framework

Internal organism factors: self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust.

In existing research based on self-determination theory that focuses on online behavior, competence, relatedness, and autonomy are commonly considered as internal factors influencing users’ online behaviors. However, this approach sometimes strays from the context of online consumption. Therefore, in studies related to online consumption, scholars often use self-disclosure willingness as an overt representation of autonomy, innovativeness as a representation of competence, and trust as a representation of relatedness (Mahmood et al., 2019 ).

The use of these overt variables can be logically explained as follows: According to self-determination theory, individuals with a higher level of self-determination are more likely to adopt compensatory mechanisms to facilitate behavior compared to those with lower self-determination (Wehmeyer, 1999 ). Self-disclosure, a voluntary act of sharing personal information with others, is considered a key behavior in the development of interpersonal relationships. In social environments, self-disclosure can effectively alleviate stress and build social connections, while also seeking societal validation of personal ideas (Altman & Taylor, 1973 ). Social networks, as para-social entities, possess the interactive attributes of real societies and are likely to exhibit similar mechanisms. In consumer contexts, personal disclosures can include voluntary sharing of product interests, consumption experiences, and future purchase intentions (Robertshaw & Marr, 2006 ). While material incentives can prompt personal information disclosure, many consumers disclose personal information online voluntarily, which can be traced back to an intrinsic need for autonomy (Stutzman et al., 2011 ). Thus, in this study, we consider the self-disclosure willingness as a representation of high autonomy.

Innovativeness refers to an individual’s internal level of seeking novelty and represents their personality and tendency for novelty (Okazaki, 2009 ). Often used in consumer research, innovative consumers are inclined to try new technologies and possess an intrinsic motivation to use new products. Previous studies have shown that consumers with high innovativeness are more likely to search for information on new products and share their experiences and expertise with others, reflecting a recognition of their own competence (Kaushik & Rahman, 2014 ). Therefore, in consumer contexts, innovativeness is often regarded as the competence dimension within the intrinsic factors of self-determination (Wang et al., 2016 ), with external motivations like information novelty enhancing this intrinsic motivation (Lee et al., 2015 ).

Trust refers to an individual’s willingness to rely on the opinions of others they believe in. From a social psychological perspective, trust indicates the willingness to assume the risk of being harmed by another party (McAllister, 1995 ). Widely applied in social media contexts for relational marketing, information trust has been proven to positively influence the exchange and dissemination of consumer information, representing a close and advanced relationship between consumers and businesses, brands, or advertising endorsers (Steinhoff et al., 2019 ). Consumers who trust brands or social media influencers are more willing to share information without fear of exploitation (Pop et al., 2022 ), making trust a commonly used representation of the relatedness dimension in self-determination within consumer contexts.

Construction of the path from organism to response: self-determination internal factors and consumer engagement behavior

Following the logic outlined above, the current study represents the internal factors of self-determination theory through three variables: self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust. Next, the study explores the association between these self-determination internal factors and consumer engagement behavior, thereby constructing the link between Organism (O) and Response (R).

Self-disclosure willingness and consumer engagement behavior

In the realm of social sciences, the concept of self-disclosure willingness has been thoroughly examined from diverse disciplinary perspectives, encompassing communication studies, sociology, and psychology. Viewing from the lens of social interaction dynamics, self-disclosure is acknowledged as a fundamental precondition for the initiation and development of online social relationships and interactive engagements (Luo & Hancock, 2020 ). It constitutes an indispensable component within the spectrum of interactive behaviors and the evolution of interpersonal connections. Voluntary self-disclosure is characterized by individuals divulging information about themselves, which typically remains unknown to others and is inaccessible through alternative sources. This concept aligns with the tenets of uncertainty reduction theory, which argues that during interpersonal engagements, individuals seek information about their counterparts as a means to mitigate uncertainties inherent in social interactions (Lee et al., 2008 ). Self-disclosure allows others to gain more personal information, thereby helping to reduce the uncertainty in interpersonal relationships. Such disclosure is voluntary rather than coerced, and this sharing of information can facilitate the development of relationships between individuals (Towner et al., 2022 ). Furthermore, individuals who actively engage in social media interactions (such as liking, sharing, and commenting on others’ content) often exhibit higher levels of self-disclosure (Chu et al., 2023 ); additional research indicates a positive correlation between self-disclosure and online engagement behaviors (Lee et al., 2023 ). Taking the context of the current study, the autonomous self-disclosure willingness can incline social media users to read advertising content more attentively and share information with others, and even create evaluative content. Therefore, this paper proposes the following research hypothesis:

H1a: The self-disclosure willingness is positively correlated with content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H1b: The self-disclosure willingness is positively correlated with content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H1c: The self-disclosure willingness is positively correlated with content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Innovativeness and consumer engagement behavior

Innovativeness represents an individual’s propensity to favor new technologies and the motivation to use new products, associated with the cognitive perception of one’s self-competence. Individuals with a need for self-competence recognition often exhibit higher innovativeness (Kelley & Alden, 2016 ). Existing research indicates that users with higher levels of innovativeness are more inclined to accept new product information and share their experiences and discoveries with others in their social networks (Yusuf & Busalim, 2018 ). Similarly, in the context of this study, individuals, as followers of influencers, signify an endorsement of the influencer. Driven by innovativeness, they may be more eager to actively receive information from influencers. If they find the information valuable, they are likely to share it and even engage in active content re-creation to meet their expectations of self-image. Therefore, this paper proposes the following research hypotheses:

H2a: The innovativeness of social media users is positively correlated with content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H2b: The innovativeness of social media users is positively correlated with content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H2c: The innovativeness of social media users is positively correlated with content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Information trust and consumer engagement

Trust refers to an individual’s willingness to rely on the statements and opinions of a target object (Moorman et al., 1993 ). Extensive research indicates that trust positively impacts information dissemination and content sharing in interpersonal communication environments (Majerczak & Strzelecki, 2022 ); when trust is established, individuals are more willing to share their resources and less suspicious of being exploited. Trust has also been shown to influence consumers’ participation in community building and content sharing on social media, demonstrating cross-cultural universality (Anaya-Sánchez et al., 2020 ).

Trust in influencer advertising information is also a key predictor of consumers’ information exchange online. With many social media users now operating under real-name policies, there is an increased inclination to trust information shared on social media over that posted by corporate accounts or anonymously. Additionally, as users’ social networks partially overlap with their real-life interpersonal networks, extensive research shows that more consumers increasingly rely on information posted and shared on social networks when making purchase decisions (Wang et al., 2016 ). This aligns with the effectiveness goals of influencer marketing advertisements and the characteristics of consumer engagement. Trust in the content posted by influencers is considered a manifestation of a strong relationship between fans and influencers, central to relationship marketing (Kim & Kim, 2021 ). Based on trust in the influencer, which then extends to trust in their content, people are more inclined to browse information posted by influencers, share this information with others, and even create their own content without fear of exploitation or negative consequences. Therefore, this paper proposes the following research hypotheses:

H3a: Information trust is positively correlated with content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H3b: Information trust is positively correlated with content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H3c: Information trust is positively correlated with content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Construction of the path from stimulus to organism: influencer factors, advertising information factors, social factors, and self-determination internal factors

Having established the logical connection from Organism (O) to Response (R), we further construct the influence path from Stimulus (S) to Organism (O). Revisiting the definition of influencer advertising in social media, companies, and brands leverage influencers on social media platforms to disseminate advertising content, utilizing the influencers’ relationships and influence over consumers for marketing purposes. In addition to consumer’s internal factors, elements such as companies, brands, influencers, and the advertisements themselves also impact consumer behavior. Although factors like the brand image perception of companies may influence consumer behavior, considering that in influencer marketing, companies and brands do not directly interact with consumers, this study prioritizes the dimensions of influencers and advertisements. Furthermore, the impact of social factors on individual cognition and behavior is significant, thus, the current study integrates influencers, advertisements, and social dimensions as the Stimulus (S) component.

Influencer factors: parasocial identification

Self-determination theory posits that relationships are one of the key motivators influencing individual behavior. In the context of social media research, users anticipate establishing a parasocial relationship with influencers, resembling real-life relationships. Hence, we consider the parasocial identification arising from users’ parasocial interactions with influencers as the relational motivator. Parasocial interaction refers to the one-sided personal relationship that individuals develop with media characters (Donald & Richard, 1956 ). During this process, individuals believe that the media character is directly communicating with them, creating a sense of positive intimacy (Giles, 2002 ). Over time, through repeated unilateral interactions with media characters, individuals develop a parasocial relationship, leading to parasocial identification. However, parasocial identification should not be directly equated with the concept of social identification in social identity theory. Social identification occurs when individuals psychologically de-individualize themselves, perceiving the characteristics of their social group as their own, upon identifying themselves as part of that group. In contrast, parasocial identification refers to the one-sided interactional identification with media characters (such as celebrities or influencers) over time (Chen et al., 2021 ). Particularly when individuals’ needs for interpersonal interaction are not met in their daily lives, they turn to parasocial interactions to fulfill these needs (Shan et al., 2020 ). Especially on social media, which is characterized by its high visibility and interactivity, users can easily develop a strong parasocial identification with the influencers they follow (Wei et al., 2022 ).

Parasocial identification and self-disclosure willingness

Theories like uncertainty reduction, personal construct, and social exchange are often applied to explain the emergence of parasocial identification. Social media, with its convenient and interactive modes of information dissemination, enables consumers to easily follow influencers on media platforms. They can perceive the personality of influencers through their online content, viewing them as familiar individuals or even friends. Once parasocial identification develops, this pleasurable experience can significantly influence consumers’ cognitions and thus their behavioral responses. Research has explored the impact of parasocial identification on consumer behavior. For instance, Bond et al. found that on Twitter, the intensity of users’ parasocial identification with influencers positively correlates with their continuous monitoring of these influencers’ activities (Bond, 2016 ). Analogous to real life, where we tend to pay more attention to our friends in our social networks, a similar phenomenon occurs in the relationship between consumers and brands. This type of parasocial identification not only makes consumers willing to follow brand pages but also more inclined to voluntarily provide personal information (Chen et al., 2021 ). Based on this logic, we speculate that a similar relationship may exist between social media influencers and their fans. Fans develop parasocial identification with influencers through social media interactions, making them more willing to disclose their information, opinions, and views in the comment sections of the influencers they follow, engaging in more frequent social interactions (Chung & Cho, 2017 ), even if the content at times may be brand or company-embedded marketing advertisements. In other words, in the presence of influencers with whom they have established parasocial relationships, they are more inclined to disclose personal information, thereby promoting consumer engagement behavior. Therefore, we propose the following research hypotheses:

H4: Parasocial identification is positively correlated with consumer self-disclosure willingness.

H4a: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H4b: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H4c: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Parasocial identification and information trust

Information Trust refers to consumers’ willingness to trust the information contained in advertisements and to place themselves at risk. These risks include purchasing products inconsistent with the advertised information and the negative social consequences of erroneously spreading this information to others, leading to unpleasant consumption experiences (Minton, 2015 ). In advertising marketing, gaining consumers’ trust in advertising information is crucial. In the context of influencer marketing on social media, companies, and brands leverage the social connection between influencers and their fans. According to cognitive empathy theory, consumers project their trust in influencers onto the products endorsed, explaining the phenomenon of ‘loving the house for the crow on its roof.’ Research indicates that parasocial identification with influencers is a necessary condition for trust development. Consumers engage in parasocial interactions with influencers on social media, leading to parasocial identification (Jin et al., 2021 ). Consumers tend to reduce their cognitive load and simplify their decision-making processes, thus naturally adopting a positive attitude and trust towards advertising information disseminated by influencers with whom they have established parasocial identification. This forms the core logic behind the success of influencer marketing advertisements (Breves et al., 2021 ); furthermore, as mentioned earlier, because consumers trust these advertisements, they are also willing to share this information with friends and family and even engage in content re-creation. Therefore, we propose the following research hypotheses:

H5: Parasocial identification is positively correlated with information trust.

H5a: Information trust mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H5b: Information trust mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H5c: Information trust mediates the impact of parasocial identification on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Influencer factors: source credibility

Source credibility refers to the degree of trust consumers place in the influencer as a source, based on the influencer’s reliability and expertise. Numerous studies have validated the effectiveness of the endorsement effect in advertising (Schouten et al., 2021 ). The Source Credibility Model, proposed by the renowned American communication scholar Hovland and the “Yale School,” posits that in the process of information dissemination, the credibility of the source can influence the audience’s decision to accept the information. The credibility of the information is determined by two aspects of the source: reliability and expertise. Reliability refers to the audience’s trust in the “communicator’s objective and honest approach to providing information,” while expertise refers to the audience’s trust in the “communicator being perceived as an effective source of information” (Hovland et al., 1953 ). Hovland’s definitions reveal that the interpretation of source credibility is not about the inherent traits of the source itself but rather the audience’s perception of the source (Jang et al., 2021 ). This differs from trust and serves as a precursor to the development of trust. Specifically, reliability and expertise are based on the audience’s perception; thus, this aligns closely with the audience’s perception of influencers (Kim & Kim, 2021 ). This credibility is a cognitive statement about the source of information.

Source credibility and self-disclosure willingness

Some studies have confirmed the positive impact of an influencer’s self-disclosure on their credibility as a source (Leite & Baptista, 2022 ). However, few have explored the impact of an influencer’s credibility, as a source, on consumers’ self-disclosure willingness. Undoubtedly, an impact exists; self-disclosure is considered a method to attempt to increase intimacy with others (Leite et al., 2022 ). According to social exchange theory, people promote relationships through the exchange of information in interpersonal communication to gain benefits (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005 ). Credibility, deriving from an influencer’s expertise and reliability, means that a highly credible influencer may provide more valuable information to consumers. Therefore, based on the social exchange theory’s logic of reciprocal benefits, consumers might be more willing to disclose their information to trustworthy influencers, potentially even expanding social interactions through further consumer engagement behaviors. Thus, we propose the following research hypotheses:

H6: Source credibility is positively correlated with self-disclosure willingness.

H6a: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of Source credibility on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H6b: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of Source credibility on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H6c: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of Source credibility on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Source credibility and information trust

Based on the Source Credibility Model, the credibility of an endorser as an information source can significantly influence consumers’ acceptance of the information (Shan et al., 2020 ). Existing research has demonstrated the positive impact of source credibility on consumers. Djafarova, in a study based on Instagram, noted through in-depth interviews with 18 users that an influencer’s credibility significantly affects respondents’ trust in the information they post. This credibility is composed of expertise and relevance to consumers, and influencers on social media are considered more trustworthy than traditional celebrities (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017 ). Subsequently, Bao and colleagues validated in the Chinese consumer context, based on the ELM model and commitment-trust theory, that the credibility of brand pages on Weibo effectively fosters consumer trust in the brand, encouraging participation in marketing activities (Bao & Wang, 2021 ). Moreover, Hsieh et al. found that in e-commerce contexts, the credibility of the source is a significant factor influencing consumers’ trust in advertising information (Hsieh & Li, 2020 ). In summary, existing research has proven that the credibility of the source can promote consumer trust. Influencer credibility is a significant antecedent affecting consumers’ trust in the advertised content they publish. In brand communities, trust can foster consumer engagement behaviors (Habibi et al., 2014 ). Specifically, consumers are more likely to trust the advertising content published by influencers with higher credibility (more expertise and reliability), and as previously mentioned, consumer engagement behavior is more likely to occur. Based on this, the study proposes the following research hypotheses:

H7: Source credibility is positively correlated with information trust.

H7a: Information trust mediates the impact of source credibility on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H7b: Information trust mediates the impact of source credibility on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H7c: Information trust mediates the impact of source credibility on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Advertising information factors: informative value

Advertising value refers to “the relative utility value of advertising information to consumers and is a subjective evaluation by consumers.” In his research, Ducoffe pointed out that in the context of online advertising, the informative value of advertising is a significant component of advertising value (Ducoffe, 1995 ). Subsequent studies have proven that consumers’ perception of advertising value can effectively promote their behavioral response to advertisements (Van-Tien Dao et al., 2014 ). Informative value of advertising refers to “the information about products needed by consumers provided by the advertisement and its ability to enhance consumer purchase satisfaction.” From the perspective of information dissemination, valuable advertising information should help consumers make better purchasing decisions and reduce the effort spent searching for product information. The informational aspect of advertising has been proven to effectively influence consumers’ cognition and, in turn, their behavior (Haida & Rahim, 2015 ).

Informative value and innovativeness

As previously discussed, consumers’ innovativeness refers to their psychological trait of favoring new things. Studies have shown that consumers with high innovativeness prefer novel and valuable product information, as it satisfies their need for newness and information about new products, making it an important factor in social media advertising engagement (Shi, 2018 ). This paper also hypothesizes that advertisements with high informative value can activate consumers’ innovativeness, as the novelty of information is one of the measures of informative value (León et al., 2009 ). Acquiring valuable information can make individuals feel good about themselves and fulfill their perception of a “novel image.” According to social exchange theory, consumers can gain social capital in interpersonal interactions (such as social recognition) by sharing information about these new products they perceive as valuable. Therefore, the current study proposes the following research hypothesis:

H8: Informative value is positively correlated with innovativeness.

H8a: Innovativeness mediates the impact of informative value on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H8b: Innovativeness mediates the impact of informative value on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H8c: Innovativeness mediates the impact of informative value on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Informative value and information trust

Trust is a multi-layered concept explored across various disciplines, including communication, marketing, sociology, and psychology. For the purposes of this paper, a deep analysis of different levels of trust is not undertaken. Here, trust specifically refers to the trust in influencer advertising information within the context of social media marketing, denoting consumers’ belief in and reliance on the advertising information endorsed by influencers. Racherla et al. investigated the factors influencing consumers’ trust in online reviews, suggesting that information quality and value contribute to increasing trust (Racherla et al., 2012 ). Similarly, Luo and Yuan, in a study based on social media marketing, also confirmed that the value of advertising information posted on brand pages can foster consumer trust in the content (Lou & Yuan, 2019 ). Therefore, by analogy, this paper posits that the informative value of influencer-endorsed advertising can also promote consumer trust in that advertising information. The relationship between trust in advertising information and consumer engagement behavior has been discussed earlier. Thus, the current study proposes the following research hypotheses:

H9: Informative value is positively correlated with information trust.

H9a: Information trust mediates the impact of informative value on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H9b: Information trust mediates the impact of informative value on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H9c: Information trust mediates the impact of informative value on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Advertising information factors: ad targeting accuracy

Ad targeting accuracy refers to the degree of match between the substantive information contained in advertising content and consumer needs. Advertisements containing precise information often yield good advertising outcomes. In marketing practice, advertisers frequently use information technology to analyze the characteristics of different consumer groups in the target market and then target their advertisements accordingly to achieve precise dissemination and, consequently, effective advertising results. The utility of ad targeting accuracy has been confirmed by many studies. For instance, in the research by Qiu and Chen, using a modified UTAUT model, it was demonstrated that the accuracy of advertising effectively promotes consumer acceptance of advertisements in WeChat Moments (Qiu & Chen, 2018 ). Although some studies on targeted advertising also indicate that overly precise ads may raise concerns about personal privacy (Zhang et al., 2019 ), overall, the accuracy of advertising information is effective in enhancing advertising outcomes and is a key element in the success of targeted advertising.

Ad targeting accuracy and information trust

In influencer marketing advertisements, due to the special relationship recognition between consumers and influencers, the privacy concerns associated with ad targeting accuracy are alleviated (Vrontis et al., 2021 ). Meanwhile, the informative value brought by targeting accuracy is highlighted. More precise advertising content implies higher informative value and also signifies that the advertising content is more worthy of consumer trust (Della Vigna, Gentzkow, 2010 ). As previously discussed, people are more inclined to read and engage with advertising content they trust and recognize. Therefore, the current study proposes the following research hypotheses:

H10: Ad targeting accuracy is positively correlated with information trust.

H10a: Information trust mediates the impact of ad targeting accuracy on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H10b: Information trust mediates the impact of ad targeting accuracy on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H10c: Information trust mediates the impact of ad targeting accuracy on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Social factors: subjective norm

The Theory of Planned Behavior, proposed by Ajzen ( 1991 ), suggests that individuals’ actions are preceded by conscious choices and are underlain by plans. TPB has been widely used by scholars in studying personal online behaviors, these studies collectively validate the applicability of TPB in the context of social media for researching online behaviors (Huang, 2023 ). Additionally, the self-determination theory, which underpins this chapter’s research, also supports the notion that individuals’ behavioral decisions are based on internal cognitions, aligning with TPB’s assertions. Therefore, this paper intends to select subjective norms from TPB as a factor of social influence. Subjective norm refers to an individual’s perception of the expectations of significant others in their social relationships regarding their behavior. Empirical research in the consumption field has demonstrated the significant impact of subjective norms on individual psychological cognition (Yang & Jolly, 2009 ). A meta-analysis by Hagger, Chatzisarantis ( 2009 ) even highlighted the statistically significant association between subjective norms and self-determination factors. Consequently, this study further explores its application in the context of influencer marketing advertisements on social media.

Subjective norm and self-disclosure willingness

In numerous studies on social media privacy, subjective norms significantly influence an individual’s self-disclosure willingness. Wirth et al. ( 2019 ) based on the privacy calculus theory, surveyed 1,466 participants and found that personal self-disclosure on social media is influenced by the behavioral expectations of other significant reference groups around them. Their research confirmed that subjective norms positively influence self-disclosure of information and highlighted that individuals’ cognitions and behaviors cannot ignore social and environmental factors. Heirman et al. ( 2013 ) in an experiment with Instagram users, also noted that subjective norms could promote positive consumer behavioral responses. Specifically, when important family members and friends highly regard social media influencers as trustworthy, we may also be more inclined to disclose our information to influencers and share this information with our surrounding family and friends without fear of disapproval. In our subjective norms, this is considered a positive and valuable interactive behavior, leading us to exhibit engagement behaviors. Based on this logic, we propose the following research hypotheses:

H11: Subjective norms are positively correlated with self-disclosure willingness.

H11a: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of subjective norms on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H11b: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of subjective norms on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H11c: Self-disclosure willingness mediates the impact of subjective norms on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Subjective norm and information trust

Numerous studies have indicated that subjective norms significantly influence trust (Roh et al., 2022 ). This can be explained by reference group theory, suggesting people tend to minimize the effort expended in decision-making processes, often looking to the behaviors or attitudes of others as a point of reference; for instance, subjective norms can foster acceptance of technology by enhancing trust (Gupta et al., 2021 ). Analogously, if a consumer’s social network generally holds positive attitudes toward influencer advertising, they are also more likely to trust the endorsed advertisement information, as it conserves the extensive effort required in gathering product information (Chetioui et al., 2020 ). Therefore, this paper proposes the following research hypotheses:

H12: Subjective norms are positively correlated with information trust.

H12a: Information trust mediates the impact of subjective norms on content consumption in consumer engagement behavior.

H12b: Information trust mediates the impact of subjective norms on content contribution in consumer engagement behavior.

H12c: Information trust mediates the impact of subjective norms on content creation in consumer engagement behavior.

Conceptual model

In summary, based on the Stimulus (S)-Organism (O)-Response (R) framework, this study constructs the external stimulus factors (S) from three dimensions: influencer factors (parasocial identification, source credibility), advertising information factors (informative value, Ad targeting accuracy), and social influence factors (subjective norms). This is grounded in social capital theory and the theory of planned behavior. drawing on self-determination theory, the current study constructs the individual psychological factors (O) using self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust. Finally, the behavioral response (R) is constructed using consumer engagement, which includes content consumption, content contribution, and content creation, as illustrated in Fig. 1 .

Consumer engagement behavior impact model based on SOR framework.

Materials and methods

Participants and procedures.

The current study conducted a survey through the Wenjuanxing platform to collect data. Participants were recruited through social media platforms such as WeChat, Douyin, Weibo et al., as samples drawn from social media users better align with the research purpose of our research and ensure the validity of the sample. Before the survey commenced, all participants were explicitly informed about the purpose of this study, and it was made clear that volunteers could withdraw from the survey at any time. Initially, 600 questionnaires were collected, with 78 invalid responses excluded. The criteria for valid questionnaires were as follows: (1) Respondents must have answered “Yes” to the question, “Do you follow any influencers (internet celebrities) on social media platforms?” as samples not using social media or not following influencers do not meet the study’s objective, making this question a prerequisite for continuing the survey; (2) Respondents had to correctly answer two hidden screening questions within the questionnaire to ensure that they did not randomly select scores; (3) The total time taken to complete the questionnaire had to exceed one minute, ensuring that respondents had sufficient time to understand and thoughtfully answer each question; (4) Respondents were not allowed to choose the same score for eight consecutive questions. Ultimately, 522 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 87.00%, meeting the basic sample size requirements for research models (Gefen et al., 2011 ). Detailed demographic information of the study participants is presented in Table 1 .

Measurements

To ensure the validity and reliability of the data analysis results in this study, the measurement tools and scales used in this chapter were designed with reference to existing established research. The main variables in the survey questionnaire include parasocial identification, source credibility, informative value, ad targeting accuracy, subjective norms, self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, information trust, content consumption, content contribution, and content creation. The measurement scale for parasocial identification was adapted from the research of Schramm and Hartmann, comprising 6 items (Schramm & Hartmann, 2008 ). The source credibility scale was combined from the studies of Cheung et al. and Luo & Yuan’s research in the context of social media influencer marketing, including 4 items (Cheung et al., 2009 ; Lou & Yuan, 2019 ). The scale for informative value was modified based on Voss et al.‘s research, consisting of 4 items (Voss et al., 2003 ). The ad targeting accuracy scale was derived from the research by Qiu Aimei et al., 2018 ) including 3 items. The subjective norm scale was adapted from Ajzen’s original scale, comprising 3 items (Ajzen, 2002 ). The self-disclosure willingness scale was developed based on Chu and Kim’s research, including 3 items (Chu & Kim, 2011 ). The innovativeness scale was formulated following the study by Sun et al., comprising 4 items (Sun et al., 2006 ). The information trust scale was created in reference to Chu and Choi’s research, including 3 items (Chu & Choi, 2011 ). The scales for the three components of social media consumer engagement—content consumption, content contribution, and content creation—were sourced from the research by Buzeta et al., encompassing 8 items in total (Buzeta et al., 2020 ).

All scales were appropriately revised for the context of social media influencer marketing. To avoid issues with scoring neutral attitudes, a uniform Likert seven-point scale was used for each measurement item (ranging from 1 to 7, representing a spectrum from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’). After the overall design of the questionnaire was completed, a pre-test was conducted with 30 social media users to ensure that potential respondents could clearly understand the meaning of each question and that there were no obstacles to answering. This pre-test aimed to prevent any difficulties or misunderstandings in the questionnaire items. The final version of the questionnaire is presented in Table 2 .

Data analysis

Since the model framework of the current study is derived from theoretical deductions of existing research and, while logically constructed, does not originate from an existing research model, this study still falls under the category of exploratory research. According to the analysis suggestions of Hair and other scholars, in cases of exploratory research model frameworks, it is more appropriate to choose Smart PLS for Partial Least Squares Path Analysis (PLS) to conduct data analysis and testing of the research model (Hair et al., 2012 ).

Measurement of model

In this study, careful data collection and management resulted in no missing values in the dataset. This ensured the integrity and reliability of the subsequent data analysis. As shown in Table 3 , after deleting measurement items with factor loadings below 0.5, the final factor loadings of the measurement items in this study range from 0.730 to 0.964. This indicates that all measurement items meet the retention criteria. Additionally, the Cronbach’s α values of the latent variables range from 0.805 to 0.924, and all latent variables have Composite Reliability (CR) values greater than the acceptable value of 0.7, demonstrating that the scales of this study have passed the reliability test requirements (Hair et al., 2019 ). All latent variables in this study have Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values greater than the standard acceptance value of 0.5, indicating that the convergent validity of the variables also meets the standard (Fornell & Larcker, 1981 ). Furthermore, the results show that the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) values for each factor are below 10, indicating that there are no multicollinearity issues with the scales in this study (Hair, 2009 ).

The current study then further verified the discriminant validity of the variables, with specific results shown in Table 4 . The square roots of the average variance extracted (AVE) values for all variables (bolded on the diagonal) are greater than the Pearson correlation coefficients between the variables, indicating that the discriminant validity of the scales in this study meets the required standards (Fornell & Larcker, 1981 ). Additionally, a single-factor test method was employed to examine common method bias in the data. The first unrotated factor accounted for 29.71% of the variance, which is less than the critical threshold of 40%. Therefore, the study passed the test and did not exhibit serious common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003 ).

To ensure the robustness and appropriateness of our structural equation model, we also conducted a thorough evaluation of the model fit. Initially, through PLS Algorithm calculations, the R 2 values of each variable were greater than the standard acceptance value of 0.1, indicating good predictive accuracy of the model. Subsequently, Blindfolding calculations were performed, and the results showed that the Stone-Geisser Q 2 values of each variable were greater than 0, demonstrating that the model of this study effectively predicts the relationships between variables (Dijkstra & Henseler, 2015 ). In addition, through CFA, we also obtained some indicator values, specifically, χ 2 /df = 2.528 < 0.3, RMSEA = 0.059 < 0.06, SRMR = 0.055 < 0.08. Given its sensitivity to sample size, we primarily focused on the CFI, TLI, and NFI values, CFI = 0.953 > 0.9, TLI = 0.942 > 0.9, and NFI = 0.923 > 0.9 indicating a good fit. Additionally, RMSEA values below 0.06 and SRMR values below 0.08 were considered indicative of a good model fit. These indices collectively suggested that our model demonstrates a satisfactory fit with the data, thereby reinforcing the validity of our findings.

Research hypothesis testing

The current study employed a Bootstrapping test with a sample size of 5000 on the collected raw data to explore the coefficients and significance of the paths in the research model. The final test data results of this study’s model are presented in Table 5 .

The current study employs S-O-R model as the framework, grounded in theories such as self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior, to construct an influence model of consumer engagement behavior in the context of social media influencer marketing. It examines how influencer factors, advertisement information factors, and social influence factors affect consumer engagement behavior by impacting consumers’ psychological cognitions. Using structural equation modeling to analyze collected data ( N = 522), it was found that self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust positively influence consumer engagement behavior, with innovativeness having the largest impact on higher levels of engagement. Influencer factors, advertisement information factors, and social factors serve as effective external stimuli, influencing psychological motivators and, consequently, consumer engagement behavior. The specific research results are illustrated in Fig. 2 .

Tested structural model of consumer engagement behavior.

The impact of psychological motivators on different levels of consumer engagement: self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust

The research analysis indicates that self-disclosure willingness and information trust are key drivers for content consumption (H1a, H2a validated). This aligns with previous findings that individuals with a higher willingness to disclose themselves show greater levels of engagement behavior (Chu et al., 2023 ); likewise, individuals who trust advertisement information are more inclined to engage with advertisement content (Kim, Kim, 2021 ). Moreover, our study finds that information trust has a stronger impact on content consumption, underscoring the importance of trust in the dissemination of advertisement information. However, no significant association was found between individual innovativeness and content consumption (H3a not validated).

Regarding the dimension of content contribution in consumer engagement, self-disclosure willingness, information trust, and innovativeness all positively impact it (H1b, H2b, and H3b all validated). This is consistent with earlier research findings that individuals with higher self-disclosure willingness are more likely to like, comment on, or share content posted by influencers on social media platforms (Towner et al., 2022 ); the conclusions of this paper also support that innovativeness is an important psychological driver for active participation in social media interactions (Kamboj & Sharma, 2023 ). However, at the level of consumer engagement in content contribution, while information trust also exerts a positive effect, its impact is the weakest, although information trust has the strongest impact on content consumption.

In social media advertising, the ideal outcome is the highest level of consumer engagement, i.e., content creation, meaning consumers actively join in brand content creation, seeing themselves as co-creators with the brand (Nadeem et al., 2021 ). Our findings reveal that self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust all positively influence content creation (H1c, H2c, and H3c all validated). The analysis found that similar to the impact on content contribution, innovativeness has the most significant effect on encouraging individual content creation, followed by self-disclosure willingness, with information trust having the least impact.

In summary, while some previous studies have shown that self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust are important factors in promoting consumer engagement (Chu et al., 2023 ; Nadeem et al., 2021 ; Geng et al., 2021 ), this study goes further by integrating and comparing all three within the same research framework. It was found that to trigger higher levels of consumer engagement behavior, trust is not the most crucial psychological motivator; rather, the most effective method is to stimulate consumers’ innovativeness, thus complementing previous research. Subsequently, this study further explores the impact of different stimulus factors on various psychological motivators.

The influence of external stimulus factors on psychological motivators: influencer factors, advertisement information factors, and social factors

The current findings indicate that influencer factors, such as parasocial identification and source credibility, effectively enhance consumer engagement by influencing self-disclosure willingness and information trust. This aligns with prior research highlighting the significance of parasocial identification (Shan et al., 2020 ). Studies suggest parasocial identification positively impacts consumer engagement by boosting self-disclosure willingness and information trust (validated H4a, H4b, H4c, and H5a), but not content contribution or creation through information trust (H5b, H5c not validated). Source credibility’s influence on self-disclosure willingness was not significant (H6 not validated), thus negating the mediating effect of self-disclosure willingness (H6a, H6b, H6c not validated). Influencer credibility mainly affects engagement through information trust (H7a, H7b, H7c validated), supporting previous findings (Shan et al., 2020 ).

Advertisement factors (informative value and ad targeting accuracy) promote engagement through innovativeness and information trust. Informative value significantly impacts higher-level content contribution and creation through innovativeness (H8b, H8c validated), while ad targeting accuracy influences consumer engagement at all levels mainly through information trust (H10a, H10b, H10c validated).

Social factors (subjective norms) enhance self-disclosure willingness and information trust, consistent with previous research (Wirth et al., 2019 ; Gupta et al., 2021 ), and further promote consumer engagement across all levels (H11a, H11b, H11c, H12a, H12b, and H12c all validated).

In summary, influencer, advertisement, and social factors impact consumer engagement behavior by influencing psychological motivators, with influencer factors having the greatest effect on content consumption, advertisement content factors significantly raising higher-level consumer engagement through innovativeness, and social factors also influencing engagement through self-disclosure willingness and information trust.

Implication

From a theoretical perspective, current research presents a comprehensive model of consumer engagement within the context of influencer advertising on social media. This model not only expands the research horizon in the fields of social media influencer advertising and consumer engagement but also serves as a bridge between two crucial themes in new media advertising studies. Influencer advertising has become an integral part of social media advertising, and the construction of a macro model aids researchers in understanding consumer psychological processes and behavioral patterns. It also assists advertisers in formulating more effective strategies. Consumer engagement, focusing on the active role of consumers in disseminating information and the long-term impact on advertising effectiveness, aligns more closely with the advertising effectiveness measures in the new media context than traditional advertising metrics. However, the intersection of these two vital themes lacks comprehensive research and a universal model. This study constructs a model that elucidates the effects of various stimuli on consumer psychology and engagement behaviors, exploring the connections and mechanisms through different mediating pathways. By differentiating levels of engagement, the study offers more nuanced conclusions for diverse advertising objectives. Furthermore, this research validates the applicability of self-determination theory in the context of influencer advertising effectiveness. While this psychological theory has been utilized in communication behavior research, its effectiveness in the field of advertising requires further exploration. The current study introduces self-determination theory into the realm of influencer advertising and consumer engagement, thereby expanding its application in the field of advertising communication. It also responds to the call from the advertising and marketing academic community to incorporate more psychological theories to explain the ‘black box’ of consumer psychology. The inclusion of this theory re-emphasizes the people-centric approach of this research and highlights the primary role of individuals in advertising communication studies.

From a practical perspective, this study provides significant insights for adapting marketing strategies to the evolving media landscape and the empowered role of audiences. Firstly, in the face of changes in the communication environment and the empowerment of audience communication capabilities, traditional marketing approaches are becoming inadequate for new media advertising needs. Traditional advertising focuses on direct, point-to-point effects, whereas social media advertising aims for broader, point-to-mass communication, leveraging audience proactivity to facilitate the viral spread of content across online social networks. Secondly, for brands, the general influence model proposed in this study offers guidance for influencer advertising strategy. If the goal is to maximize reach and brand recognition with a substantial advertising budget, partnering with top influencers who have a large following can be an effective strategy. However, if the objective is to maximize cost-effectiveness with a limited budget by leveraging consumer initiative for secondary spread, the focus should be on designing advertising content that stimulates consumer creativity and willingness to innovate. Thirdly, influencers are advised to remain true to their followers. In influencer marketing, influencers attract advertisers through their influence over followers, converting this influence into commercial gain. This influence stems from the trust followers place in the influencer, thus influencers should maintain professional integrity and prioritize the quality of information they share, even when presented with advertising opportunities. Lastly, influencers should assert more control over their relationships with advertisers. In traditional advertising, companies and brands often exert significant control over the content. However, in the social media era, influencers should negotiate more creative freedom in their advertising partnerships, asserting a more equal relationship with advertisers. This approach ensures that content quality remains high, maintaining the trust influencers have built with their followers.

Limitations and future directions

while this study offers valuable insights into the dynamics of influencer marketing and consumer engagement on social media, several limitations should be acknowledged: Firstly, constrained by the research objectives and scope, this study’s proposed general impact model covers three dimensions: influencers, advertisement information, and social factors. However, these dimensions are not limited to the five variables discussed in this paper. Therefore, we call for future research to supplement and explore more crucial factors. Secondly, in the actual communication environment, there may be differences in the impact of communication effectiveness across various social media platforms. Thus, future research could also involve comparative studies and explorations between different social media platforms. Thirdly, the current study primarily examines the direct effects of various factors on consumer engagement. However, the potential interaction effects between these variables (e.g., how influencers’ credibility might interact with advertisement information quality) are not extensively explored. Future research could investigate these complex interrelationships for a more holistic understanding. Lastly, our study, being cross-sectional, offers preliminary insights into the complex and dynamic nature of engagement between social media influencers and consumers, yet it does not incorporate the temporal dimension. The diverse impacts of psychological needs on engagement behaviors hint at an underlying dynamism that merits further investigation. Future research should consider employing longitudinal designs to directly observe how these dynamics evolve over time.

The findings of the current study not only theoretically validate the applicability of self-determination theory in the field of social media influencer marketing advertising research but also broaden the scope of advertising effectiveness research from the perspective of consumer engagement. Moreover, the research framework offers strategic guidance and reference for influencer marketing strategies. The main conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows.

Innovativeness is the key factor in high-level consumer engagement behavior. Content contribution represents a higher level of consumer engagement compared to content consumption, as it not only requires consumers to dedicate attention to viewing advertising content but also to share this information across adjacent nodes within their social networks. This dissemination of information is a pivotal factor in the success of influencer marketing advertisements. Hence, companies and brands prioritize consumers’ content contribution over mere viewing of advertising content (Qiu & Kumar, 2017 ). Compared to content consumption and contribution, content creation is considered the highest level of consumer engagement, where consumers actively create and upload brand-related content, and it represents the most advanced outcome sought by enterprises and brands in advertising campaigns (Cheung et al., 2021 ). The current study posits that to pursue better outcomes in social media influencer advertising marketing, enhancing consumers’ willingness for self-disclosure, innovativeness, and trust in advertising information are effective strategies. However, the crux lies in leveraging the consumer’s subjective initiative, particularly in boosting their innovativeness. If the goal is simply to achieve content consumption rather than higher levels of consumer engagement, the focus should be on fostering trust in advertising information. There is no hierarchy in the efficacy of different strategies; they should align with varying marketing contexts and advertising objectives.

The greatest role of social media influencers lies in attracting online traffic. information trust is the core element driving content consumption, and influencer factors mainly affect consumer engagement behaviors through information trust. Therefore, this study suggests that the primary role of influencers in social media advertising is to attract online traffic, i.e., increase consumer behavior regarding ad content consumption (reducing avoidance of ad content), and help brands achieve the initial goal of making consumers “see and complete ads.” However, their impact on further high-level consumer engagement behaviors is limited. This mechanism serves as a reminder to advertisers not to overestimate the effects of influencers in marketing. Currently, top influencers command a significant portion of the ad budget, which could squeeze the budget for other aspects of advertising, potentially affecting the overall effectiveness of the campaign. Businesses and brands should consider deeper strategic implications when planning their advertising campaigns.

Valuing Advertising Information Factors, Content Remains King. Our study posits that in the social media influencer marketing context, the key to enhancing consumer contribution and creation of advertising content lies primarily in the advertising information factors. In other words, while content consumption is important, advertisers should objectively assess the role influencers play in advertising. In the era of social media, content remains ‘king’ in advertising. This view indirectly echoes the points made in the previous paragraph: influencers effectively perform initial ‘online traffic generation’ tasks in social media, but this role should not be overly romanticized or exaggerated. Whether it’s companies, brands, or influencers, providing consumers with advertisements rich in informational value is crucial to achieving better advertising outcomes and potentially converting consumers into stakeholders.

Subjective norm is an unignorable social influence factor. Social media is characterized by its network structure of information dissemination, where a node’s information is visible to adjacent nodes. For instance, if user A likes a piece of content C from influencer I, A’s follower B, who may not follow influencer I, can still see content C via user A’s page. The aim of marketing in the social media era is to influence a node and then spread the information to adjacent nodes, either secondarily or multiple times (Kumar & Panda, 2020 ). According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, an individual’s actions are influenced by significant others in their lives, such as family and friends. Previous studies have proven the effectiveness of the Theory of Planned Behavior in influencing attitudes toward social media advertising (Ranjbarian et al., 2012 ). Current research further confirms that subjective norms also influence consumer engagement behaviors in influencer marketing on social media. Therefore, in advertising practice, brands should not only focus on individual consumers but also invest efforts in groups that can influence consumer decisions. Changing consumer behavior in the era of social media marketing doesn’t solely rely on the company’s efforts.

As communication technology advances, media platforms will further empower individual communicative capabilities, moving beyond the era of the “magic bullet” theory. The distinction between being a recipient and a transmitter of information is increasingly blurred. In an era where everyone is both an audience and an influencer, research confined to the role of the ‘recipient’ falls short of addressing the dynamics of ‘transmission’. Future research in marketing and advertising should thus focus more on the power of individual transmission. Furthermore, as Marshall McLuhan famously said, “the medium is the extension of man.” The evolution of media technology remains human-centric. Accordingly, future marketing research, while paying heed to media transformations, should emphasize the centrality of the ‘human’ element.

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy issues. Making the full data set publicly available could potentially breach the privacy that was promised to participants when they agreed to take part, and may breach the ethics approval for the study. The data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants of this study. The participants were all informed about the purpose and content of the study and voluntarily agreed to participate. The participants were able to stop participating at any time without penalty. Funding for this study was provided by Minjiang University Research Start-up Funds (No. 324-32404314).

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Conceptualization: CG; methodology: CG and QD; software: CG and QD; validation: CG; formal analysis: CG and QD; investigation: CG and QD; resources: CG; data curation: CG and QD; writing—original draft preparation: CG; writing—review and editing: CG; visualization: CG; project administration: CG. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chenyu Gu .

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Gu, C., Duan, Q. Exploring the dynamics of consumer engagement in social media influencer marketing: from the self-determination theory perspective. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 587 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03127-w

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A franchise’s guide to becoming a local influencer.

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President and Owner at McKay Advertising + Activation , Florida's First Digital Media Agency.

Influencer marketing has become a key method for promoting brands and building relationships. As the head of a digital marketing agency, I've seen firsthand that in the franchise sector, marketers are experimenting with how trusted influencers can promote their products and narrate their service experiences to attract current and new customers.

Yet, there's a disconnect between the way influencers grow and monetize their online following and the geographical limitations of franchise marketing. Influencers typically aim to expand their audience broadly, which suits e-commerce well because followers from any location can make purchases. However, for franchises confined to specific areas, finding local influencers is tricky because their reach and credibility are often limited to a smaller, regional audience.

This brings us to an innovative idea for franchise marketing and hyper-local campaigns: Why not create your own influencer within a desired geographic area? Use someone from within your franchise as an influencer. The best person to represent your brand is someone deeply involved, impassioned and who knows it inside out.

Influencer Marketing By The Numbers

Before I dive into an example of how one of our clients effectively approached this strategy, let's take a look at the numbers . Why might a business want to invest in influencer marketing?

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• Market Growth: The influencer marketing industry's projected growth to approximately $24 billion by 2024 highlights the increasing investment and confidence in this strategy.

• Marketing Effectiveness: The fact that 85% of marketers perceive influencer marketing as effective underscores its pivotal role in modern advertising strategies.

• Budget Allocation: Nearly a quarter of marketers plan to allocate over 40% of their marketing budget to influencer campaigns, demonstrating the strategic importance of influencer marketing. This signifies a reallocation of resources toward methods that foster genuine connections and engagements.

A Client Case Study

One of our clients, a premier window and door installer with a new franchise in Raleigh, North Carolina, faced a challenging competitive environment dominated by established brands. These competitors had been investing in television and other media for over a decade to solidify their market presence. Furthermore, the franchise territory for this client did not cover the entire Raleigh market, creating a tough situation that demanded a unique approach.

Ashley, who owns the Triangle Area franchise, needed to become the influencer in her service area, and her message had to be delivered in a micro geography matching her franchise zips. She began to make social media videos about what the franchise offers:

• What technology and tools they use for better product delivery.

• What to keep in mind (including weather considerations) for buying windows in Raleigh, North Carolina.

These videos had great success and Ashley became known as the "window lady of Raleigh." Her efforts were powerful enough to connect her to the brand. By sharing what's unique about their business and products, Ashley became a well-loved local influencer, sharing her genuine passion and authenticity with the community.

The next crucial step for Ashley was the strategic use of her videos on social platforms like Meta, TikTok and YouTube. These targeted ads were cost-effective and reached only consumers within their service area. This approach combined hyper-local content with precision advertising, effectively setting her brand apart.

Tips For Localized Influencer Marketing

• Embrace simplicity. Start with what you know and love. Showcase daily operations, introduce your team members, and provide a peek behind the curtain of your business operations. Authentic content resonates deeply with audiences, allowing them to feel a part of your brand's journey.

• Keep content short and sweet. In an era where attention spans are fleeting, short-form content reigns supreme. Platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok have revolutionized how we consume media, emphasizing the impact of concise, engaging videos. Aim for content that delivers value within seconds, captivating your audience instantly.

• Unleash your creativity. Don't be afraid to experiment. Embracing trends can showcase your brand's personality and keep your content fresh. Whether it's a dance challenge or a popular meme, integrating trends can elevate your brand's visibility and relatability.

• Personify your brand. People connect with people. Talk about your brand's local knowledge, influence, roots and anything that can help people identify you as their "neighbor." Highlight your team's culture, values and personalities to make your brand approachable and relatable. This connection is invaluable, transforming customers into community members.

• Be authentic through storytelling. Authenticity should be the cornerstone of your content. Share your successes, challenges and the real stories behind your products or services. This genuine approach builds trust and loyalty, encouraging deeper engagement from your audience.

• Include strategic calls to action. While authenticity and engagement are vital, converting viewers into customers is the ultimate goal. Effective CTAs guide your audience through the next steps—be it visiting your website, making a purchase or booking a service. Clear, compelling CTAs are crucial in transforming engagement into tangible outcomes.

3 Pillars Of A Successful Influencer

• Authenticity: Authenticity is the soul of influencer marketing. Influencers who maintain genuineness in their endorsements foster trust and reliability. Their followers value their opinions because they believe in the influencer's integrity and honesty.

• Reach: While the size of an influencer's following isn't the only metric of success, the ability to reach a broad or highly targeted audience is crucial. It's about connecting with the right people in a way that feels personal and direct.

• Trust: Trust is the foundation of any relationship, including that between an influencer and their audience. Influencers who have built a strong rapport with their followers can influence opinions and behaviors because their audience views their recommendations as credible and valuable. Localization of the conversation and the storytelling is critical.

The evolution of franchise influencer marketing highlights the importance of local engagement. The most impactful influencers could be within your organization, ready to forge strong, meaningful connections that elevate your brand within the community.

Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

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7. Society6. 8. GOODFOODS. 1. Nike Air Vapormax. Nike is the world's leader in manufacturing and supplying athletic wear and sports equipment. And in 2017 alone, they generated more than $34 billion globally. But they're not just one of the leading brands in the world; they're also among the top users of influencer marketing.
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Influencer marketing is now nearly a $5 billion industry in the U.S. Many brands increased their influencer marketing efforts this year as a cost-efficient way of driving sales and improving brand awareness amid a looming recession. In the U.S., influencer marketing spending reached $4.99 billion in 2022. By 2024, that number is expected to ...
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Case Study #5 Gamee app. The Gamee app is a casual gaming social platform, with lots of game titles, that connects gamers with brands and Web3 projects through play. The platform was launched in 2020 and was later acquired by Animoca Brands. Gamee casual gaming social platform influencer marketing campaign on Instagram.
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5 - Dyson. The other influencer marketing case studies on this list showcase human influencers—but as any Instagram user knows, influencers also come in different shapes, sizes, and species. Pet influencers have a lot of pull on social media. For brands like Dyson, pet parents are a perfect target audience.
10 Influencer Marketing Case Studies with Amazing Results
The influencer marketing effort yielded impressive results, including 133 million social media impressions, and more than 6,000 clicks to the coupon site. The brand saw a 258% increase in their Instagram following, and also managed to be the #4 nationally trending topic on Twitter during the influencer marketing campaign. Case Study #2: Bigelow Tea
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Here is a great influencer marketing example leveraging user-generated content. In many cases, the users of a product can produce the best images for the brand. Seeing the product in action or in real life instead of in a planned photoshoot can make a stronger organic connection than a brand otherwise could.
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Quiz's use of influencer content — on its website and social channels — led to a 276% increased time on site, a 23% higher average order value, and a 154% increase in conversion rates, making them one of the great influencer marketing case studies we've seen. You can read it in full here. 3. RIMMEL.
Best Influencer Marketing Case Studies: Success Stories You Need to See
Studying the best influencer marketing case studies unveils a treasure trove of insights and lessons for aspiring marketers. These real-world examples demonstrate the power of authentic storytelling, the impact of targeted audience engagement, and the potential of strategic partnerships with influencers to drive business growth and brand success.. By analyzing these case studies, marketers can ...
Influencer Marketing Case Studies: Real-World Examples of Success
Case Study 1: Daniel Wellington's Instagram Sensation. One of the most iconic examples of influencer marketing success comes from the Swedish watch company, Daniel Wellington. Their watches became ...
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Grow with the #1 visual social marketing platform made for Instagram. Sign up for Later, and see why over 7 million businesses trust us to manage their social channels. The best tools, for every platform, right at your fingertips. Create Free Account. The best social media marketing app, influencer marketing management platform & Link in Bio tool.
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Gen Z influencers who share authentic, engaging lifestyle content were hand-picked for the campaign. Creators showed how easy it is to choose their favorite flavors in stores and use the f'real machines to DIY their milkshakes. Their 10 videos captured 1.7M views and reached nearly 12M followers.
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Yes, influencer marketing is a highly effective way of promoting your brand online. Influencers can help you drive real results in terms of reach, number of impressions, user engagement, leads, website traffic, and more. As you saw in this case study, we engaged over 1 million people through our campaign. You can achieve similar results by ...
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