93% of marketers who use video say it’s an important element of their overall strategy, and this percentage has been steadily increasing over the last several years. With the widespread adoption of video by brands and social channels (think Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat) today, knowing how to stand out from a saturated market is your key to success.
So how do you get social users to notice your brand’s videos? The answer lies in influencer marketing; featuring trusted individuals with a curated, loyal following in video campaigns sets your brand up to be memorable and trusted.
In this article, we'll reveal the benefits of working with video influencers and talk about seven types of video campaigns to consider this year for breakthrough awareness, authenticity, and conversion.
Why influencer-led video campaigns?
While a customizable stock video clip can be a useful tool for demonstrating your product or brand story, collaboration with influencers can boost your marketing results by far. 76% of marketers consider influencer engagement effective in garnering customer loyalty, as their followers trust them for genuine product recommendations and brand reviews.
Influencer content also provides social proof, making users more likely to buy products they’ve used and loved themselves. This is similar to user-generated content (UGC), which is 35% more memorable and 50% more trusted than other media. Both influencers and UGC bring an emotional appeal to purchase that brand content often does not. Influencer video content is custom-made and looks authentic, grabbing attention and encouraging purchasing decisions through an immediate impact. Plus, it provides you with regular new content assets about your products in search engines, saving time and budgets on content production.
Influencer video campaigns in 2022
Once you decide on the right social platform for your audience and discover influencers to collaborate with, it's time to agree upon the video types they will create to communicate your brand vision and products. To streamline this overall process, consider using an influencer marketing platform like Pixlee TurnTo [now Emplifi] to discover, manage, compensate, and track the success metrics of influencer campaigns. Check out these 10 influencer video ideas:
1. Unboxing videos
We all enjoy opening presents, and that's why unboxing video campaigns are so appealing for users and beneficial for brand awareness and engagement. In this video style, an influencer opens up a product box from a brand and shares impressions about its features with the audience.
When done right, unboxing videos create awareness, promote seasonal deals, and attract viewers closer to buying decisions.
YouTuber Alexandria Ryan posts an unboxing video showing apparel brand FabFitFun’s products. The brand also takes this relationship a step further by using an eCommerce referral program for creator compensation; Alexandria lists her unique discount code in the video description.
2. Product placements
This one is among the most common yet effective types of influencer video campaigns. Work out the payment amount and method for your influencer, and then collaborate with them on social posts incorporating your product in a positive light.
The trick here is not about directly promoting a brand's product and telling about it but placing it into a video's context organically and naturally. It’s absolutely essential to give your influencers creative freedom when formulating their posts; while you can offer guidance on how to speak about your brand and products, they’re the ones who ultimately know how to resonate with their followers well.
Milani Cosmetics reshares a video originally posted by influencer @glow_bymonica on Instagram. Milani, like many other creator-focused brands, uses Pixlee for Creators to create and launch influencer campaigns across social media, website pages, email, and more.
3. Product reviews
Product reviews are common influencer video content types, but they differ slightly from unboxing videos. While unboxing is about emotions and impressions about a product, reviews are about informative descriptions of a product's features, usage, and benefits. This video content type is popular among YouTubers, although influencers on other social platforms like Instagram or TikTok create product reviews as well.
A fitness influencer rating Alo Yoga’s skincare products on TikTok scores the products and shares her favorite elements of each. When collaborating with influencers on product reviews, ensure their values align with yours and their followers fit your brand's target audience.
4. Vlog-style videos
Many video influencers are industry experts or lifestyle gurus, inspiring fans to solve problems or make buying decisions specific to their niches. Their vlog-style videos sharing daily routines often serve as the most natural ways to incorporate sponsored products. An influencer invites fans "behind the scenes," mentioning a product or a service as part of their daily, weekly, or monthly routines. It fits organically with the content, which makes it effective for driving brand awareness and introducing your product as a solution.
Home decor influencer Lucia May Smith regularly redesigns rooms in her home as the seasons change, sharing videos featuring products like Kally Sleep’s bedding.
5. Behind-the-scenes videos
Such influencer video campaigns echo vlogging and product placement in some way. An influencer demonstrates the "behind-the-scenes" of their activities and casually mentions or showcases a sponsored product in the frame.
The fundamental difference from vlogging here is that these videos are not about lifestyle or morning/daily routines but an influencer's professional background. They may demonstrate the secrets of their job, behind the scenes of their niche events, or how they reached certain milestones. The point is to show how your brand helps these individuals reach goals related to their status as a creator.
6. How-to and tutorial Videos
This type of video collaboration with influencers serves to educate the audience and provide solutions to their problems, which is why viewers resonate with how-to guides and "life hack" clips so well.
When working with an influencer on creating a helpful tutorial, make sure to write a compelling brief for them to do everything the best way possible and showcase your product in a favorable and accurate light.
A travel influencer on YouTube shares how Skyscanner helps her find affordable flights that support her global lifestyle.
How-to's and life hack videos are super engaging. It's your chance to reach millions of consumers while providing value, and it's your cost-effective way to prompt purchasing decisions.
7. Hauls
Hauls are a kind of unboxing videos, but influencers don't dedicate entire clips to a single product here. They showcase several products within a broader category, like clothing, comparing and mentioning a sponsored product as "one of" to fit their video's theme.
In this activewear haul, influencer Lottie Lucy showcases her purchases from a variety of brands, including Nike, Adidas, and Puma.
Hauls are about recording how someone goes over a collection of purchases, and that is why they are the most popular among fashion and lifestyle influencers. Your brand has more chances to reach more views if an influencer mentions it in the first half of the video.
Now that you know so many video campaigns to try with influencers for targeting engaged, niche audiences, it's critical to understand the difference between video types and choose creators accordingly. Research the video platforms available to you; TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are great for shorter-form videos, but longer videos like product hauls may cater more towards a full YouTube video or IGTV post.
When crafted right, each video campaign on YouTube or any other social media channel can bring outstanding results, exceeding your wildest marketing expectations.
Anastasiia Polokhlyvets is a digital marketing expert at VistaCreate with a background in content, SEO, PR, email, and social media marketing. Let's keep in touch on LinkedIn.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on pixlee.com. Any statistics or statements included in this article were current at the time of original publication.
