Plantfluencers are taking social media by storm.
These expert gardening influencers are popping up on every channel making posts on everything outdoors/indoors to more niche plant varieties like orchids or carnivorous plants.
Here at Garden Media we love working with plantfluencers. Our clients have partnered on a tremendous amount of video and blog content, co-hosted and sponsored events and worked with influencers to simply grow brand awareness.
Before we jump ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the basics.
Read more to learn about working with plantfluencers.
What is influencer marketing?
Brands that participate in influencer marketing do so by partnering with someone who has a significant following on a social media platform. There's usually some negotiation or proposal to promote their brand or product. At Garden Media, we tend to work with micro-influencers (plantfluencers if you will), those in the specific gardening realm with highly engaged audiences.
Influencer marketing is especially popular on Instagram and YouTube, coining the terms Insta-famous and YouTube Celebs. The number of followers an influencer has doesn’t necessarily matter, what’s key is that their audiences (large or small) consider them to be authentic and trustworthy.
When deciding to partner with an influencer, take into consideration the platform the influencer is strongest on, the kind of content the influencer is posting and if you’ll also have the rights to use that content on your own channels.
Depending on the level of influence a person has, influencer marketing can get pricey. However, working with micro-influencers can prove incredibly useful for garden businesses and is a great way to dive deep into your target demographics.
How it’s Changing Traditional Marketing
As more plantfluencers join the social media realm, it’s changing the way companies do pr. Many garden brands recognize that consumers are more willing to buy a product from someone they know and trust who is promoting it, rather than an ad in the newspaper.
While traditional PR looks to securing news segments, radio interviews and mentions in print pieces, influencers are the spokesperson and outlet all in one. Sometimes, they're even pocasters, too. They have a lot on the line! There are multiple strategies here, the first being the relationship with the influencer and the second being the relationship with the influencer’s audience. You'll want to make sure to nurture both of these.
Sometimes influencers and brands form an organic relationship when the influencer has been using a company’s product or service for years. Influencers are putting their name on the line by recommending products and many won’t promote something they don’t believe in. They’ll need some help in understanding why your product is the best in its category.
Depending on the level of influence a person has, influencer marketing can come with a quite a price tag. That being said, the more intimate relationship brands can have with a select audience can definitely be worth it.
Calculating ROI
At Garden Media, we work with influencers to determine what the best measurement for ROI will be, because every influencer will be different. One might excel in impressions on short videos, when another excels in capturing their audience's attention more than 25% of the way through their 10 minute videos. Impressions, engagement. Another influencer may be hosting a live event in a target region of yours. The possibilities are endless!
Want to learn how to achieve success with plantfluencers? Give us a call!
