1. Determine Your Goals and Audience

Before you start looking for influencers, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your marketing goals and the audience you want to reach. What are you hoping to achieve with your influencer campaign? Are you looking to drive sales, increase brand awareness, or promote a new product or service? What demographic are you targeting?

For example, let’s say you’re a fashion brand looking to promote a new line of sustainable clothing aimed at millennial women. In this case, you might want to focus on influencers who have a strong presence on Instagram, where this demographic is highly active. You might also want to look for influencers who have a strong interest in sustainability and environmental issues, as this will help ensure a good fit between the influencer and your brand.

Case Study: H&M Conscious Collection

H&M is a fashion brand that has made sustainability a key focus in recent years. To promote its Conscious Collection, the brand partnered with a number of high-profile influencers, including model and environmental activist Arizona Muse, who has a strong following on Instagram. The campaign emphasized the collection’s eco-friendly materials and the importance of sustainable fashion, which resonated with the brand’s target audience.

2. Look for Authenticity and Engagement

One of the key benefits of influencer marketing is the ability to tap into an influencer’s existing audience. However, it’s important to choose influencers who have a genuine connection with their followers and are seen as trustworthy and authentic. Look for influencers who have a high level of engagement with their followers, as this indicates that their audience is actively interested in what they have to say.

Case Study: Glossier

Glossier is a beauty brand that has built a strong following on Instagram, in part through its strategic use of influencers. The brand has worked with a range of influencers, from micro-influencers to larger-scale influencers like Emily Weiss, the founder of Glossier. The key to Glossier’s success with influencer marketing is its emphasis on authenticity and transparency. Glossier works with influencers who are genuinely passionate about the brand and its products, and who are willing to share their honest opinions with their followers.

3. Consider Relevance and Reach

When it comes to influencer marketing, it’s important to find the right balance between relevance and reach. You want to work with influencers who are relevant to your brand and have a strong connection to your target audience, but you also want to make sure that they have a wide enough reach to make an impact.

Case Study: Airbnb

Airbnb is a travel brand that has used influencer marketing to great effect. The brand has worked with a range of influencers, from travel bloggers to celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, to promote its services. What sets Airbnb apart is its focus on relevance and authenticity. The brand works with influencers who are passionate about travel and who have a strong connection to the places they’re promoting. This helps to ensure that the content feels genuine and resonates with the audience.

4. Evaluate the Influencer’s Brand Fit

Finally, it’s important to evaluate the influencer’s brand fit. Does their personal brand align with your company’s values and mission? Do they have a style and aesthetic that complements your brand?

1. Identify your target audience!

Before you start posting on Instagram, it’s important to identify your target audience. This will help you create content that resonates with them and increases engagement. Determine who your ideal customer is, their age range, gender, location, and interests. This will help you tailor your content and messaging to reach your target audience.

2. Create a consistent brand identity!

Your brand identity is how you present your brand to the world. It includes your brand’s visual elements, such as your logo, color scheme, and typography. Make sure your Instagram profile is consistent with your brand identity, as this will help increase brand recognition and create a strong brand image. Use the same color scheme and typography in your posts, and make sure your profile picture and bio accurately represent your brand.

3. Optimize your profile!

Your Instagram profile is the first thing people see when they come across your brand on the platform. It’s important to optimize it to make a good first impression. Make sure your profile picture is high-quality and represents your brand. Your bio should be clear and concise, and include a call-to-action. Use relevant hashtags in your bio to help people find your brand.

4. Post consistently

Consistency is key when it comes to growing your brand on Instagram. Make a content calendar and post regularly to keep your followers engaged. It’s important to find the right balance between quality and quantity. Aim to post high-quality content that resonates with your audience, but don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

5. Use hashtags!

Hashtags are a powerful tool to help increase your brand’s reach on Instagram. Use relevant hashtags in your posts to help people discover your content. Do some research to find out what hashtags are popular in your industry and use them in your posts.

6. Engage with your followers!

Engaging with your followers is an important part of growing your brand on Instagram. Respond to comments and messages, and show appreciation to those who engage with your content. This will help build a loyal community around your brand and increase engagement.

7. Collaborate with influencers!

Influencer marketing has become a popular way to grow brands on Instagram. Collaborate with influencers in your industry to increase your brand’s reach and gain credibility. Find influencers who align with your brand values and have a strong following in your target audience. In conclusion, growing your brand on Instagram in 2023 requires a strategic approach. By identifying your target audience, creating a consistent brand identity, optimizing your profile, posting consistently, using hashtags, engaging with your followers, and collaborating with influencers, you can increase your brand’s reach and build a strong presence on the platform.

But for articulating a successful brand-building strategy, there should be well-defined answers to questions like: 

Why do this business and the brand exist in the first place? 

Why should the customers care about your brand? 

What’s the mission of the brand?

As Jeff Bezos once put it, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room”. 

Since there have never been more brands in the market than there are today, the power lies with the consumers, and they are the brand ambassadors.

The brand today needs to lead conversations and discussions which are people-centric to increase brand engagement. People talking about the brand in the online and offline space is what builds a brand today. Starting from Investigative searches before buying or searching for any brand to Reviews of brands on e-commerce sites and social media etc forms the buying decisions of your consumers. 

So, Brand Development strategy in the digital age is no longer about the Exposure of your brand among your target audience. It is about the experiences and interactions they have with your brand. The basic principle of social media for brands is to be able to curate content which is shareable and too focused on sellable. Shareable content is usually a useful, knowledgeable, or emotional piece of information which the consumers will remember your brand for.

But it’s an age where marketeers must be careful and need to attain a balance, to not neglect the fundamentals of brand strategy while capitalising on the exciting opportunities available on the new digital channels to engage with their customers.

A coherent strategy across all digital platforms and channels is important, as neglecting the same can lead to a fragmented brand message on ever-increasing channels and dilute brand equity. So, a blend of authentic and traditional brand strategy with new packaging which flows and flourishes in the digital world leading to engagements and positive conversations around the brand is the key. The brand story told by the customer is the best in today’s time.

Repackaged fundamental rules for branding in the Digital Era:

1. Research and stand out from your competition in your marketing strategies. So, communicate clearly about what stands your brand apart and what is the USP of your brand.
2. Live up to the expectations. Deliver what you promise.
3. Emotional Connect. An authentic product which meets the demands and needs of the customer is important and is a good brand, but a customer will indulge in engagements and will stay loyal to a brand if there is an emotional connection.
4. Coherent brand communication across all channels. A consistent message at every touch point will make the consumer remember your brand the right way.
5. Understanding your Audience thoroughly and crafting the strategy in sync with their behavioural patterns will ensure the success of your branding campaign. Times have changed and today while making a buying decision customers go through many touch points and heavily rely on digital interactions, word of mouth, point of purchase environment etc. So, the research and understanding of CDJ (Consumer Decision Journey) plays a really important role and can be a deciding factor in your campaign’s success.

There are 4 stages of CDJ:

Selecting brands in 1st stage by – Inputs from peers, influencers/ Online product reviews.

Buying the brand.

Brand Experience, if enjoyable they will advocate.

If they bond with the brand emotionally, they will indulge in engagements and act as your brand ambassadors.

1. Stay present on all the digital platforms and capitalise on them as per your research. It can be blogs, social media, news sites, E-Commerce or related industry websites, Emailers, Mobile app ads etc. Finding a way to interact and engage with customers with your communication in today’s time’s two-way conversation is the mantra for any brand’s success.
2. Create content which stirs emotions, which is educational and guides customers rather than direct sales.

End-of-the-day marketeers need to remember that just like in traditional times Consumer was the king, he is still the king with even more powers to express what he feels for your brand in the digital landscape. So, brands must deeply understand this and design their strategies around comprehensive research of competition and consumers with the leverage of digital media platforms to drive engagement and provide prompt service to attain unwavering customer loyalty. If one forgets this, everything else becomes a lot harder.

While as per times we are propagating digitally first we should continue with things the old-fashioned way and should strike a balance with outdoor space branding, events, and experiential marketing, as consumers get to see our brand wherever they are.

And last but not least the approach with which any marketeer works should be flexible. With the thought that nothing is certain, and everything is open to change, the marketeers will always be ready to harness the new trends with their fresh ideas.