We worship social media influencers like modern-day marketing deities. And why not?
21% of shoppers recently bought a product because an influencer recommended it. 36% of marketers swear influencer content outperforms brand-created content. Brands pour 50-74% of their marketing budgets into influencer marketing.
But here’s a question: When discussing influencer marketing, why do we only focus on social platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Podcasts, Facebook, and Instagram? Why do we have to put influencers in a social media box?
What if you could take the trust and engagement of social media influencers and inject it into your email campaigns? Doing this will help you maximize your influencer marketing investment and create personalized email template designs that uplift your campaigns.
Congratulations—you’re ahead of the curve if this idea has crossed your mind. If not, no worries—you’re about to be. Let’s explore five innovative ways to integrate influencer-created content into your email marketing strategy.
5 Best Ways to Leverage Influencer Credibility
Whether you get personalized email templates or choose to tackle them in-house, your email campaigns offer a unique opportunity to create powerful one-on-one experiences with your subscribers.
Adding a human touch to your email campaigns must have a place in this strategy. Modern shoppers crave first-hand insights from people like them. They don’t want perfectly staged product shots.
They’re basically saying, “Show me what this looks like in my world.” Not in a studio, not on a model, but on someone just like me, doing things I do. When you showcase unfiltered, genuine product experiences, you’re talking to the heart, not the hand.
No wonder 40% of shoppers treat user-generated content (UGC) like their most trusted shopping guide when finalizing their purchasing decisions.
If you use UGC in your brand’s email campaigns, know that you have already dabbled in this revenue-driving marketing tactic—influencer marketing, just in a more subtle way.
But, running a successful influence marketing and email marketing mix requires more than just providing social proof to your email subscribers.
Let’s explore five solid strategies to effectively combine influencer and email marketing strengths in your next campaign.
- Exclusive Offers Promoted by Influencers
Get social media influencers in your niche to create FOMO through exclusive offers.
Picture this: a fitness influencer announces a 48-hour exclusive discount code for workout gear in a brand’s email newsletter. They then share the same code on their social media and encourage followers to sign up for the brand’s email list to snag the deal.
Want to make it even better? Create personalized email templates with dynamic content. Content that adjusts in real-time based on each subscriber’s demographics, location, interests, and preferences.
An email marketing strategy like this is pretty lucrative and boosts your chances of improving your email open rates, engagement, and conversions.
Pro Tip: Build custom email templates that feature products endorsed by the social media influencer and an exclusive discount code. Let the email copy sound personal and tailored to their followers.
- Host Virtual Events or Webinars with Influencers
Virtual events are your chance to create genuine community moments with social media influencers. When an industry expert breaks down complex ideas, shares insider insights, and directly engages with your audience, you boost brand credibility and draw followers closer to your brand.
The success of influencer marketing for events hinges on selecting the right social media influencer. Approach those whose expertise and audience blend with your brand’s DNA. Then, invite them to co-host or lead a live Q&A session or workshop. Get the word out and build anticipation about the event in your email sequence.
Pro Tip: Create personalized email templates highlighting the influencer’s presence. A clear CTA for registration is a must. You will also want to include an event follow-up email with recordings or key takeaways in your sequence.
- Promote Co-branding with Influencers
When your brand enters into a co-branding agreement with an influencer, you create a product that combines the expertise of both parties.
Picture this – you are a clothing brand and partner with a social media influencer who brings their fashion expertise to the table, while you use your manufacturing know-how. It’s a win-win to promote influencer partnerships like this through your email campaigns, as it brings forth exposure sharing for both the influencer and the brand.
One of the simplest ways to do this is to send an email announcing your new co-branded product to your email list, featuring a personal message from the influencer. Additionally, you should send regular updates on product launches.
Meanwhile, the influencer shares the excitement of creating a product with your brand. Narrative-driven email templates tend to bring the best results when co-branding with influencers.
Pro Tip: Share behind-the-scenes details, influencer quotes, or videos to promote collaboration.
- Use Social Media Influencer Content in Emails
Imagine the wealth of content you can generate for your email newsletters if you include social media influencers’ content directly. Product reviews, how-to guides, interactive galleries of images, their own social media posts, and positive comments….the list ends only with your imagination.
When you let social media influencers contribute creatively to your emails, you create distinctive materials that set you apart from others in your industry. Plus, it’s a smart way to effectively develop specialized content across large audiences.
Say a tempeh brand teams up with a popular food influencer who creates culinary content using their tempeh-based product range. His social media page is full of colorful images of tempeh meals, simple tempeh cooking guides, and ways to incorporate tempeh regularly into people’s diets.
The brand curates this material for their newsletters alongside easy-to-follow recipes for subscribers. This way, subscribers are likelier to purchase the brand’s tempeh to recreate the recipes.
By engaging their influencer, the brand gains extra credibility and draws the influencer’s audience to subscribe to their email newsletters.
Pro Tip: Discover micro-influencers who mirror your target audience’s lifestyle and interests. They are the most authentic voices that your audience can identify with, creating more relatable connections.
- Try The Reverse
Owning an email list is just as important for social media influencers as it is for brands. Relying solely on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok is risky. What happens if one of those platforms changes its algorithm? Suddenly, your reach could dwindle overnight.
Suppose the social media influencer you are working with (or planning to work with) already has a sizable email list. In that case, it’s a good idea to propose leveraging their subscribers to expand your email list.
Social media influencers have much more personal and trusted relationships with their followers. It helps your marketing goals if they feature your product in their emails.
This partnership with influencers could mean having your brand featured in the emails they send to their subscribers. In doing so, you gain access to their audience and increase your brand’s visibility.
Pro Tip: In your collaborations with influencers, invite them to share their honest product reviews, personal recommendations, or exclusive promotions in their newsletters.
Wrapping Up
Although the mix of influencer marketing and email marketing is not widely discussed, it’s a strategy worth implementing.
Investigate your niche and shortlist relevant social media influencers. Assess their present followers, engagement level, and content quality. Be sure to collect some reviews about their work and see if it is compatible with your brand personality.
Once you’ve found the right influencers, bring them on board and begin crafting personalized email templates that harness their reach and influence.
