#foodporn: food influencers as brand ambassadors
Are you also a fan of the super #yummy #instafood content on #foodstagram presented by your trusted #foodblogger? Leverage food influencers to boost your marketing in the food sector!
Culinary content reaches a huge community
Whether vegan, vegetarian, spicy, or made specially for kids – hundreds of food influencers flood social media with appealing, appetizing images day after day, reaching millions of consumers. A compelling reason for food sector companies and culinary establishments to bolster their marketing success by leveraging the reach of influencers.
It’s not always about choosing a successful account that already publishes food content – even popular public figures can become culinary brand ambassadors. Take Ayran Man, aka Eko Fresh, for example. At DMEXCO 2023, the rapper, actor, and entrepreneur talked about the campaign with the Molkerei Alois Müller dairy company and how his popularity among a wide range of people from various social and cultural contexts contributed to its success.
Food connects us: the ultimate recipe for successful food influencer marketing
It’s well known that influencer marketing is an excellent way to expand your reach. But what do marketers in the food industry need to keep in mind? Here are the secret ingredients for your social media success in the food sector:
#1 How to find a food influencer
Due diligence is key when choosing an influencer, and there are several factors to consider. For food companies, their future brand ambassadors should not only have a significant number of followers but, above all, represent authenticity and have experience in the food sector. Ideally, before you decide on an influencer, you should identify what values and personality align with your brand – it could be an authentic food blogger, an experienced chef, or a well-liked and credible public figure. Extra tip: Take a close look at past partnerships as well as engagement rates and community responses to shared content.
Size doesn’t (necessarily) matter: depending on the target group, using different types of influencers can be a smart approach:
- Mega-influencers: celebrities or well-known personalities with millions of followers
- Macro-influencers: people with hundreds of thousands to a million followers, often with expertise in a specific area
- Micro-influencers: individuals with a few thousand to a hundred thousand followers, often highly engaged and active in a niche
- Nano-influencers: people with fewer than a thousand followers, but who can still be very influential within their small community
#2 Know your target group
If you want your marketing campaign to be successful, you need to know your target audience inside and out. It’s essential to do a thorough analysis of their interests, demographic characteristics, and consumption behavior. You need to understand who buys your products and why. Only that will enable you to create tailored content together with influencers in a way that not only interests and inspires your potential customers, but actually motivates them to make a purchase.
Tip: Be sure to involve your influencers in the process, they know their own target group – which ideally is similar to yours – the best.
#3 Create content with the wow factor
The saying used to be “Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.” Today it’s “Don’t scroll on Instagram when you’re hungry.” An array of appetizing images and videos can be seen on social media every day, making it essential to invest in high-quality visual content that showcases the uniqueness of your product. Use professional, creative, and authentic content that attracts and holds the attention of your audience and generates engagement. It pays off to try out different formats and, depending on the range of your target audience, utilize various platforms.
#4 Use storytelling
Every product has a unique story. Social media and good storytelling let you relate that story and create an emotional connection with potential consumers of your product. It’s important to choose authentic and captivating stories that communicate the values and qualities of your brand. That will have a positive effect on the image of your product and strengthen brand loyalty.
#5 Credibility through authenticity
We’ve known for quite a while that authenticity is vital for success on social media, so it’s important to apply that same wisdom to your influencer collaborations. A natural, credible partnership enhances consumer trust in the brands and products being promoted. Therefore, make sure that your influencer can talk honestly and transparently about the product, just as your company is open and transparent. That approach will ensure the credibility of your campaign, your brand, and your product.
#6 Marketing: monitoring and analysis are key
Measurable success criteria are crucial for every marketing campaign. Agree on clear KPIs with food influencers and continuously evaluate performance. Regularly monitor and analyze engagement, reach, clicks, and conversion rates to determine the ROI of your campaigns and consistently optimize them.
Food influencers: a success factor
There’s no question about it, food content has taken social media by storm. A food influencer marketing strategy requires careful planning and implementation, but with the right influencers, content tailored to your target group, high-quality visuals, creative storytelling, and authentic partnerships, it can be a triumphant success. And now we’re getting hungry, so we’ll check out Instagram and TikTok to see what we’ll be having for dinner tonight – maybe it will be a product from your company soon!
