With so many brands increasing their investment in influencer marketing, there is more sponsored influencer content on social media than ever!

With so much more content in our feeds, it’s important to ensure that your sponsored influencer content stands out. If you are looking for ways to ensure that your contents helps to make your influencer campaign successful, we’ve got you covered!

Here are 3 themes that we are seeing pop up as best practices for creating great content from our recent influencer campaigns:

1. Personal

Sponsored content should look and feel like a personal recommendation vs a commercial shot by the brand.

• Personal recommendations are more persuasive and authentic. And allow the influencer to use their own words.
• Allow the influencer to share their thoughts/feelings about why and how they use the product and how it fits into their lives.
• Adding non-branded organic content clips and talking points throughout their branded content helps ensure the post feels organic, driving best possible engagement.
• Brand messages should be provided in the influencer’s organic content style so followers are viewing content they enjoy and expect from the influencer they follow, while learning about the brand. For example, this viral reel viral Reel for Glad Cling Wrap delivers product messaging alongside the influencer’s typical food-forward recipe content.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bailey Rhatigan (@sailor_bailey)

2. Hook

Influencers should use a hook that draws viewers in to maximize engagement & duration of viewership

• The hook may or may not be directly related to the product. For example: 3 Easy Lunch Hacks is more engaging than Why I Love Product X For Lunch.
• Example: Carleth focused her content for Core Water on running the Boston Marathon and worked to hook her audience within a very specific niche.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carleth Keys • Marathon • Running Tips (@carlethkeys)

3. Authenticity

Influencers share a lot of their lives online so it’s important that they maintain their authenticity.

• They accomplish this by combining their sponsored content with their personal lives that their audiences tune in to see. In this example, Ashley talks about her life in college and exams, in addition to sharing key product messaging for Burt’s Bees, which keeps her followers invested in the full video.

• Allow for B-roll footage that shows everyday life. This reinforces the authenticity of their content, which strengthens their recommendation. Julianne’s B-roll in her TikTok for IAMS includes hiking with her dog, which is consistent for her outdoorsy feed.

TIP: Brand-requested edits should center on the way the brand/product is shown or discussed but not on the creative/organic areas of the content. Influencers know what works for their audience. Trust in the influencer to follow the content style will resonate best with their unique follower group.

We have found that brands that allow their chosen influencers to bring their knowledge of their audience plus creativity and brand style to their sponsored content tend to stand out.

We hope that these tips help you as you create influencer campaigns!