Influencer marketing has become a go-to strategy for brands looking to more closely connect with their target audience. By partnering with influencers, brands can tap into their authentic voice to create rich brand associations.  However, building a successful campaign around multiple influencers can be a challenging task. It takes more than just a hashtag to bind them together and call it a campaign. To create a cohesive program that ties together multiple voices while still allowing each influencer the freedom to speak to their followers in their own unique way requires a thoughtful creative strategy.

Of course, the rules of engagement with influencers still apply. First we must evaluate each influencer’s strengths and weaknesses. Every influencer has their own niche, audience, and style of content creation. By identifying these unique characteristics, we can choose influencers that align with our brand’s objectives and values. Next, we provide each influencer with a clear set of communications guidelines that ensures each post will align with your brand’s objectives and values. These guidelines should provide influencers with direction on how to incorporate your brand’s messaging into their content while still allowing them to speak to their followers in their own unique way.

But to elevate your multi-influencer campaign to a higher level, it is also important to identify a common thread, a theme, storyline, etc., that ties all of the influencers’ content together so that they are essentially “dancing to the same beat” vs left entirely on their own to freestyle and interpret messaging themselves. That’s how to create a campaign that feels organic and natural, but where the collective result is far more powerful.

Our “Speak Lavazza” campaign is a great example. Lavazza wanted to showcase its authentic Italian coffee experience and its position as a premium coffee brand. So we tapped into the insight that Italians have a sub-language of hand gestures to express their thoughts and emotions. We created a glossary of these gestures and invited influencers to incorporate them into their posts, as well as follow our key brand guidelines and the hashtag: “SpeakLavazza”.

The result was a campaign that felt organic and natural. Each influencer found their own way to use the gestures, resulting in an engaging and entertaining campaign that hit all the right brand notes. This campaign was successful because it allowed influencers to use their unique voice and style to promote the brand, while still providing the impact off a coordinated campaign. 

Another example of applying a campaign strategy to influencers is “Dove Real Beauty”. Dove wanted to redefine beauty standards and promote body positivity by celebrating real women and their diverse bodies. Dove partnered with influencers who shared this message of self-love and body positivity. The campaign used the hashtag #RealBeauty, which the influencers used in their posts. The campaign encouraged women to share their stories and photos using the hashtag, resulting in a positive message of inclusivity.

The “Coachella in Your Living Room” campaign by Absolut Vodka is another successful influencer campaign. Absolut partnered with influencers who attended the Coachella music festival to create a campaign that brought the festival experience to the viewers’ living rooms. The influencers created cocktail recipes using Absolut vodka, shared their festival outfits, and created a Coachella-inspired atmosphere in their homes. The campaign provided an alternative experience for viewers who couldn’t attend the festival, positioning Absolut as a festival-inspired brand that offered a unique experience.

It’s important to monitor the success of your influencer campaign and make adjustments as necessary. Use metrics like engagement, reach, and impressions to measure effectiveness. This will allow you to make changes to your strategy as needed and ensure that your campaign is achieving its objectives.

Building a successful campaign around multiple influencers can be a challenging task. However, by identifying a common thread that ties all of the influencers’ content together, you can create a cohesive campaign that feels organic and natural, even when multiple influencers are involved.