D2C brands have since forever relied on traditional channels (TV, billboards, print etc.) to communicate with their customers.
However, consumer behaviour has changed, and new tools have been leveraged to communicate with them.
Being a D2C marketer is hard enough, with all the platforms to target and messages to be sent.
So what if you could explore new marketing channels to create a community that advocates for your brand?
Hold on to that excitement while you discover why your brand should cover new marketing channels.
Reasons to Expand Your Marketing Channels
Build a Community
In today’s digital world, your target audience is no longer a “See an advertisement and buy the product” mentality.
They want to know what they’re buying into, who it was made by and how it will improve their lives before they commit their hard-earned money.
On the other hand, your brand cannot be “Just another product selling a product/service.”
How do you stay in the hearts and minds of your customers? By building a community of audience who’d vouch for your brand.
And for that to happen, influencer marketing is a practical step to take.
Influencers help reach people more likely to be interested in what your brand offers, which means more sales!
Community building is also a great way to get feedback from your customers.
You can use community building to find out what people think of your products or services, how they use them and what they would like to see in future updates.
Switch to Two Way Communication
Let’s stay a step back to analyze the most common marketing channels D2C brands (including yours) perform:
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
- Social media marketing, and so on…
Considering the above methods, your brand interacts with the target audience. Right?
But there isn’t space for your target audience to interact. Leading to one-way communication.
One-way communication means that you send messages out without getting feedback from them.
You’re missing out on valuable insights about what your customers want, what they like and don’t like about your product or service, and how best to serve them in the future!
- What if you can find a way to give them the space to interact?
- What if you could create an experience for them so that they feel like an active part of our brand?
Influencer marketing is a way to make your audience feel part of your brand.
Audiences relate to influencers more than any brand. Influencers help D2C brands stay ahead of the curve by connecting with their audience emotionally.
Expand Your Business via Word of Mouth Marketing
As a D2C brand, you always try to be creative and outdo the rest.
You’re also trying to reach people in a personal way. And that’s why influencer marketing is key for your business.
Influencer marketing gives your audience an experience they otherwise might not have had with your product or service.
For example, if you’re selling clothing, you can bring an influencer on board with a similar fashion interest to your target audience and then have them share their thoughts about the product and why it works for them.
The audience will better understand the product because they can see how it fits into someone else’s life—and then maybe even try it themselves!
Even beyond that, when your audience clicks through a link from an influencer’s page and discovers that your product is precisely what they were looking for?
They’re probably going to be much more inclined than ever to buy from your brand in the future because they know they can trust your products.
The word spread by an influencer brings the TRUST that most other marketing channels find challenging to achieve.
Hybrid Marketing Model Is Pacing Up
Paid ads, emails, and cold calls are great, but they’re not the only way to get your brand out there.
If you want to go beyond the paid space and share your products with a wider audience, then influencer marketing is for you.
Influencers can give you access to their audiences, which will, in turn, help you grow your audience.
With a broader knowledge of other marketing forms, you can take a step ahead in promoting or boosting the influencer’s content for paid ads and see how that works for your brand.
Now it’s no longer an image with few lines or an email with a CTA; a human interacting with your audience. The chances of them engaging in the ad are higher.
This hybrid marketing model would bring valid leads while also exposing your brand to a broader audience.
Perform Campaigns Without Restrictions
As a D2C brand, you’re probably aware of the restrictions that come with paid advertising channels like Google ads, like:
- Usage of specific terms
- Limitation of number of words
- Ad placement etc.,
If that sounds too much for your brand, consider working with an influencer instead!
Influencers give D2C brands more control over where their message appears.
Let’s say yours is a sexual wellness brand. Your paid ads are restricted to usage terms (especially because of the sensitive content); on the contrary, audiences of a certain age and above are only allowed to watch when an influencer collaborates and posts such content.
It’s a win-win. There are no rules violated and your product/service information reaches your target audience.
Move From the Consideration Funnel Stage to Decision Making Funnel Stage
When you’re running paid ads on social media, you can’t help but bring in leads in the exploration and consideration stage about your product or service.
It will be hard work again to bring those leads down the funnel, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible—it just takes a little more time and effort.
On the other hand, influencer marketing brings leads who are in the decision-making phase because of the influencer’s experience.
Influencers deliver experiences and have already established themselves as experts in their field and have built up an audience who trusts them implicitly.
When they promote a product or service on social media, that trust translates into sales for your brand.
No More Bid High, Earn More
When running a paid ad campaign, the first factor to consider is how much you bid on each keyword.
The more you bid, the more likely your ad will pop up when someone searches for a particular keyword.
However, if your budget is small —or even medium-sized- you might get a smaller reach.
Why limit your brand’s reach during such instances?
You can work with micro and nano influencers and drive maximum engagement and ROI to your brand.
Micro and nano influencers are known for driving maximum engagement while they charge less.
Conclusion
In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive digital landscape, expanding your marketing channels is no longer an option but a necessity.
Whether you are a new or established brand, expanding your marketing channels to influencer marketing will help you stay ahead of the curve and reach your business goals. Influencer marketing helps you connect with your target audience and adds credibility to your brand.
