Influencer content is powerful, but its power lies in its ability to connect with people in a relatable way. Whether your brand is juggling multiple influencer collaborations or you are an aspiring influencer who’s trying to grow an audience, the importance of relatability in influencer marketing content can’t be overstated.
Why is reliability in influencer marketing important?
Relatable content is the foundation for a long-term relationship among brands, influencers and followers. With relatable content, influencers build trust, while brands get authentic product endorsement. The benefits of relatable content are many, but some stand out.
Relatable content connects
When you focus content on a specific niche for a specific audience, you connect with followers. Relatable content won’t connect with the masses, but it will connect with a chosen few, and when they connect, it’s a meaningful interaction. That connection has a lot of potential for a brand and a creator.
Relatable content influences consumer decisions
Brands work with influencers because they can “influence” their audience to take action, usually to make a purchase or another action like sign up for a free trial or join a webinar. Brands pay for this influence or sway that creators have over their audience. And it’s usually beneficial.
Research shows that 54% of young adults (18-29 years old) and 42% of older adults (30-49 years old) have been convinced to make a purchase because an influencer promoted a product or service, according to data from Pew Research Center. Check out our own research on influencer trust: Trust in Influencer Marketing.
Relatable content creates a beneficial halo effect
Followers have chosen to join an influencer’s social community. Over time, as followers are exposed to intriguing, relatable content, trust is built between the influencer and the audience. When an influencer works with a brand, a follower’s trust often transfers to the brand by association. This “transfer of trust” is known as the halo effect.
How to create relatable content with examples to use for inspiration
No matter what side of a collaboration you’re on, here are some handy tips to make sure influencer-generated content is relatable, along with some examples to draw inspiration from:
Be picky about the influencer/brand you choose to work with
The most relatable content stems from well-paired influencers and brands. The two should share a common audience, values, and tone. As such, finding the right partnership is important.
Creators and brands should spend a fair amount of time searching for the right fit.
To aid in your search, you can use an influencer marketing platform like IZEA’s Marketplace. Influencers can join the platform for free, create a profile, and list specific content for sale. Brands can search this database, use filters to narrow the search, browse profiles, review pricing, and connect with creators.
When Avvatar, the maker of a protein powder, searched for a relatable influencer to tout their product, they connected with fitness model Tushar Menath to create the Instagram post below. It’s a good example of a well-paired influencer and brand.
Be personal
Relatable content often offers a personal take on a product or experience. When an influencer shares how a cleaning product eases their Sunday chores or offers small business advice that endorses online accounting software, they promote the product or service through a personal lens.
In this example, micro-influencer Bre shared her struggle with weight loss and endorsed a diet plan.
Evoke emotion
One of the best ways to create relatable content is to tug at an emotion. Help followers feel excited about a product or share an emotional experience that led you to a brand’s product or an organization’s services.
For example, IZEA, Cactus and Colorado Crisis Services worked with Colorado residents to share their experiences with mental health and highlight the center’s services. Each influencer shares their experience authentically.
@coachalexvaughan #sponsored #CCSpartner https://lnk2.io/wD4Ly6W
♬ original sound - Alex Vaughan
Focus on a solution or being helpful as opposed to a sales pitch
Relatable content doesn’t feel like a sales pitch; it feels like a conversation with a friend.
Think about how word-of-mouth marketing happens. A customer has a great experience with a brand. When an opportunity to naturally share that experience comes up with a friend, the endorsement is more of a helpful suggestion. Influencer content should work the same way.
Rather than an influencer creating “salesy” content, they should take the creative lead to frame the product as a solution to a problem.
Need an example? Miles of @makewithmiles shows how he uses a product in his DIY project.
Influencer marketing can be an effective marketing tool, but its effectiveness is tied to its relatability. Use these tips to ensure your next influencer collab is as relatable as successful.
Influencers:
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Marketers:
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