YouTube Influencer Marketing

YouTube is rapidly becoming one of the most popular influencer marketing channels. With recent improvements in internet speeds, video is now an expected part of most people’s online experiences. While you will find videos on most social networks now, and Instagram has even created a competing long-form video platform – IGTV, YouTube is still the de facto place for people to come to get their video fix. 

YouTube is an excellent place for influencer marketing. It includes many popular channels and is more established than most social media sites. It also has a formal advertising setup, meaning that marketers can build campaigns in multiple ways.

Although you will find people of all types and ages watching YouTube, it has a special place in the hearts of Millennials and Generation Z youngsters. Indeed many of them watch YouTube channels more than they do traditional television channels. 

These campaigns aim to introduce a product to a new market or a specific audience. For example, promotions targeting first-year students at the beginning of the university year. The product might not be brand new, but it's the first time these students will encounter it. To make an impact, you’ll want influencers to create engaging and eye-catching videos featuring your product. Video reviews are a great way to showcase it, and videos where the influencer uses or wears your product can be highly effective. If it's a food product, consider paying influencers to cook a recipe using your item as a key ingredient.

Brands often run maintenance campaigns to keep their products top of mind. These campaigns help maintain brand awareness while also driving new sales, especially for long-established brands. Educational videos can play a key role here. Collaborating with influencers to create How-To videos that demonstrate new ways to use your product or maximize its value can be very effective. Be sure to focus on the benefits, not just the features—viewers want to know how your product can improve their lives or solve their problems.

Branding campaigns focus on videos that subtly highlight your brand or product while the influencer discusses a broader topic. It's important to keep these videos from feeling overly commercial, as viewers may quickly lose interest and question the influencer’s authenticity. Since most people avoid ads, there's a fine line between an influencer's branding video and a paid promotion. Integrated branding videos have become increasingly popular for building brand awareness among target audiences without feeling like traditional ads.

Unlike integrated videos, brands can choose dedicated campaigns where the influencer focuses entirely on your brand or product throughout the video. Examples of Dedicated Branding Campaigns include educational videos, product reviews, unboxings, and haul videos. Viewers often watch these types of content before making a purchase, using them to guide their buying decisions.