As an agency, you’re likely already familiar with influencer marketing, but the question remains:
Are you taking advantage of Influencer-Generated Content (IGC) for your clients’ ad campaigns?
In the last five years, influencer marketing grew from a $1.7 billion to a $13.8 billion industry. So, it comes as no surprise that IGC has become a buzzword in the marketing world. And for a good reason.
Not only is it a more authentic and engaging way to create content for your clients’ target audience, but it’s also more cost-effective while still driving remarkable results for their brand.
In this CommentGuard article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about influencer-generated content: the pros, the cons, and the practical steps to implement it effectively into your marketing strategy.
What is influencer-generated content?
Influencer-generated content refers to any type of content produced by influencers to promote a brand’s products and services through their own account. This can include videos, social media posts, or even blogs that they share with their own niche audiences.
With influencer content, you can take advantage of their reach to engage their followers, which is a credible way to promote a brand organically.
Unlike traditional advertising which may be met with skepticism, IGC benefits from the trust and rapport influencers have built with their audiences.
NOTE: Influencer-generated content is not the same as user-generated content.
User-generated content can be created by anyone, whether they are customers or just individuals that want to talk about a brand online. On the other hand, influencer-generated content is exclusively made by influencers – those with a significant and engaged following on social media or other platforms.
Organic or sponsored influencer-generated content?
Not all influencer-generated content is created equal.
In fact, IGC can range from organic content to fully sponsored collaborations. This diversity in IGC types offers brands and agencies a range of options for leveraging influencer partnerships.
Let’s explore the different approaches and how each can benefit your digital marketing efforts:
Organic influencer-generated content
This is content created by influencers without any direct compensation or formal agreement with the brand. Influencers might share their genuine experiences or reviews of a product or service because they actually like it or find it useful.
For example, this hair care influencer lists her favorite brands in an Instagram post out of genuine interest in their products.
Organic posts are more likely to be perceived as authentic and trustworthy by the influencer’s followers.
Brands can use this content by reposting it on their own channels (with the influencer’s permission) or by engaging with the influencer to build a potential partnership.
Brand-sponsored influencer-generated content
This is content created by influencers as part of a formal agreement or collaboration with a brand. The influencer usually gains something out of this partnership, whether through payment, free products, or other incentives.
The goal is to promote the brand’s products or services in a way that feels authentic and engaging to the influencer’s audience.
However, influencers usually have to disclose that their posts are sponsored to comply with advertising regulations.
Why do consumers trust influencer content more than brand content?
It is true.
Statistics show that 63% of consumers trust influencers more than brands, making influencer marketing a preferred method to increase brand awareness.
Even when you compare this TikTok ad by Birds Eye UK to the previous examples of influencer content, it is clear that this one feels a lot more commercialized.
But what makes IGC so compelling to consumers? Why do audiences often place more faith in an influencer’s word than in a brand’s carefully crafted campaign?
Unfiltered perspectives
While influencers do engage in paid partnerships, their content is often perceived as less commercialized and more unbiased compared to traditional brand advertising.
Many even balance sponsored content with honest, unpaid reviews and personal opinions, which can make their sponsored posts feel more trustworthy.
Engagement
Social media influencers engage directly with their followers through comments, direct messages, and live interactions. They can often respond to questions and feedback about the products they promote, which helps build trust and shows that they care about their followers’ opinions.
Relatable personas
Influencers often represent lifestyles, values, and aspirations that resonate with their audience. Seeing a product used in a real-life context by someone they admire can be more convincing than traditional ads.
Expertise
Many influencers are seen as experts in their respective field, whether that is beauty, fitness, technology, or travel. Their expertise and specialized knowledge add credibility to their recommendations. It also encourages their followers to look up to them for advice, much like they would a friend.
Why agencies need to use influencer-generated content for ads
As you have probably gathered by now, influencer marketing is a highly effective method of content creation that offers significant benefits.
It not only raises brand awareness but also provides substantial advantages for agencies themselves:
Cost-effectiveness
Reports show that for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, businesses make $5.20 in earned media value. Since influencers typically create their own content, the costs associated with production are significantly reduced. Collaborating with micro-influencers can further lower expenses, as their fees are usually more affordable.
Better ad performance
Ads featuring influencer-generated content often achieve higher click-through rates (CTRs) because they blend seamlessly with the influencer’s organic content and are perceived as more authentic. This means that agencies can deliver more effective ad campaigns, impressing their clients with tangible results.
Can be used across different platforms
The versatility of IGC allows it to be utilized across various platforms — social media, websites, email campaigns — maximizing its reach and impact. This multi-channel approach can improve the effectiveness of ad strategies, enabling agencies to create influencer marketing campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences.
Broader reach
Influencers can introduce brands to new and broader audiences that the brands may not reach through their channels. This is especially useful for niche markets.
Different types of influencer-generated content
What’s great about influencer content is that it comes in different formats. Agencies can choose the ones that best represent their clients’ values and also engage the most with potential customers.
Here are the most popular types of influencer-generated content:
Product reviews
This is a highly effective way to promote products, as it gives influencers an opportunity to showcase the benefits of your clients’ offerings, as well as boost brand credibility. Product reviews are especially impactful when influencers compare the product to alternatives and highlight it as the best option.
Remember, influencers are experts in their niche, so when they claim a product is better than the rest, their dedicated followers are likely to believe them – or at least give the product a try, leading to more conversions.
Consider featuring their product reviews in a relevant section of your client’s website as powerful testimonials.
How-to tutorials
Similar to a Q&A, tutorials educate your audience on how to get the most out of your product. Not only is this highly engaging for those who want to learn more about your client’s brand, but it also showcases your product in action – making it feel more practical and relevant. For example, seeing a top on a mannequin doesn’t feel as relatable as seeing it worn by a fashion influencer on Instagram. The latter makes it easier for consumers to visualize it on themselves, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Contents & giveaways
Running contests through your influencers can help your client’s brand tap into their whole target audience. You can tell the influencers to use CTAs that ask social media users to follow your client’s company TikTok, Instagram account, or give their email address. Not only does this qualify leads, but It’s a great cost-effective audience building exercise.
Giveaways also create a sense of excitement and urgency, encouraging immediate participation and sharing.
Plus, you can get valuable user-generated content out of it.
Guest posts
By inviting niche experts to contribute to your blog, you can add fresh perspectives into your content mix. These posts often resonate deeply with your audience, as influencers tend to have a keen understanding of common pain points and challenges. For your client, this collaboration can lead to reduced content creation workload, improved SEO through quality backlinks, and strengthened influencer collaborations.
Podcasts and interviews
This type of influencer content allows for in-depth exploration of topics relevant to your client’s brand. The content can also be repurposed across multiple platforms, from audio podcasts to video interviews and blog post transcripts. This long-form engagement encourages stronger connections with the audience, while providing opportunities for storytelling and collaborative discussions.
How to use influencer-generated content for Facebook
There are so many ways agencies can use influencer posts for advertising on Facebook. Here are just some examples:
Organic posts
- Repost influencer-created content directly to the brand’s Facebook page. This not only provides fresh, authentic content but also leverages the influencer’s credibility. Don’t forget to tag the influencer.
Boosted posts
- Take advantage of Facebook’s boosting feature to promote influencer posts to a wider audience. This can increase the visibility of the post and reach potential customers who might not be following the influencer.
Facebook ads
- Integrate influencer-generated photos, videos, or testimonials into Facebook ad campaigns. This leverages the influencer’s authentic voice while benefiting from Facebook’s advanced targeting options.
How to use influencer-generated content for Instagram
Here’s how agencies can use IGC for audience engagement on Instagram:
Instagram stories
- Here’s a unique idea: let influencers take over the brand’s Instagram Stories for a day. They can provide behind-the-scenes content, product demonstrations, or Q&A sessions. Alternatively, you can just repost influencer stories where they mention or use your products. Highlight these stories to keep them accessible beyond the 24-hour window.
Instagram live
- Host Instagram Live sessions with influencers to engage followers in real-time. These can include product launches, live Q&A sessions, tutorials, or interviews. Incorporate interactive features like polls, questions, and live comments to engage the audience.
Instagram reels
- Use influencers to create short, engaging videos on Instagram Reels. These can be product demonstrations, quick tips, or entertaining content that showcases the brand.
How to use influencer-generated content for TikTok
Here are some ways agencies can use IGC on TikTok:
Branded hashtags
- Launch a branded hashtag campaign. Encourage followers to use the hashtag while sharing their own content featuring your product. Your influencers can promote the hashtag, showcasing how they use the product and encouraging their followers to join in.
TikTok duets
- Encourage influencers to create duets with the brand’s official content or other user-generated content. This can increase engagement and participation.
Best practices for social media ads that use influencer-generated content
Here are some best practices to maximize the effectiveness of your ads:
- Choose the right influencers: The best influencers are the ones whose values and audience strongly align with your target demographic. You don’t want to waste money and energy on someone that won’t generate content that is truly valuable for your client’s brand.
- Avoid fake influencers: Engagement is more important than the follower count. While you should choose someone with a broad audience, that number alone doesn’t make them influential. Make sure to review their engagement rates before proceeding with a collaboration. To minimize situations like these, try using an influencer agency. This will simplify influencer discovery.
- Balance creative freedom with clear brand guidelines: You don’t want influencers creating content that is mismatched with your client’s brand. However, it’s important to remember that they are content creators for a reason. While you should share your must-have expectations, always allow them enough creative freedom to produce authentic and engaging content.
- Secure content rights: Before diving into any collaboration, ensure you’ve clearly defined who will hold the licensing rights post-project. This agreement should be explicitly stated in your terms and conditions. This way, you can recycle the content across multiple marketing channels.
- Monitor your key performance indicators: Monitor key performance metrics such as engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to measure the effectiveness of your ads.
A problem with influencer-generated content
As with any type of influencer content, there are some pros and cons to consider.
Influencer generated content is undoubtedly a highly effective form of influencer marketing, offering great engagement rates, cost-effectiveness, and versatility. These strengths can often compensate for its limitations.
However, there is one significant drawback that can be a dealbreaker for agencies: the unpredictability and lack of control.
With IGC, agencies have limited control over how and when the content will be shared on the influencer’s social media platforms. While they can provide clear guidelines and detailed briefs, influencers ultimately have creative freedom and can interpret the content as they see fit.
This also means that the influencer content lacks extensive targeting options. Posts will primarily reach the influencer’s existing followers, and while that’s beneficial, it doesn’t allow for the advanced targeting and scaling opportunities paid advertising methods such as A/B testing bring.
This issue can negatively impact a brand’s marketing efforts, making it necessary to find better ways to start integrating influencer content into your strategy.
But if consumers don’t love brand-generated content, and influencer-generated content takes control away from advertising agencies, what alternative option is there?
A valuable alternative: Influencer whitelisting
Influencer whitelisting is a collaborative agreement in which the influencer grants brands access to their social media accounts, allowing the brands to run ads through the influencer’s profile.
This provides a solution to the inherent issues found in both influencer-generated content and brand-generated content.
With influencer whitelisting, you can:
- Take control of the influencer’s account to run paid ads: This means you can decide the timing, targeting, and frequency of the ads, ensuring they reach the desired audience at the optimal times
- Use social media platforms’ targeting tools: You can target specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and custom audiences, reaching potential customers who aren’t already followers of the influencer.
- Continuously optimize ad performance: You can adjust targeting parameters, creative elements, and budgets in real-time. This flexibility allows for ongoing improvements and higher ROI.
So, while influencer-generated content is valuable for its authenticity and organic engagement, whitelisting offers additional advantages that make it an appealing alternative.
Or you can even use both for a well-rounded influencer marketing strategy!
How to get access to influencers’ accounts
Gaining access to influencers’ social media accounts can be a tedious and lengthy process, especially if they’re not tech-savvy.
To see the entire process, check out this guide on accessing Facebook and Instagram accounts.
But don’t worry!
With Leadsie, you can bypass the headaches of access requests. Simply send your special link to your influencers. Once they open the link and connect their accounts, you’ll have access in just a few minutes.
Plus, it means you can get your campaigns up and running faster. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Here’s how it works:
Ready to start your influencer whitelisting campaign? Try Leadsie for free by entering your email here.
Raise brand awareness with influencer-generated content (and whitelisting)
Influencer-generated content is a powerful tool for advertising, offering authenticity, high engagement rates, cost-effectiveness, and versatility.
By leveraging the trusted voices of influencers, agencies can reach targeted audiences in a more relatable way than traditional advertising methods.
However, IGC alone has its limitations. To overcome these challenges, combining IGC with influencer whitelisting allows agencies to take control of influencer accounts for paid advertisements, offering precise targeting, scalability, and comprehensive analytics.
With Leadsie, you can simplify the process of getting access to influencers’ accounts. By sending a single link, you can eliminate the back-and-forth that comes with manual access requests, allowing you to focus on sharing high-quality content instead.
Try Leadsie today with a 14-day free trial.