In this day and age, where so much is digitally driven, consumers like you and I are looking to each other for recommendations on products or services. This would be the kind of thing that you might have done with family or friends before, but with social media and blogs, and then becoming mainstream and accessed by millions of people, you can turn to your favourite influencers for these recommendations now too.
For a brand to engage with and get involved with key influencers can therefore be something that is a really crucial part of their marketing and communications strategy. These days, top influencers are earning six figures, meaning that this isn’t just a novel thing for brands, but something that can help their growth.
Parenting and family blogs have been growing in popularity. I remember when I started out properly, earning money from this, was around 2014. But the rate that others have grown around me, and the number of others making a start with it, has grown and grown. Family blogs and influencers have grown and gown from around 15% of blogs back in 2016 having that focus, going to 30% just one year later on 2017.
So why are parenting and family influencers on the rise, as that number has been growing and growing? Can brands really use them to drive sales?
Fashion and Lifestyle Bloggers Becoming Parents
One reason why there can be an increase and family influencers are on the rise, is that there are some ready made influencers, that simply make a life change and become parents. With an established following from their lifestyle or fashion blogging, there are babies added into the mix. And already popular influencer will have a fan base who will stick with them through this, which makes a difference.
I remember following Amber Fillerup-Clark back when she had only 80k followers on Instagram, and it was all about air tutorials and style, and planning her wedding. Now a married mother of three, she’s up there at 1.4m followers on Instagram, and there is a switch in the focus that has been so seamlessly done.
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Real and Relatable
If you are someone that followers family influencers on you social channels, then think about you do just that. Are the kids just utterly adorable, you envy their life, or because they share real and relatable content? Although striving to have a life like someone else can be in for some, a lot of the popularity of family influencers comes from the real content they share that is just like you. When you’re raising children, there are some things that are the same, no matter how many followers you have. The realness can be a big way to attract a following, and then from a brand’s point of view, with influencer marketing, that is really appealing as there is an audience that are going to be parents themselves, in a similar situation. So you can make the most of it and hone in on that.
Inspiring Others
Another aspect of family influencers is that they can be inspiring others with their content. If they have a passion that they want to share with others, if they are activists for a certain cause, or are making changes to their life that others want to emulate, then it can be something that makes them stand out.
It makes followers re-think, and as such, can be a winning combination for brands.
As long as they are working with brands that have the right ethos and integrity for the values that they hold, then it does make a difference. Another reason why family influencers are growing is because of this; they are making changes and it is inspiring others. When you see it in a ‘warts-and-all’ format,’ then as mentioned above, it does make it all much more relatable, and there is trust that grows from followers.
If you are a family influencer, then I can’t see us going anywhere, anytime soon. There is a need for it, and people like to follow along and either be inspired, be entertained, or have a bit of escapism from normal life. But from a brand point of view, using family influencers in your next campaign can be a wise move. The fit needs to work well for the brand and what you are looking for. With the right influencer, it can be a boost that you need. Family influencers can help you to hone your communications and increase engagement with the exact audience that you are looking for.
*this is a collaborative post, but all opinions are my own.
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