How do you pick the right influencer to represent and promote your company or brand? There are so many different kinds of influencers: Food influencers, B2B influencers, and even granfluencers. You may be thinking: surely there is one out there that is right for me.

It’s clear that influencers are not one-size fits all. One might be interested in your brand but has the wrong audience. Another might have the right audience but isn’t prominent or active on your ideal platform. So, what’s the secret?

While the process for finding the right influencer can be VERY time consuming, seeking support from an experienced agency like Tunheim can lift that burden. We have the keys to finding the perfect influencer, why you should invest in them, and our process overview.

Why Invest in Influencers?

Influencers aren’t just advertisers of your product or service. They serve as knowledge bases in particular niche categories, which can help your company achieve greater authority, credibility, and authenticity.

According to Pew Research, 30% of U.S. adults say that influencers have informed their buying decisions, and that number increases to 53% when only looking at users who follow the influencers’ accounts. Half of the women that were surveyed reported that they bought a product promoted by an influencer.

The reason is obvious: most people are more likely to make a purchase if it is promoted by a person they know and trust or someone who appears to be just like them. Influencers can humanize your brand and demonstrate that a real person enjoys your product or service.

Plus, being a social media manager (SSM) is hard. Creating TikToks and Instagram Reels can take hours, and the average SSM can churn out one or two in a workday. Delegating creative to a professional will save you time and resources. Not to mention, influencers can help you reach a wider range of untapped audiences through their built-in fanbase.

All of this culminates in 11x the ROI compared traditional media. The benefits are clear, but you still have to identify the right influencer for your business.

Niche and Reach: Unlocking Influencer Marketing Secrets

Say it with me: niche and reach. These are the two fundamental rules to consider in your influencer search. Niche considers the subject-matter the influencer tends to focus on, while reach measures the number of followers they have as well as the level of engagement they earn. Identifying your niche and a fitting reach is the first step toward building your influencer strategy.

How will you measure the success of your campaign? Are you looking to get your message in front of as many people as possible? Find an influencer with a high follower count. Looking to create as many conversions as possible? Check out small influencers.

As it turns out, micro- and nano-influencers typically create more conversions. Their lower follower counts means they can invest in creating a tighter knit community, resulting in up to 60% more engagement which correlates to producing more conversions. And they likely won’t come with the steep fees of hiring a mega-influencer.  However, they may be much more niche.

Narrowing down your niche and reach will help you decide who to target. Here are some tips for narrowing your parameters:

1. Determine your goals – What do you want to accomplish, and how could an influencer help you achieve your goals? Don’t go in blind. Everything is better with a plan.
2. Define your audience – Who needs to hear your message? Your key audience will determine where you will go in search of influencers.
3. Choose your platform – Are you looking to target women? 60% of Instagram users are women. Looking to target a more mature demographic like Gen Xers? Try Facebook. Demographics vary greatly by platform.
4. Start your search – One of the easiest ways to find influencers is by using hashtags. Search for a hashtag that is related to your industry on your desired platform. You might also search for trending content or analyze your competitors’
5. Determine influencer relevancy – Are you relevant to the influencer’s audience? And conversely, is the influencer relevant to your audience? The influencer should align with your goals and values. At the same time, your product and message should resonate with their audience.
6. Examine for harmful content to your brand – Do you want to remain politically neutral? Examine the influencer’s account for any political posts, or any other content that goes against your brand’s values before you decide to partner with them.
7. Confirm legitimacy – Some accounts are fake. Make sure the influencer has plenty of posts and authentic content. If the account has significantly fewer followers than accounts it is following, this is a red flag.

Our best piece of advice when finding the right influencer to work with is to work with someone who is responsive, follows your contract and has the right voice to match your brand personality.

Providing Your Pitch

Once you have found a few potential candidates, reach out and provide your pitch. Tunheim has a particular process that we follow with our clients when pitching influencers.

Most often, Tunheim uses a digital tool with a database of influencers and the means to reach out to them. We search the database, pick out several influencers that align with the client’s goals and values, and present them to the client.

Next, we work together to whittle down the list. Once the desired influencer(s) are determined, Tunheim will draft a pitch that shares the campaign overview, timeline, and requests such as number/cadence of posts.

After we send the pitch, Tunheim will request an influencer’s media kit with more information on their audience and a quote for pricing. If the client and influencer agree on terms, they will sign a contract.

If you sign a contract, make sure to manage your relationship with every influencer you work with and check in regularly, as this can ensure you keep the collaboration going.

As part of the contract, if the client is selling a product, they will send the influencer the product in order to post about it as part of the contract as we have done with the Salted Nut Roll, for example.

If the client is selling a service or spreading a message, they will pay the influencer to talk about it rather than send a product, which we continue to do with Accra Homecare.

Another option is to skip the pitching process and send a gift with products to influencers with the expectation that they will post about it, which Tunheim has done with Mott50 swimsuits.

And finally, don’t forget to have them disclose any sponsored material!

Tunheim has partnered several clients with influencers to enhance their brand personality and help our clients be better understood by their key audiences. Reach out today to learn more about our influencer marketing expertise.

The current media landscape has all but done away with traditional media pitching in which you throw out your press release to as many journalists as possible and hope it sticks. Today, journalists want to be pitched things that they are interested in, and they want something that pops.

That thing might just be data.

To someone with a communications degree, data is their worst nightmare. Yes, sometimes numbers are scary, but data must become your best friend as a PR professional.

Don’t worry, we’re not here to scare you. We want you to know why it is necessary to pitch data-driven content and how you can best use it to your advantage.

Why Data-Driven PR?

Data-driven PR is not just a fancy term for using and gathering data as a basis for PR and marketing strategies, it has become the content that journalists desire.

Cision’s 2023 State of the Media report found 68% of journalists want to see original research and trend data in pitches. See what we did there? Now you’re paying attention.

“Journalists are far more likely to pick up your company’s story if it includes data that fits with the overall story you wish to tell,” Bess Ellenson, Tunheim’s Director of PR and Media, said. “It gives your story more interest and authority, and creates less work for the journalist.”

Your original research also allows journalists to use your company as a source, which can be a great way to receive earned media.

There are other benefits to data-driven content, such as that it makes complex stories less complex, and provides deeper insights about the topic at hand. Including infographics and other visual elements can also help increase understanding.

Psychology can even back up why data is important. A study by Conductor found that people are 36% more likely to click on stories that have numbers in the headline. This is because numbers tell us what to expect from the rest of the story. Leading with a strong data point could help you earn great success.

How to Collect Data

The fun part is collecting data to see what you can learn about your business, customers or industry, and there are several ways to go about it.

One strategy is to look at your existing databases such as your website, which can be full of data on website traffic, clicks, time on page and more.

You can look within your own business for people that may have more insights into a certain topic, such as a wildlife refuge seeing a decrease in butterfly populations.

“Market research is another great way to search for trends happening within your industry and learn about consumer needs and preferences,” Ellenson said. “Or you can conduct consumer surveys to uncover their intent and behaviors.”

Just take a look at clever stories like one put out by Jawbone, a sleep and movement tracker which found the cities around the world with the most and least sleep.

OkCupid has an entire data center in which they share loads of dating trends. In 2022, they released a report that found daters on their platform think midterm voters are more attractive. Not only does that tell us a lot about the dating scene, but it has also much broader implications about the role of politics in our society and could launch an entirely different story on its own.

Most businesses have data, they just need to find it and know what to do with it. We have a few tips to enhance your approach.

3 Ways to Use Data-Driven Content to Your Advantage

It’s one thing if your company has original research, but it’s another thing to know how to pitch it. Before diving in, there are a few more things to consider. Here are three ways you can turn research data into a real story:

1. Center the Pitch Around Your Research ─ According to an expert panel of PR pros, original research is a welcomed addition to any pitch, but it should be the focus of your pitch rather than throwing in a few supplemental stats. Also, be sure your pitch has the intended goal to inform or entertain the reader first.
2. Include Visuals ─ Don’t forget, you’re trying to tell a compelling story. Visuals can help, so include things like infographics or videos that can enhance your story and easily convey the data you are sharing.
3. Use Artificial Intelligence ─ You probably don’t want AI writing your pitches for you, but it can certainly help collect and analyze your data. Tools like TELUS International can help you with data collection, while tools like Tableau can help you make sense of the information before you by discovering trends you may have missed.

Hopefully now data-driven PR isn’t as scary as it sounds. If you have data that you want share, or want to know more about where to start, contact us and we’ll help turn it into a story with staying power.

Here’s a trend you may have never heard of: Granfluencers.

Personally, I think it makes more sense to call them grandfluencers, but I digress. You may have deduced from the name that these are elderly influencers. Before you make any judgement calls, you should hear where this is going.

There are granfluencers with millions, that’s right, millions of followers on social media. Marketers can take advantage of this trend and partner with a granfluencer that may help them reach a broader age demographic.

While those aged 18 to 24 make up 42% of TikTok’s age demographic, we’d be remiss to acknowledge the growing mature presence on social platforms.

Move over Gen Z, because Baby Boomers are stealing the show.

Why You Should be Investing in Granfluencers

Imagine it is 2070. Gen Z is in their mid-late 60s. Now consider this: is Gen Z still going to be watching the latest and greatest influencers of the youth generation, or are they going to be following people they either grew up watching or are around their age? For most, it won’t be the former.

95% of U.S. adults aged 18-49 owned a smartphone in 2021, while only 61% of those aged 65 and older do. This is a large discrepancy that will decrease over time especially as Gen X reaches retirement age (83% aged 50-64 said they owned a smartphone). The same will be true for social media.

As generations that are more adept with technology age into seniority, there will be a much larger digital market for older generations. Granfluencers will therefore be in higher demand as time goes on.

Most Boomers are not watching Granny Jo (that’s a name I made up) on TikTok; they’re still watching Wheel of Fortune at 5pm (not a dig on Wheel of Fortune). But you can guarantee that Gen Alpha will still be following Mr. Beast (who is real) wherever he is in 50 years.

There is also significant untapped potential in the market for older generations. Boomers control about 53% of our nation’s wealth and 70% of its disposable income. Yet this huge group is often overlooked.

Why? Marketers want to attract what’s cool and modern; the people who are driving the trends. Millennials held that spot for a while, but now the torch is being passed to Gen Z. Meanwhile, Boomers feel nobody is speaking to them, even though they are sitting on money.

Younger generations may be sharing things online, but Boomers are the ones who are buying those things. Not only can granfluencers be used to reach those older markets, they also have wider age appeal.

Trending Granfluencers

There’s no need to wait for the current youth to get old and gray though, there are plenty of granfluencers to get in touch with right now. Here are some we think you should check out.

1. Iris Apfel – A 101-year-old businesswoman turned fashion model at the age of 96 who originally got her start as an interior designer. Refusing to retire, her Instagram account is now where she shows off her style to almost 3 million followers.
2. The Old Gays – This is a group of four hilarious retired men in California. With a whopping 11 million followers on TikTok, The Old Gays have massive appeal and comedic value among the LGBTQ community.
3. Barbara “Babs” Costello – Trying to cure her boredom during the pandemic, Babs was encouraged by her daughter to post a cooking video. She now has about 3 million followers on both TikTok and Instagram and even earned a spot on Good Morning America thanks to her viral recipes.
4. Lillian Droniak – Whether you are looking for some dating advice from a woman of experience or just looking for a laugh, 93-year-old Grandma Droniak often jokes about the follies of getting older to her 10.3 million followers on TikTok.
5. Charlotte Simpson – Also known as The Traveling Black Widow, Charlotte is a micro granfluencer who began travelling and sharing her experiences on Instagram after the passing of her husband.

Being able to model at the age of 100 is astounding, but we’ve underestimated older generations for a long time. Clearly there is a market for content from older generations.

The Real OG Granfluencer

There are so many modern granfluencers that would like to claim that they are the original granfluencer, the first, the OG. These youngins are unaware of the real OG granfluencer: Betty White.

While Betty never had a TikTok account or ever uttered the word “bussin’,” she touched the lives of all age groups. She was a granfluencer before granfluencers were cool.

In September 2011, Betty appeared in a music video for a song called “I’m Still Hot” by Luciana, a British singer. The song was a part of a social media campaign to build awareness about life insurance settlements. It was broadcast on Good Morning America and garnered national media coverage.

It was hilarious, it was unexpected, and it raised money for charity.

The world loved Betty and her sense of humor. When news of her death reached the headlines, everyone felt a little bit of emptiness in their hearts. Her fame even into her old age shined a light on the value of the granfluencer market.

Interested in reaching older audiences for your next campaign? Get in touch with us and we’ll help you find a granfluencer that fits your message.

PR and marketing aren’t all fun and games…until you read this.

We’ve all seen the displays in electronics sections of retail stores where you can play demos of the latest video games. But what if you could turn the customer experience into a game or competition of sorts?

A lot of brands are tapping into a trend called gamification; the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. Gamification is very useful in its internal uses, but even greater in its marketing and PR capabilities.

We want to show you how necessary gamification is for your PR and marketing strategy based on the evidence and best execution.

Why Do We Keep Playing?

Gamification plays into the human psyche. It works by rewarding validation for completing a task, which triggers a dopamine response. Dopamine stimulates attitudes of motivation to complete the task, the willingness to repeat it again for more dopamine responses and the learning of new patterns to access rewards.

In other words, our brains love games, but even more than that, they love rewards and competition. A successful game has defined, achievable, assessable, desirable, short-term goals. Games with these types of goals will keep players coming back for more.

Game designers should also keep in mind the loss-aversion theory, which explains that individuals would rather avoid loss than acquire equivalent gains. Players don’t want to lose rewards and will therefore keep playing. At the same time though, it is important to keep risk low so that people do not avoid the game entirely.

Taking it to the Next Level

With our ever-shrinking attention spans and oversaturated digital spaces, marketers and PR professionals need to capture their audience quickly as well as keep them engaged. Gamification is a fantastic tool for driving user engagement.

Studies have shown gamification increases engagement by almost half and increases information retention by 40%. These stats come courtesy of a book by Gabe Zichermann called Gamification by Design, which discusses the benefits of gamification in the workplace. Imagine the engagement and retention in a marketing context.

Beyond that, gamification helps grow brand awareness and loyalty. If a game you create is engaging, then people will remember it and chances are they’ll share their experience and create more conversions. Plus, if your game offers real rewards like discounts or other perks and customers can keep earning them, they won’t have a reason to seek out other brands.

Digital games also produce a highly sought-after commodity: data. A game that is engaging and offers the right amount of competitiveness and rewards will increase the likelihood of customers’ willingness to share some data.

This isn’t just a trend or a bandwagon to hop onto. Consumers want games and prefer experiences over price. 10,000 global shoppers were surveyed and 70% said they want games incorporated into online shopping. It’s time to start giving the people what they want.

Gamification Winners

Though there are a lot of good examples out there, these companies clearly won the game of gamification. Here are our top three games for customers of various brands.

1. KFC — KFC launched a marketing campaign in Japan designed to drive awareness and generate sales of a new product called Ebi shrimp. They partnered with Gamify to create a game called Shrimp Attack. Players could earn vouchers for the new product by playing the game; which was played over 850,000 times. It was so successful that the campaign had to be halted midway through because KFC locations ran out of the product.
2. Fitbit — Other copycats exist out in the world, but Fitbit is one of the first to develop an affordable consumer product that actively tracks activity and bodily functions in the interest of improving health. Fitbit has game-influenced features that encourage users to meet daily goals of exercise and stay healthy. 127 million Fitbit electronic devices have been sold worldwide and with over 111 million registered users on their tracking app since 2021.
3. Duolingo — It would be wrong not to mention Duolingo. This is an example of a product that is, in itself, a game. Duolingo makes learning a new language engaging by turning the process itself into a game. It shows progression, rewards achievements to users and ways to publicly display levels of mastery. The app has over 500 million downloads and 58.6 million active users.

Gamification is no longer a trend or an added bonus, it’s a strategy. If you are looking for a way to boost engagement for your brand or sell a product, consider ways you could turn it into a game. Whether it’s a competition against others or a personal competition for oneself, games are a way to shake up the monotony of the current digital market and drive more people to your brand.

If you’re eager to delve into this powerful strategy and explore its potential for your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re here to discuss and guide you towards gamification success.