Crockpots and Saffire go together like Velveeta and Ro-Tel. We couldn’t serve up our World Famous Saffire Queso without that handy appliance. Recently, the Saffire Team has noticed a new crockpot in town that was making waves throughout our social media feeds. After doing a little more research, we found that we stumbled upon a raging marketing success story that our Saffire friends and family can implement in their own marketing efforts.
The Instant Pot has taken the world by storm and is even number one on the Amazon best sellers list. Ever heard of it? Even though Instant Pot has never been advertised on TV or print, we are sure that many of you have seen it on social media or heard about it at a holiday party. Millions learned of this electric pressure cooker/Crockpot/rice cooker combo because of the power of word of mouth
marketing and user generated content. Instant Pot has been in business since 2010, but it wasn’t until late last year that they started flying off the shelves and piling up on front porches. Instant Pot was savvy enough to know that social media is a crucial component to reaching out to their customers. So, they sent 200 bloggers and cookbook authors the Instant Pot to try it out for themselves. This strategy not only helped get their name out to the public but they also received tons of FREE product placement on many of the blogger’s and author’s websites, blogs, and social media pages. By using these social influencers, they were able to become a household name, go viral and sell over 250,000 units on Amazon Prime day, all without having to pay for expensive print and TV ads.
So, you are now thinking that’s great for Instant Pot, but that will never work for my event, venue, or destination. Don’t be silly! User generated content is easier to integrate into your marketing plans than you think. It is also a more organic way of reaching your customers. Many consumers today will trust a third party much more than they trust content from brands.
THE SOCIAL INFLUENCER
Your first step is to identify your audience and influencers. Find a
n influencer that will accurately represent the messages you want your audience to see. This could be a famous Instagram teenager, travel or column writers, or even a local news or DJ personality. Once you have established your influencer, events, venues and destinations can work together on providing that person with a unique experience of attending events, staying in trendy hotels and eating at local restaurants, all while broadcasting out their experiences to their followers.
It is also important to let your social influencers have creative control and be engaged in the planning process. These influencers did not just coincidentally gain thousands (or even millions) of followers. They built their large and engaged followers base by knowing what their audience wanted. They are experts on what is appealing to their followers. By giving the creative license to your influencers they will be able to introduce your event, venue, or destination authentically.
Finally, you need to be consistent and live up to this newly generated hype. There is not a one size fits all plan to building brand reputation. Your community involvement needs to focus on long-term benefits rather than quick marketing attempts.
It’s easy to understand why so many companies are taking advantage of user generated content marketing. Don’t let this simple & affordable opportunity to reach out to your audience pass you by. You will be surprised at the additional business word of mouth marketing will generate for your event, venue, or destination this year.