Why One-Off Influencer Partnerships Are Becoming Less Effective

Memory is at the heart of successful marketing. It’s why brands invest energy and money into creating recognizable logos and advertisements with catchy jingles that get stuck in your head. And one way to create lasting memories? Repetition. Think about it like this: if you drive by a billboard once, you may or may not remember what the billboard is advertising, but if you drive by it every single day, you are going to have a stronger memory of the ad. The repetition of the experience strengthens the memory.

This same principle applies to influencer marketing campaigns. If followers see an influencer mention a brand just once, they may or may not remember the brand later on. On the other hand, if an influencer consistently mentions a brand month after month, followers are more likely to remember the brand, check it out, and finally purchase product from the brand. By incorporating repetition into your influencer marketing strategy, you are increasing the amount of an influencer’s followers who can translate into customers. 

There are additional advantages to partnering with influencers for multiple posts, one being that you will increase your campaign reach through multiple posts. In an ideal world, 100% of an influencer’s following would see every single post of theirs, but in reality, only a fraction of an influencer’s followers will see each post. A long term partnership increases the likelihood of more followers seeing the branded content; maybe they will miss one post, but they can see another. 

Perhaps the most important benefit of working with influencers for long term partnerships is that they are able to share an authentic brand partnership that their audience trusts. Marketing through storytelling has become a powerful way to connect with consumers, and during the coronavirus pandemic when audiences are looking to influencers to share the brands and items they genuinely rely on, the importance of authentic partnerships has only grown. Influencers who speak on a brand partner for weeks or months at a time become natural brand advocates and showcase how a brand fits into their everyday life.