TikTok has become a creative hub for e-commerce, and we’ve been hit by a new wave of ‘swipe to buy’ shopping-oriented video content on Instagram.
Consumers are working to ‘curate their feeds’ and claim back our mental real estate by opting out of advertising, and in a bizarre paradox, claim back autonomy by opting into influencer marketing.
We’re now living in a new era of media consumption which is empowering consumers to choose who and what we listen to and Influencer marketing has slowly started to become the norm across various sectors including hospitality.
Our attention spans are dwindling (ask Johann Hari) which means it’s even more of a battle for hospitality brands to get air time. As an audience we have moved away from overtly branded advertising (with 99.53% of paid advertising failing to convert customers) and are choosing to filter out the glossy flat lays of our once favourite food dishes.
We’ve entered an era where consumers prefer to dine based on peer recommendations, and in essence, it’s not a shock, this is the basics of human psychology; building trust.
Aside from the various benefits of attaching authority and audience to a brand, influencer marketing also contributes to solidifying brand recognition. Venues are working with influencers to drive product awareness, boost engagement, and increase sales.
As diners and drinkers, we eat with our eyes, and nothing gets us salivating like candid shots of the incredible dishes and drinks that don our Instagram feeds.
Think Patty&Bun’s juicy burgers, Ballie Ballerson’s candy-clad cocktails and MOB kitchen’s ‘food you’ll actually cook’. These brands are absolutely killing the social media game.
Some of our foodie favourites have been pairing up with well-known food influencers to elevate their levels of engagement. Instagram has outshone Tripadvisor as to the ‘go-to’ for dining recommendations. (THe LINK BETWEEN INFLUENCER MARKETING & SOCIALS).
The impact that food influencers and brand collaborations are having is evidence that working with an influencer can helps to propel the performance of marketing campaigns.
So we sent Nicola, from East London girl to Darcie May Green to launch storekit’s first influencer marketing campaign.
Nicola of East London Girl runs both a blog and an Instagram that recommends restaurants and bars across London. East London Girl has a following of over 56.1k followers and features venues that tick at least two out of Nicola’s three criteria: the quality of food, the price, the vibes.
We sent Nicola to one of London’s most sought-after foodie spots, Darcie-May Green, a colourful barge located right by Paddington train station.
Visit Darcie-May opens from the early hours of the morning for a flat white and stick around into the late hours of the evening, where you’ll find a buzzing bar, cocktails and nine local craft beers on tap.
But Paddington's beloved boat, designed by legendary British pop artist Sir Peter Blake is best known for its Aussie brunches, healthy lunches and Antipodean-inspired dinners.
We sent Nicola to sample what’s been touted as ‘the best brunch in the world’ by MyLondon and share the experience with her 56.1k followers, as well as give away a bottomless brunch for 2!
We love paid ads, but when ROI is on the line, influencer marketing is the way to go. The stats don’t lie: Influencer marketing is more influential than paid ads. 92% of consumers trust influencers more than ads, generating 11X the return on investment.
With over 13.5k new impressions we saw 100’s of new followers on our storekit social media accounts and made some amazing new connections with potential customers and fellow foodies.
We saw a huge 2150% increase in the number of accounts reached, compared to organic posting alone.
Using influencers allows you to define your target audience but reach them through somebody that has worked to already solidify a strong and credible relationship with their audience. This can help smaller brands move through the usual noise that surrounds larger brands, enabling them to enter a new realm of consumer trust through relationship-building.
Follow us on IG and send us your fave foodie blogger to be in with a chance of winning a storekit goodie bag.
Here are a few of our favourites:
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