Social media presence is no longer an option for companies looking to succeed, especially as millennials come into their prime spending years. One of the keys to omnichannel retailing, and the online hardware and DIY sales that come with this, is creating a virtual presence to attract potential consumers.
Recent studies have found that more and more people are turning to social media for DIY help. Furthermore, these cybernauts aren’t just turning to social media for DIY support, but also for home improvement and DIY inspiration. An online touchpoint created through a strong social media presence acts as a marketing tool for these consumers.
However, the question remains how to shape an authentic presence online, and for this some brands are turning towards social media influencers.
The Importance of Social Media
The rise of social networks and media today has taken many forms. Channels such Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are well recognised in the business world, but other forms of social media, such as TikTok and Pinterest might not be so familiar. Even further along the scale, apps that might not considered social media apps, such as Whatsapp, YouTube and Reddit are also key online touchpoints.
How to take advantage of social networks in the DIY sector
The first step to taking advantage of social networks in the DIY sector is to ensure a presence in the most used channels. Pinpointing the most relevant social networks for businesses and the visibility of your brand is essential. Moreover, of vital importance is to ensure that relevant and suitable content is uploaded to each separate channel depending on the target audience. Content created for Facebook is not suitable for Instagram, and vice versa. Ensuring content suits the social network will also help your brand reputation, whereas uploading irrelevant or ill-thought-out content might actually harm your brands reputation.
The Impact of Social Media in DIY & Collaborating with Influencers
As highlighted above, social media has such an influence of business perception that large organisations are now hiring complete teams or turning to external agencies to build and proliferate their online presence. Moreover, many companies are collaborating with established social media influencers to accelerate this process.
The role of influences in social media and collaboration with brands is to add a feeling of authenticity to advertising and promotion on social media platforms through presenting a familiar face. Influencers can also help develop marketing strategies as they are often familiar with the fundamentals that build successful strategies.
Benefits of working with do it yourself influencers
There are already numerous examples of influencers working in the do-it-yourself sector. One of the most prominent of these, at least in Germany, is the DIY retailer OBI working with HeyMoritz & Julia Beautx, with 1.66M and 2.36M YouTube subscribers respectively, to promote their MACH MAL mit OBI channel.
There are many benefits to working with influencers, including the fact that they have profiles that humanize brands, they provide credibility, and they have reach to target audiences. These are all criteria that influence the success of a social media marketing campaign.
How to Most Benefit from Collaborations with Social Media Influencers
Of key importance and something to bear in mind is that influencers know their audience best. When working with influencers they should be given a degree of freedom in the creation of the campaign, and direction should be relatively loose. Furthermore, ensure that you collaborate with influencers that fit the brand image you want to promote. Ask them to detail their audience, and view their previous content, to ensure the image they have fits the audience you are targeting.
In addition, it is most important to come across as genuine. Customers want to feel a sense of connection to brands, and bypassing this will lead to campaigns not having the potential impact they could have, and even potentially cause backlash. Providing the influencer with a sense of freedom should help create a genuine campaign.
Collaboration with influencers is one of the ways to quickly build and grow an online presence and omni-channel experience for consumers, and this retail channel is not just for Millennials and Generation Z, but also for older generations. Consumers are turning to social media to learn about DIY and to find advice for projects, resulting in social media presence no longer being just an option. Collaborating with influencers can provide an opening and catalyst to creating a genuine online marketing campaign through social media, as long as the collaboration benefits both parties and they are given the freedom to experiment.
