Do you know anyone that
really likes your brand? The team at Tacoma,
WA based Foodservice Solutions® bets that you do. Most of us know that our best customer are
not only in our stores often, they tell us why, and just how much that they
like us.
According
to Steven Johnson Alicia Kelso, who writes for Nation’s
Restaurant News recently wrote a great article about the power of ‘influencer
marketing’. It provides needed insights that
the team of Foodservice Solutions® believes can benefit any restaurant of any
size independent or chain. The insights can prove valuable for any food
retailer particularly those selling grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat
fresh prepared food. Here is what Alicia wrote:
“More restaurant brands,
big and small, are shifting their marketing dollars away from traditional
advertising toward influencer relationships.
Undeniably one of the
biggest trends of 2023 was restaurant brands leveraging influencers on social
media to sell their products. These influencers resonate with the coveted Gen Z
demographic and help position brands top of mind, even if just for a fleeting
moment. And apparently, they’re very effective at convincing others to try a
menu item. Consider Chipotle’s fajita quesadilla campaign with TikTok
influencers Alexis Frost and Keith Lee, for example. The 2023 promotion helped generate two of the company’s top digital
sales days of all time.
Influencer marketing is
certainly nothing new, but it is reaching a fever pitch and, in fact, the
industry has increased by nearly $20 billion in the past seven years. Restaurants in particular are well positioned to
capitalize on this trend. According to
CreatorIQ, more than 437,000 creators posted about food and
beverage brands more than 1.2 million times, driving nearly 75.5 billion
impressions, 3 billion engagements and a whopping $4.8 billion in earned
media value (EMV). And those numbers are just from the first half of 2023.
It's no wonder brands
are shifting their strategies and dollars toward influencer content. KFC CMO
Nick Chavez recently described the influencer trend as a “generational pivot”
and, as such, the company has adjusted its marketing strategy – and investments
– to be more “content-first.”
“We have
absolutely pivoted our conversation from ‘what’s the TV ad’ to ‘what’s the
content strategy?’” Chavez said. “We’ve seen that Gen Z uses TikTok as their
primary search engine over Google at times, which is remarkable. How it’s
informing our strategy is we’ve invested in building our capabilities in our
social media management, social content production, and influencer
relationships.”
Kate
Finley, founder of Belle Communication, has worked with more than 100 brands,
including Shake Shack, First Watch, Jeni’s Ice Cream and The Halal Guys, and
confirms dollars are moving from traditional ads to influencer relationships.
“We are
now seeing major monetary shifts to micro and mid-tier influencers, who come
across as authentic – like a peer,” Finley said. “People are no longer counting
on their true peers to source recommendations. They’re looking at influencers
who feel like them. They bypass the need for a crowdsourced-peer review and
jump right into the click. The conversion is stronger.”
As
such, several chains
from El Pollo Loco to Wendy’s to Wingstop have found plenty of success from
this shift. Red Robin CEO GJ Hart told analysts in November that the company’s
investments in earned media and social marketing initiatives have positioned
the brand well and fostered engagements with guests. That includes a
collaboration with Ariana Madix, a celebrity bartender influencer and U.S.
Weekly’s TV Star of the Year, whose campaign generated over 500,000
views in its first few days alone.
In other words, the
opportunity is big, and it’s about to get bigger. According to a Morning Consult
poll, Gen Zers and millennials believe what
influencers are saying more than ever, with the report noting that "trust
in social media influencers" rose from 51% in 2019 to 61% in 2023.
“(Influencer
marketing) at its core is simply word-of-mouth marketing from a trusted
source. From the early days as a
blogger to the current state of micro- and nano-influencers, I see this as a
marketing practice here to stay,” said Jericho Lopez, director of marketing and
public relations at Qdoba. “There is a real opportunity to grow brand awareness
on a global scale through this method.”
Importantly, influencer
marketing can also level the playing field for smaller brands not seeking to
achieve that global scale. Rooster & Rice, a nine-unit fast casual brand,
recently tapped two local influencers – Nate and Lily – to promote a grand opening in Irvine, Calif.,
for instance. Angelina Hong, owner of Gourmand Group, the marketing agency
helping Rooster & Rice with its strategy, said the concept has utilized
influencers before and with much success.
“The campaigns did a
great job raising local awareness. We saw large lines on opening day,” Hong
said. “This is a great way to organically spread the word about new locations
from trusted sources.”
Hong added that the
agency is bullish on influencers in 2024 and beyond. It’s not alone. Pei Wei is
also ramping up its influencer strategy.
“Influencers work. When
taking to social media, people want to feel like they are talking to a person,
and we are more likely to listen to an advocate for a brand than a brand
promoting their own agenda. Social media is meant to be a social platform amongst
other humans. We want to feel like we are talking to someone about what we are
viewing,” said Grace Chao-Isaacs, Pei Wei’s social media specialist.
How to develop an
influencer strategy
With a growing
case-study-backed belief that “influencers work,” the focus now shifts to how
to make them work. Chao-Isaacs said it’s important to utilize influencers as
part of a marketing strategy and not the whole strategy. And of course, like
every marketing strategy, needs differ based on the size and scope, including
budget, of the campaign. Indeed, influencer budgets have a massive range, from
nano influencers with 2,500 or so followers for around $100 apiece, to macro
influencers, with 500,000 to 1 million followers, that run in the six-figure
range. And, of course, there are celebrities, or “mega” influencers, that
contract for millions. Though nano influencers can fit most budgets, Finley
said her company is seeing a trend toward more mid-tier influencers, which have
100,000 to 500,000 followers.
“You want a little more
reach if you can afford it. It is getting more expensive. Most influencers have
agents now and not every brand has an agency to manage that relationship,”
Finley said.
That said, managing the
relationship is critical and requires time and attention versus a more
traditional “spray and pray” approach.
“You have to vet
influencers very closely and make sure they’re representing what you want your
brand to be. Make sure you have a contract in place with value alignment and
clear goals,” Finley said. “Working collaboratively is important. Most
influencers don’t want to be dictated by brands as they’re leveraging their
cultivated audiences and risking their reputations.”
Finley adds that influencer campaigns are no longer a
nice to have and are becoming more of a necessity. That means even independents
should explore such a strategy.
“Experiment with
hyperlocal influencers who may have smaller but highly engaging follower bases.
The shift toward micro influencers is more measurable, it’s more cost effective
than doing traditional ad dollars,” she said. “People are seeking meaningful connections
but they’re on their phones all the time. From that perspective, it’s
authentic, targeted, engaged, and gets a better ROI.””
Don’t over reach. Are
you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more
like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while
creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization? Email us
at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the
following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter
