Maximizing Influencer Marketing for CPG Brands: 10 Proven Strategies

If you’re here, you already know that influencer marketing for CPG works is a good bet.

And you probably already know the generic steps of it, from goal setting and market analysis to influencer outreach and campaign monitoring.

This guide is different.

Our team at inBeat, a CPG marketing agency, is ready to share 10 unique influencer marketing strategies to power up your campaign.

You’ll learn about:

• Current trends in the consumer packaged goods industry and how to reap them
• Specific tactics for different product categories
• Real-life examples that work

Keep reading below.

TL;DR

1. The Rise of Medical Influencers

Medical content creators are gaining speed in the beauty industry, from skincare to hair care and make-up. But you can also notice medical professionals endorsing clothing brands or dental hygiene products like Boka.

Here’s what happens:

Your potential customers want objective proof that your products are safe and effective.

That’s why:

• 53% of your target market researches your product ingredients to see if your claims are true.
• Medical influencers have so many followers on social media channels.

Let’s look at just one example:

Dr. Charles MD regularly produces organic content on social media to educate his audience on skincare and skincare products.

This educational content allows him to recommend some of his favorite brands, such as CeRaVe and Sephora.

But that’s not all: medical influencers can become your advisors, not just your endorsers.

Content creators like Dr. Muneeb Shah, with 18 million followers on TikTok at the time of this writing, has become more than a mega – influencer.

He is now an advisor to Cortina, a teledermatology platform, powering up its digital marketing strategy with educational content to reach more people.

Pro tip: A CPG marketing agency can help you find and vet the right influencers.

2. Leveraging Influencer Feedback

Everyone knows that authentic content that taps into your target audience’s passions is the engine behind a successful influencer marketing campaign. You need those genuine creators who truly believe in your products to create that bond of trust, gain loyal followers, and drive sales.

But here’s what most CPG brands do:

They send highly personalized emails to influencers, choose the most brand-aligned ones, do product seeding so creators can review their products, repost that online content, and call it a day.

You can leverage a significant opportunity here:

Build tight influencer partnerships to gain useful feedback from your content creators. Use those fresh perspectives to:

• Power your content marketing strategy
• Build new products

Mega – influencer Charli D’Amelio offers a good example. Charli didn’t just become the face of Dunkin’; she and Dunkin’ worked together to launch a signature drink.

Here’s the thing:

You don’t need to partner specifically with mega – influencers to achieve these results. Nano- or micro – influencers can be a better fit for you anyway.

Studies show smaller influencers have higher engagement rates because they have more time to interact with them directly. Besides, they can use this extra time to help you with useful feedback.

3. Social Media Shopping

Increasingly more studies show there’s been a significant shift to online shopping:

• 63% of Millennial parents enjoy the online shopping opportunity.
• 64% of affluent shoppers appreciate the time-saving dimension of shopping online.
• 23% of shoppers buy packaged food, beverage, and beauty/personal care products online.

How can you leverage this situation?

Social commerce.

Influencers can help you popularize discounts, share coupons, and keep your products top-of-mind. But here are two tools you might have neglected until now:

• Shopping buttons: Allow people to purchase your products from social media influencers by having them add specific buttons or links in their posts, Reels, or Stories.
• Social media shops: Create a social media storefront, like Instagram Shops. Partner with content creators or influencers to promote that shop and the available products.

Basically, you want to shorten your sales funnel as much as possible. Potential customers who can buy products directly from social media without taking additional steps are likelier to convert.

Here’s an in-depth tutorial from creator @iamsamiira on Instagram Shops:

Pro tip: Adding a shopping button or a link to the product page would accelerate purchase decisions even more.

4. Events with Influencers

This strategy encompasses different tactics.

4.1. Use Influencers to Promote Your Online Event

Studies show that shopping events the tally of Amazon Prime Day are extremely popular with food and beverage brands. In fact, Numerator claims that CPG companies have seen significant sales increases during the event, up to 17%.

That’s not all:

Holidays like Black Friday, Christmas, or Mother’s Day also provide good opportunities for CPG events, especially by offering discounted products.

So, leverage the power of influencers to promote that sales event. Here are some tactics you can use:

• Create behind-the-scenes and preparation videos to create desire.
• Consider a hashtag campaign to advertise exclusive products and offers during the holiday.
• Use UTM links and discount codes to measure your campaign effectiveness for each influencer.

4.2. Organize In-Store Events with Influencers

Here’s a Captain Obvious moment: your CPG products are sold in stores.

You can partner with one such store to organize an event for local influencers who would endorse your products.

Side note: This would be a win-win for both you and the store, which likely has a wider range of product categories, not just yours. That added foot traffic would also increase the store’s visibility and sales.

Let’s take an example:

You sell dairy products with higher fat content. You can partner with a local Keto influencer to hold a local event at the store:

• Organize a challenge or contest to make the event more appealing to your target customers.
• Showcase other keto-friendly snacks and food products inside the store.
• You can even showcase keto beauty products inside the store.
• Offer significant discounts to drive purchasing decisions.

5. Leveraging Customers as Influencers

User-generated content from regular customers can create social proof, build desire, and dispel potential pre-purchase worries.

All those elements are essential for increasing your sales.

Here’s one neat example from Bluehouse Salmon.

Bluehouse Salmon retails organic salmon, and it’s one of our best success stories at inBeat.

As you can imagine, selling fish doesn’t make you a sexy or exciting brand. To reduce ad fatigue and create desire, we decided that user-generated content is the best approach.

The brand now powers up its entire content calendar with social media posts created by its customers:

6. Leveraging Influencers to Showcase Sustainability

Focus your influencer marketing efforts on the current most important values in society to drive up your sales.

For example, the average consumer is highly interested in sustainable products from the fashion industry to food and beverage companies. Over 60% of consumers would pay more for sustainable packaging, and brands like General Mills are investing millions in regenerative agriculture.

You can:

• Leverage influencers to promote a new organic line of products in your offer. Of course, you would have to create that line first.
• Get endorsements from niche influencers in your industry to show your loyal followers that your products meet their standards.

Let’s say you’re selling a soda.

Carbonated beverage consumers may not be sure your product is sustainable or good for their health.

Therefore, your marketing plan can include agriculture, recycling, and nutrition experts who endorse your organic, sustainable product offer.

Here’s a real example from our clients:

Soylent is a sustainable, nutritious meal replacement. The company picked niche influencers from outdoors and hiking to gaming to support its health benefits.

Bonus: This strategy also increased brand awareness across multiple audience segments.

7. Product Reviews & Discounts to Beat Inflation

Your tone of voice and organic, creative content are not the only things that matter to drive your sales.

The objective economy in which we live plays a massive part too. In 2023:

• The CPG industry faces supply chain problems, inflation, and skyrocketing costs from manufacturing to packaging and transportation.
• The average consumer struggles with price increases too.

Effective influencer marketing strategies can help you by:

• Increasing visibility: Content creators can bring more attention to your products, thus keeping them top-of-mind of your target audience.
• Increasing desire: Social media influencers can showcase unique values and advantages, such as sustainable packaging, through unique reviews. And studies show 55% of shoppers would pay more for a brand that meets their values.
• Driving sales: Content creators can lead discount campaigns to attract price-conscious customers.

Pro tip: Use a product review and discount influencer campaign for expensive CPG.

Premium products are still in high demand, especially in the food and beverage industry, because shoppers are more willing to pay extra for high-quality items. So:

• Your content creators can underline the advantages of eating healthier – even if that costs a bit more – by reviewing your products.
• And to really drive your point home, content creators can add an exclusive discount to increase your sales.

Trade Street Jam Co. retails high-end jams and sauces. In the post below, founder Ashley Marie Rouse becomes the brand’s influencer:

The brand also celebrates Mother’s Day with the Strawberry Fields gift set.

8. Use Multiple Channels

A good strategy to make the most of your influencer marketing for CPG is using multiple social channels to unlock different customer touchpoints.

Why is that important?

Because people use different social platforms and marketing channels.

You, too, may start your day sipping your coffee and browsing Instagram. After that, you listen to a YouTube podcast during your commute. You open your email at work and browse your Twitter for news.

And so on.

It’s essential to leverage all those opportunities for creator content.

Pro tip: A good omnichannel strategy doesn’t just include social media platforms; you need to focus on all channels.

Depending on your marketing goals, audience profile, and niche, consider:

• Podcasters
• Bloggers
• Local editors
• Musicians
• Athletes
• And more

Pro tip: BuzzSumo is a great tool to help you find these influencers.

For example, Boudin Bakery partnered with local blogger Jenn Willey to announce a new outlet opening in California:

9. Geotargeted Influencer Marketing

Geotargeted influencer marketing is an excellent strategy for CPG, DTC, and retail stores because it:

• Increases consumer awareness
• Generates social proof and excitement
• Fits different marketing goals, from product launches to re-strengthening brand loyalty

There are several ways in which content creators can accelerate your sales, either through online or offline marketing strategies.

• Give them in-store discounts they can share with their followers, which are your target audience.
• Host an online giveaway with a twist: winners should visit a specific store where you sell your products to redeem their prizes.
• Have social media influencers film themselves shopping for your products inside your store.

Sephora hauls are an excellent example that you can copy:

10. Targeted Audience Segmentation and Inclusivity

Audience segmentation and inclusivity is a results-driven strategy that guides your entire social content creation and planning.

Here’s a quick stat:

72% of customers in the US admit that beauty’s definition is too rigid.

But the beauty industry is not the only one under scrutiny. Your loyal followers demand more inclusivity, personalization, and products that fit their daily lives.

Marketing experts believe that entails:

• Products focusing on individuals but also on communities
• Inclusive product design to make products more accessible to all people
• Creative content that supports those changes

Influencers can help you by creating:

• Social content for very precise audiences
• Honest reviews that outline your products’ features and brand values

Here’s TikTok creator Ashton testing and reviewing Skims adaptative underwear:

Another example comes from L’Oreal, who says, “The future of beauty is inclusive.”

To prove that point, the brand recently launched Hapta, a motorized makeup applicator for people with mobility issues.

In the image below, a model with cerebral palsy tries on this device:

Another category that has been overlooked in recent years is older adults.

The tides are turning here, too, with major brands taking the lead.

For example, Mountain Dew organized a Florida event to promote its new Hard Mountain Dew alcoholic beverage.

But instead of inviting Zoomers and Millennials, the brand focused on a retirement village, whose inhabitants became Mountain Dew ambassadors:

Partnering with older influencers has several advantages:

• Better targeted segmentation: You can reach the older target market with more relatable content.
• Optimized expenses: The influencer marketing budget, in general, is lower than a paid ads budget. But partnering with older influencers allows you to test whether your message resonates with this older demographic without actually building a separate campaign for them.
• More exposure: Older influencers like Barbara Costello or Lillian Droniak have massive followings, with people outside their age groups.
• More goodwill: Inclusivity plays an essential role in your communication with Zoomers and Millennials. Using senior content creators proves to younger segments that you genuinely value inclusivity, so they will be more likely to purchase your products.

Which Influencer Marketing Strategy Will You Choose?

Influencer marketing for CPG works well, but only if you pick the right strategy.

After reading this article, you have an arsenal of ten unique tools to ensure your success with influencer marketing.

Remember that finding the right influencers and using the correct channels is equally important. You also need valuable insights into your target market and competition to zero in on a winning strategy.

inBeat can help you with all that and more.

Read our case studies to get a better idea of what we can help you with. Alternatively, schedule a free strategy call, and we’ll discuss customized solutions for your exact needs.