Obvi-ously Successful Influencer Marketing Strategy by Obvi Collagen

Obvi is a collagen brand that was launched in 2019.

As they were gearing up to scale in 2021, they were sideswiped by the iOS14.5 update. Obvi’s returns on ad spend took a nosedive 📉, forcing the team to slash their marketing budget in half. A bitter pill to swallow 😓.

And that's when they decided to double down on influencer marketing as a channel for brand awareness, sales and community building.

Today they have a customer base of 200,000+ people with a presence in more than 75 countries, including major distribution in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and China.

In this blog, we will look at 5 strategies that Obvi uses to run a successful influencer marketing program.

🌱 1— Product seeding

Product seeding is sending your products to influencers for free, in exchange for a review or shoutout on teir platform.

It helps generate authentic content and genuine reviews about the product. And it leverages the influencer's audience reach to increase brand visibility and drive potential sales.

Obvi has honed an efficient process for product seeding, managing to engage over 100 influencers per week. We got a glimpse of their method through a LinkedIn post by Ashvin, one of the co-founders.

They don't simply scatter their products in the wind; sending to every influencer they come across.

👉 They follow a process for it:

1. List down potential influencers: The first step is to identify influencers who align with your brand and its values.

You can use this hashtag strategy for it. List down hashtags related to your product or industry and find influencers who are creating content related to those.

2. Vet the influencers: You can use SARAL's Chrome extension to vet the influencer in terms of engagement rate, expected likes etc. Add them to a list to do quick outreach. It's FREE! You can check it out here.

3. Reach out: Contact creators that pass the vetting process. Ask them for their address so you can send a free gift (your product, obviously).

Here's an email template you can use to reach out:

Subject: An Exclusive Gift From {{brand_name}}

Hey {{first_name}},

I am the founder of {{brand_name}}, which is a {{one-line description}}.

I've been following your content for a while and really appreciate your work. Loved the recent post about {{recent_post}}.

I would love to send you a special package with our product(s) for you to try out. There's no commitment on your part — we'd just like to hear your thoughts.

Our team believes that you'd enjoy using our product because {{benefits}}.

Could you let us know your shipping address?

Looking forward to your response.

Best,

{{Your_Name}}

You can use SARAL's email drip feature to send this message to multiple creators without wasting much time and set up automated follow ups after the initial email.

4. Send the product: If the influencer shows interest, send the product. Make the package unique to create a memorable, video-worthy unboxing experience. Write a hand-written note to make them feel special and show genuine interest in their content.

5. Follow up: Don't forget the crucial last step — follow-up with the influencer once the product is delivered to encourage the promised review or shoutout.

To streamline this, you can use tools like SARAL which have automated follow-up campaigns built-in once the product is delivered.

📦 Volume plays a crucial role because it's a numbers game.

Not every seeded product will yield a review or shoutout. A higher volume increases the chances of getting more authentic reviews, user-generated content, and ultimately wider brand exposure. Ashvin mentioned they seed 100+ products every week. That is the volume you need to win!

Obvi's practice of product seeding shows that with a systematic approach, it can be an effective part of any brand's influencer marketing strategy.

📈 2— Tiered rewards for motivating ambassadors

As influencers achieve higher sales, they move up the tiers, each offering a more attractive commission structure.

Here's Obvi's Reward Opportunities published on the dedicated landing page for ambassador program:

A tiered reward system serves dual purpose for brands:

Motivates creators: The opportunity to earn higher commissions motivates influencers to promote the brand more effectively and ascend the reward tiers.

Retains top creators: Offering increased commissions for higher sales ensures that top-performing creators continue their relationship with the brand.

👉 But incentives for creators aren't always about monetary rewards. Creating an emotional connection can often be more compelling than simple transactional benefits. For instance, gestures such as a recognition shout-out or a handwritten note can also fuel motivation among creators. Obvi already does this, AND offers multi-tiered rewards, making their influencer offer even more compelling.

🤳 3— Whitelisting ads

Whitelisting ads is when a brand runs sponsored advertisements using an influencer's social media account. The primary objective of whitelisting influencers is to fuel your ad campaigns with top-notch, engaging content.

Obvi uses this tactic to create ads that don't seem like 'ads' but authentic content.

As the post retains the influencer's distinct voice and style, it often resonates more with their audience, providing a refreshing alternative to conventional branded advertisements.

It eliminates the need to produce large amounts of content in-house, which helps save significant time, funds, and energy.

Brands also get the opportunity to reach a broader audience, for example, through lookalike audiences that they won't have access to otherwise.

👉 3 Tips before you launch your whitelisted ads:

• The right creator: Collaborate with influencers who's content has key elements of a great product content — hook, sell and engage.

Ask yourself —

• Does the influencer's content capture your attention immediately? (hook).

• Do you find yourself watching or reading the entire piece of content? (engagement).

• Does the influencer effectively promote the product or brand, urging customers to take action? (sell)

Example of what good content looks like:

If the answer is yes to all 3, go ahead and use it for whitelisting ads.

Their content should naturally weave into consumers' feeds, aligning with your brand while not standing out as overt advertisements.

• Testing before full-blown launch: Each creator has a unique style and voice. Before launching whitelisted ads, consider running a small, controlled campaign using different creators' content styles. This will tell you which style is best to persuade your target audience. Then you can optimize your full-scale whitelisted ad launch.

• Agreements and contracts: Make sure to discuss and agree on the terms of whitelisting with the influencer, such as the content of the ad, the duration of the campaign, and the budget.

🕺 4— Utilizing creator-generated content

Staying relevant on platforms like Facebook or TikTok requires a large volume of content. This can lead to both creative exhaustion and fatigue for in-house content creators.

Obvi tackled this challenge head-on by teaming up with various micro-influencers. You can see this strategy shaping up on their TikTok account as well where. A multitude of creators feature across different posts, each adding their unique flair to the content.

Executing this involves clear communication about the brand's content needs, as well as guidelines to ensure brand messaging consistency.

The creators should also given creative freedom to present the products in a way that resonated with their audience. This results in a steady stream of fresh, authentic content without spending huge amounts on in-house shoots.

👉 Here are some actionable tips for making the most of creator-generated content:

• Repurpose for multiple platforms: Use a single piece of content across various social media platforms, tweaking the format to fit each platform's requirements.

• Extract snippets: Take short, engaging clips from longer videos to use in your ads, landing pages, or emails.

Obvi uses creator video thumbnails on their product page to showcase social proof.

• User testimonials: Real-life experience shared by creators can be powerful testimonials. Use these in your marketing to enhance credibility.

• Content library: Maintain a library of all creator-generated content. It's a valuable resource that you can dip into when needed.

🤝 5— Building long-term relationship with creators

If there's one thing that distinguishes Obvi's approach to influencer marketing, it's the emphasis on genuine, long-term relationships.

Ashwin Melwani, the co-founder and CMO of Obvi, beautifully encapsulates their unique approach in an interview.

Don’t treat influencers as a source of revenue, treat them as an extension of the brand.Treat them like you would your VIP customers. Keep them updated with upcoming products and launches. Let them be the first to try new products out.If they feel a part of the brand they’ll want to go above and beyond for you and in turn the content they produce for the brand comes across as more genuine to their following. This is where brands will see the greatest returns.

👉 Here are 3 simple things you can start doing today to build a relationship with your creators

• Show your appreciation for their work.

This could be as simple as sharing their content on your social channels or as grand as featuring them on your website.

Here's how Obvi re-shares creator content. They tweak it a little to add a brand-aligned design to it.

Here's the original post:

• Organize regular virtual meetups, workshops, or webinars with all your influencers. This will not only strengthen your relationship with them, but also create a sense of community amongst your influencers.

• Think of ways you can add value beyond just monetary compensation. Can you provide exclusive access to products, insider updates, networking opportunities?

Need a tool to excel at influencer marketing, just like Obvi?

The strategic moves made by Obvi offer invaluable insights for any brand seeking to up their influencer marketing game.

Their success showcases the power of effective product seeding, implementing tiered rewards, utilizing whitelisted ads, creating an ideal creator profile, using creator-generated content, and fostering lasting relationships with creators.

But what good is a strategy if you don't have the right tools to implement it?

That's where SARAL comes in.

SARAL is a powerful, affordable, and user-friendly platform designed especially for emerging DTC brands. It helps you effortlessly discover and manage influencers, track sales, and nurture enduring relationships without drowning in tedious manual work.

Say goodbye to complicated, expensive tools that leave you scratching your head. Break free from messy spreadsheets and mundane tasks that drain your marketing motivation.

If you're ready to follow in Obvi's footsteps and launch your brand to new heights with influencer marketing, it's time to consider SARAL as your secret partner.

Ready to take control of your influencer marketing? Claim your 7-day free trial for SARAL here.

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