Influencer marketing is known for helping to improve brand awareness and used by brands to increase engagement with specific audiences. One lesser known  area where influencer marketing can be successfully leveraged is in generating brand love. In a recent report, social media analytics platform Talkwalker identified the 50 most loved brands in the world, and explored the factors that contributed to creating this feeling of love. The report found 11 methods, one of which is influencer marketing.

Love is one of the most powerful marketing tools a brand can have as it creates customer loyalty and advocacy that lasts long term, even in times of economic crisis. So how can influencer marketing help.

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‍Building community

‍Generating brand love is about creating connection. If your customers think of you as more of a trusted friend than a greedy corporation, they are going to be more willing to give you their time and money. Creators are crucial as they build strong, engaged community relationships, often around a shared passion. By working with the right creators, brands can also benefit by tapping into their community and building loyalty.

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‍Being authentic

‍One of the key advantages of creators, is that they are able to talk about products or experiences in an authentic way, making it more relatable for their target audience. Brands on their own struggle to do this, as consumers know that there is an underlying agenda in their communications; generally profit. By engaging with creators, however, they are able to create a sense of authenticity around the benefits of their products and services. That’s why it’s essential to ensure you work with the right creators, who truly resonate with your brand. It’s the only way for the authenticity to translate. We see this clearly with the make-up brand, Urban Decay who regularly collaborate with well-known UK creators that reflect their brand message, such as Jordan Lipscome.

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‍Creating aspirational feelings

‍Nurturing aspirational feelings is another key way to generate brand love. Consumers will grow to love the brand because of the lifestyle it allows. Creators are a great way to demonstrate this lifestyle; after all, that’s often why people follow them. By linking their lifestyle to a particular product or service, they can direct love towards that brand. The airline Emirates, regularly leverages this. Many of their staff members are travel and lifestyle creators in their own right. Their jet-setting lifestyles epitomise the  old-school glamour of international travel, which is on display for all to see. By associating themselves with the brand they work for, Emirates benefits from this aspirational content.

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‍Engaging fandoms

‍This is another of the 11 factors that contribute towards brand love. Tapping into fandoms provides brands with a loyal following of content aggregators and advocates, helping your message to spread quicker. By working with the right creators, brands are able to access multiple existing fan-bases that could become their own. Again though, this is very dependent on working with creators that truly reflect the brand’s message.

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Influencer marketing is just one of the factors that, if done well, contributes to generating brand love. You can discover the other 10 methods in Talkwalker’s Brand Love Story report and see how some of the world’s most popular brands are implementing them.