Influencers are a top acquisition channel for DTC pet brands.
The pet industry represents one of the most lucrative opportunities for online brands - and Influencers that are also your target audience can be your ideal sales partner. They bring an authentic voice to other shoppers, giving their followers a chance to experience your brand and products vicariously through their reviews. … and ideally influence their audience to buy your products. According to APPA (American Pet Product Association), Americans spent $4.3 billion more on pet products in 2020 compared to 2019.
According to eMarketer, approximately 40% of US shoppers say influencers and celebrities turn their attention to Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands. Another third of shoppers research what influencers say about a brand before making a purchase. This is why more companies are partnering with influencers to create entertaining and engaging content for more brand discovery and awareness among shoppers. 51% OF DTC BRANDS SAY SOCIAL MEDIA IS THEIR TOP ACQUISITION CHANNEL and micro-influencers can have significant impact on your bottom line, here’s how:
1: More sales
Just 15% of traditional shoppers trust influencers, while 40% of DTC shoppers trust them.
DTC shoppers are three times more likely to say influencers affect their perception of a brand.
While celebrity influencers can be outside of many DTC budgets, micro-influencers are affordable and with proven higher audience engagement, your ROI (return on investment) is clear. Influencer marketing gets nearly 6X ROI.
2 - Affordable campaigns
The average macro-influencer or celebrity-influencer can charge a minimum of $10,000 or more per post. That can be out of reach for a DTC brand, but that does not mean that influencer social media campaign is out of reach.
Micro-influencers are more affordable because they have a smaller following, so their prices are reasonable. AND MICRO-INFLUENCERS GET BETTER ENGAGEMENT RATES, so you get more results for less money.
However, because micro-influencers do have a limited reach, we recommend partnering with multiple micro-influencers who have an audience that align with your target customer.
3 - Build customer trust
Like we said, micro-influencers have a higher engagement rate than big-name influencers.
Why?
Because customers trust them more. In fact, 70% OF MILLENNIAL SHOPPERS ARE INFLUENCED BY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEIR NETWORK (which includes micro-influencers).
Humans trust people we can relate to. When you work with a micro-influencer, you tap into the trust and connection that influencer built with their audience.
As a DTC brand, you’ve got to build connections if you want to make sales, and fast. Micro-influencers drive more conversions in less time thanks to audience trust.
Brands are starting to recognize the potential of engaging with online animal personalities. Influencer marketing can be a low-cost way to showcase your products on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. And DTC brands are particularly well positioned to get great results with micro-influencers since the DTC business model cuts out the middle-man and sells directly to consumers, you have the opportunity to preserve your margins.