There's no doubting the significance of influencer marketing anymore, as research not only highlights its current success but its potential for the future. Partnering with someone external to your business (like an influencer) who the target audience trusts improves audience confidence and credibility while broadening your access to potential prospects that you wouldn't reach as quickly through other demand generation efforts.
Working with someone already established and loved by many, like a radio influencer, helps you reach your desired marketing objectives more efficiently through radio ad promotions. Check out how on-air influencer, Boomer, did just that for Huntington County.
Boomer — Afternoons On WMEE
Boomer is the host of the most listened-to afternoon show — Afternoons on WMEE. He's a radio personality that has brought a significant amount of excitement and entertainment to the radio industry with his energy and enthusiasm.
In his off time, he's an active, outdoor rollerblading competitor and avid bicyclist who brings the same drive to the show by being the hardest worker in the room. He also brings more versatility to the show with his extensive talents as a skater and love for animals and transformers.
Even more, Boomer is arguably one of the most positive people in the room, no matter where he is. Not only does he keep that attitude alive in everything he does (including radio), he projects that same energy onto other people in the room and his fans. His regular interactions with listeners keep them engaged, interested, and coming back for more.
His Influencer Campaign: Huntington County Visitor's Bureau
Working closely with his client at Huntington County, Boomer was able to take their business goals to the next level — helping them benefit from more brand awareness and improved engagement with their audience (increasing revenue and sales!).
The Marketing Objective
Huntington County Visitor's Bureau strives to be a resource to anyone visiting the county. However, they wanted to increase their digital brand awareness because so many people still called or stopped in to get information. Since that requires a vehicle to accomplish, it's a considerable deterrence that prevents people from getting information about events, new stores or restaurants, and other fun things to do like zip-lining, river tubing, or fishing in one of Indiana's largest lakes. They wanted to help more people learn about what you wouldn't know existed if someone didn't tell you about them.
Furthermore, they wanted to help support the local businesses by encouraging tourism and bringing in money. The goal each year is to increase the overall spend in their county. Over the years, it has increased as high as 27% from year over year, making the businesses happy and helping them grow to attract even more people each year.
What We Did
As part of the campaign, Boomer did endorsement commercials based on the experiences he's had in Huntington County. He talked about things as varied as going to drive-in movies, zip-lining amongst local scenery, and being on a party barge in Salamonie Reservoir.
To promote some fun things locals don't often think about, Boomer was part of a series of Facebook Live videos from a party barge with a slide on board. Other videos were created and used as part of their digital marketing and on social media.
Outside of Boomer's part in this, Federated Media held contests and promotions for local prizes. Each month, they post two blogs, promote them on Facebook Newsfeed, and feature them in on-air commercials.
The Final Results
Year over year, Huntington County has added more to its advertising budget due to the great feedback on the campaign. Local businesses have been exceptionally pleased with the exposure they get from it. Small towns and their residents get a sense of pride hearing about the weekend event on 97.3 WMEE. Boomer himself is a local fixture and can be seen walking into their stores or down the main street while shooting a video and discussing how great it is.
This campaign isn't a typical sales client who needs to sell a certain amount of products each month. It's based on relationships, and the value Federated media brings to the table.
What Makes Boomer The Perfect Radio Influencer
Finding the perfect influencer is essential to your success, and that's been proven across social media. Since 2020, there has been a 32% increase in Instagram usage, a 53% increase in Facebook usage, a 3x increase in viewership on IGTV, a 2x increase in viewership on Facebook Live, and 33% live-streaming for the first time — further supporting the need for influencer promotions.
Boomer is the perfect choice for a radio influencer because he always gets the job done, no matter what, and with a smile on his face. In addition to being on-air talent, he can discuss sales with clients. He has an incredibly personable nature and talks with anyone, including clients like they've been friends for years. He has a deep understanding of how radio works and can communicate that easily, and he's able to see things in the big picture. His big-picture thinking helps him think of strategies to help, like whether video or written copy would be better in a situation.
Huntington County Visitor's Bureau particularly loves how Boomer doesn't just talk about the trails in the county — he skates them, records them, and makes people care about them. He has a natural gift to talk about anything, even notoriously tricky topics like health insurance, in a way that intrigues people and catches their interest. He has a passion for so many things and can sell that passion to listeners. It gets results and keeps the client renewing with him every year.
While everything was closed down in 2020, Huntington County didn't even question if they would continue with WMEE and Boomer. He has built that so much trust with the client that they're confident he not only knows them but knows what makes sense during a time when you can't do most things the county offers.
Driving Results in Indiana
Radio influencers and digital campaigns are incredibly effective at driving results in Indiana, where 91% of people believe influencer marketing is effective and predicts the industry is set to grow to approximately $9.7 billion. It's a beneficial and worthwhile investment and one that is establishing itself in future local marketing.
The key is to work with an influencer relevant to your brand and industry to improve trust and authenticity in your message or offer. Working with a media partner ensures you maximize your potential in the area by identifying and getting you connected with the right influencer to reach your target audience — taking out the risk of finding one yourself.
