Weekly Shorts: Strategies for repackaging influencer content

The proliferation of platforms and formats like short-videos have changed the influencer marketing game for marketers, brands and creators. In this fast-evolving space, keep up with the big trends and hot topics that matter in Storyboard18’s Weekly Shorts in collaboration with affable.ai, an end-to-end AI-powered influencer marketing platform. Track how creators, communities and brands are engaging with users and disrupting marketing to get a sharp and fast insight into present and future trends.

Repurposing influencer content allows you to boost the virality of your existing pieces while spending less time on content creation. Plus, with techniques like cross-promotion and influencer whitelisting, you create a solid omnipresence for your brand, leading to more sales and higher returns.

Leading brands like Gymshark, Neutrogena, Fenty Beauty, and Glossier repackage top-performing creator pieces into new blog posts, videos, and product images instead of sharing studio-shot staged content.

1. Use IGC to amp up your social media game

A. Reshare IGC on brand-owned social pages

Attract top funnel customers by sharing the influencer-generated content on your branded social pages. Reshare reels, posts, or even stories shared by influencers and tag the respective creator.

Example: Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty

When it comes to repurposing influencer content, the famous cruelty-free skincare brand Fenty Beauty does a fantastic job. They often share influencer-generated reels and posts on their Instagram page and tag the creators.

In one of the videos, makeup influencer Linasha is completing her sleek makeup look with the Fenty Beauty lipstick. The video amassed over 77k likes from her followers. A month later, Fenty Beauty shared the same video on their IG profile, tagging the influencer @linnygd to reach new prospective customers.

B. Reuse IGC for social media ads

Consumers usually ignore the branded ads. Mostly because they feel being sold to and cannot relate to the ad content. Reusing influencer content for social media ads is the best way to share relatable adverts with your audience. The ads sound more promising, with influencers sharing their honest product reviews.

Example: Gymshark

Gymshark, the fitness apparel giant, has cracked the code for impactful social media advertising. Instead of sharing studio-shot content, the brand prefers raw, influencer-created content for its social ads.

In the above Instagram reel, @whatemwore, the fashion influencer and Gymshark ambassador, shares different ways to style the brand’s outfits. To immediately boost the reach of the content and tell the audience about their new outfit launch, Gymshark repurposed the Instagram reel into a carousel post for their social ad the same day. This helped the brand show its products being used in real life, winning more credibility with the audience without directly selling to them.

Run creator licensing or whitelisted ads

Creator licensing (or influencer whitelisting) is an even more powerful way to reach your target audience. The strategy involves running social media ads from the influencer’s profile. Once authorized by influencers, you can whitelist their posts, videos, and stories and turn them into ads. The interesting thing here is that the ads are run from the influencer’s account and not the brand’s, which expands your audience base, boosts engagement and amplifies your ROI.

Let’s understand this strategy through an example.

Example: Neutrogena

In July 2023, Neutrogena's cosmetics and hair care company collaborated with mom influencer Ashley Bloomfield to create content featuring their new sunscreen spray.

She shared her honest review of the product through a GRWM video, which the brand whitelisted after 10 days. They reused the reel to run Meta ads from her profile. The get ready with me (GRWM) style videos feel more like a chat with a friend over a video call rather than an advertisement, which is a great way to build a sense of community among the target demographic.

2. Create compelling social proof for your website

Social media is an essential advertising channel to reach your target audience. But so is your website. After discovering you on social media, consumers move on to your website for additional product information. This is where you can turn these prospective customers into loyal fans. Reuse content pieces to enhance your website:

Case studies

Landing page

Blog visuals

Reviews and testimonials

Example: Interior Define

Interior Define is a home decor brand that provides customized furniture to customers and uses its content to create social proof for its products.

In 2021, designer and photographer @jilliansipkins shared an image of the brand-new furniture she received from Interior Define. The post shows the product the brand promised and the product she received, making it a perfect testimonial for the brand.

3. Warm up your email marketing leads

Influencer-generated content makes for stunning email testimonials. Research reveals that over 85 percent of consumers say authenticity plays a big part in choosing brands. Influencers can make your emails seem more authentic than a sales attempt.

Here’s how you can reuse influencer content in emails:

Written testimonials

GIFs created out of a video

Images of the product being used

Links to the original posts

Collaboration announcements

Storytelling newsletters

Example: Fetching Fields

Fetching Fields, a wellness pet product company, shared a touching email using influencer-generated content. In the email, Fetching Fields showcases the bond nano influencer Amanda Chase has with her pup Henry and why she prefers Fetching Fields treats for him. The repurposed content includes influencer images and quotes that keep the customer experience as the focus point rather than talking about the brand, which is way more effective than a promotional approach.

4. Add value to your product pages

Product page images are the first thing your customer sees to get an idea of how the product looks like, what it does, and how it is used. These images must hook your customers and convince them to buy the product before they research further. Repurposing influencer content is the best way to add value to your product pages and drive more clicks and conversions.

Example: Reef

Reef includes influencer and user-generated content in each of their product pages. The influencer-shot videos show why the shoe collection can be a valuable purchase for customers. While repurposing existing content created by influencers can display product features more engagingly, it also reduces the additional costs of hiring models for product shoots.

5. Take your branding beyond digital channels

Putting influencer faces across outdoor advertising channels helps you connect with customers instantly. When customers see a familiar face using the product, they form a connection with the brand, increasing foot traffic and sales. Flaunt your influencer content through:

Print Media

Billboards

Product Packaging

In-store displays

Example: Kylie Skin and Glossier The two cosmetics giants, Kylie Jenner and Glossier, know the secret sauce to entice their offline customers - mixing out-of-home advertising and influencer marketing. They know that using the faces of influencers, beauty gurus, and makeup artists can help them create a solid online and offline presence.

While Glossier reuses the exact content shared by influencers, Kylie Skin features the beauty mogul and Founder of the brand, Kylie Jenner, on their billboards, which seem way more engaging than the flawless photoshopped model images.

This week's Weekly Shorts is written by the editorial desk of affable.ai.