5 Influencer Marketing Tactics to Try for Your Father’s Day Campaign
Just as you’re wrapping up your Mother’s Day campaign, the time has come again to plan for the next big holiday that’s right around the corner: Father’s Day. Last year, consumers in the US spent over $20 billion on Father’s Day gifts — indicating the huge opportunity this holiday presents for retailers.
This year, work with influencers to reach consumers looking to show their appreciation to the special father figures in their lives. Below, let’s discuss 5 influencer marketing best practices to incorporate into your Father’s Day campaign to make a splash and drive sales this June.
1. Ask creators to get personal.
Are there any campaigns that live in your head rent-free? Usually, it’s because the brand was able to evoke some sort of emotion in you. It’s a smart move, as emotional marketing is proven to be effective. In fact, studies show that emotionally triggering ads can persuade 70% of viewers to buy a product, and emotionally connected customers are more likely to spend double on their favorite brands.
Holidays like Father’s Day are the perfect time to run a sentimental campaign. Have influencers share meaningful memories or relatable stories of the special father figures in their lives, and why your product is perfect for them. Remember, storytelling is everything in influencer marketing.
For example, personalized book company Wonderbly worked with influencers to promote their Father’s Day books. Influencers talked about why the books are important to their families, whether it’s because it commemorates their husband’s first Father’s Day or because story time with Grandpa is a special tradition.
2. Rally influencers to get behind a cause.
Father’s Day can be the perfect chance to give back to your greater community, especially if your brand’s products or services align with an ongoing social justice movement, environmental solutions, or a specific charitable organization.
Work with a well-aligned influencer to raise funds and relay your messages of support through a more authentic source than your corporate account. Not only does this help mobilize people to take action in line with meaningful movements, but the majority of consumers also want to shop at a brand that supports causes they care about.
- 87% of consumers say they’d buy a product based on a company’s advocacy on an issue they care about.
- 78% of customers say environmental practices influence their decision to buy from a company.
- Purpose-driven consumers, who choose products and brands based on how well they align to their values, now represent the largest segment (44%) of consumers.
Take note from Saxx Underwear. In June of 2020, the brand planned a campaign around funny fatherhood moments in light of Father’s Day. However, as the Black Lives Matter movement took center stage, the brand shifted its strategy to work closely with content creator Charles Flanagan on a new campaign around Black fathers. Saxx Underwear passed the mic to Charles and other Black dads in its community to amplify their stories and lead a change in the narrative.
3. Run a Father’s Day seeding campaign.
Working with a shoestring budget for your Father’s Day campaign? Try product seeding. This strategy entails sending influencers free products, with no expectations that they’ll post or create any content around your brand.
It’s a great way to make a first touchpoint with creators that you really want to work with, but who may be out of budget for a paid partnership. Plus, if an influencer does choose to organically mention your products — say, on their Instagram Story or in a PR unboxing video — the shoutout can lead to amazing results.
Put in a little extra effort to make influencers want to share your products on their social accounts. For example, you can:
- Use creative packaging: In recent years, brands have sent influencers elaborate PR packages to create experiences that are easily shareable, and perhaps even FOMO-worthy. Who could forget Kim Kardashian’s iconic Valentine’s Day PR package that came in giant heart-shaped chocolates and a matching KKW-branded hammer? This kind of product seeding is the perfect way to get influencers excited about opening up your products and compel them to post about it organically on their own social channels.
- Incorporate humor: Incorporate the spirit of dad jokes into your Father’s Day gifting campaign. This can be easily done by including some punny branding on your packaging, or leaning into funny dad stereotypes that are relevant to your products.
4. Repurpose stories from dads.
Once your campaign has kicked off and you’re receiving content back from influencers, stretch the impact of that content by reusing it across all of your brand-owned channels leading up to Father’s Day. Influencer content is a powerful tool that can benefit your brand in many different ways. Repurpose it on:
- Branded social media accounts: Remember to repurpose IGC on your organic social channels while your Father’s Day influencer campaign is still live so that the posts reinforce one another.
- Website: Humanize your website by repurposing IGC to give potential customers plenty of real-life examples of how your product will look in a variety of situations. And because Father’s Day is so top-of-mind, featuring influencer content across your website (i.e. on your homepage, on product pages, etc.) can increase web conversions.
- Email: Personalize Father’s Day newsletters for your various segments with IGC from different types of influencers.
5. Get creative with who you work with.
When deciding who to work with, your first instinct may be to seek out dad influencers who can speak to other dads, but your list of brand partners doesn’t have to be so limited.
For example, you can include creators like:
- Mommy bloggers: Mommy influencers have some of the strongest communities, because they often share the good, the bad, and the ugly with their audiences. Their raw and relatable content has earned them a loyal audience that trusts their recommendations, making mommy influencers the perfect partner for Father’s Day. Send them your products to spoil their husbands and have them post about it on their own blogs, and maybe even on Pinterest, where shoppers often search for Father’s Day gift ideas.
- Lifestyle vloggers: Whether it’s a DIY home renovation video or a viral TikTok dance, many lifestyle vloggers consistently feature their dad in their content. And because their dad has a regular presence in their content, audiences are also invested in their close relationship. This makes it easy for the creator to produce engaging Father’s Day content that aligns with the content they would normally create. For your campaign, ask them to surprise their dad with an early Father’s Day gift (your products) and get their reaction on camera. Capturing candid moments like this will add authenticity to your campaign!
- Gift guide creators: There’s a niche for everything — even gift giving. A quick search for “gifts for dad” or “Father’s Day gift guide” on TikTok will turn up creators with accounts completely dedicated to great gift ideas. Send them a few different products from your brand and have them feature it in a Father’s Day gift guide.
