5 Influencer Marketing Best Practices All Tech Brands Need to Know

The tech sector is booming. We hear about new apps, electronics, and gadgets every single day. It’s nearly impossible to keep up! The good news is that with influencer marketing, you can break through the clutter and promote anything from a high-tech vacuum to a new video game in a cost-effective, scalable way.

In this 3-part series, we’ll dig deep into influencer marketing strategies, specifically for tech brands. The series will break down:

• Part 1: 5 Influencer Marketing Best Practices All Tech Brands Need to Know
• Part 2: 3 Tech & App Brands with Innovative Influencer Marketing Strategies
• Part 3: Everything Brands Need to Know About Tech Influencers

In this first part, we’ll share 5 influencer marketing tips that all tech and app brands need to know. 

1. Leverage video content as an educational tool.

Whether it’s a livestream, a long-form YouTube video, or a short TikTok, video content has quickly taken over as one of the most effective marketing tools. In fact, an astounding 87% of marketers can attribute sales back to their video marketing efforts.

And while this may be true for all industries, video works particularly well for tech brands because the products are much trickier to explain. Content about electronic devices and software is much harder to understand than, say, a dress or a pair of jeans. That’s why 52% of companies create videos to educate their audience.

That being said, 33% of marketers don’t have enough time to create video content, while another 20% say it’s too expensive to produce. That’s where influencer marketing comes in. 

By partnering with talented video creators across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, your brand can produce a diverse array of video content at a fraction of the price than a studio shot commercial or video ad. Not to mention, influencer-generated content (IGC) frequently outperforms brand-directed content, because it’s more engaging and relatable. 

Check out how Google Pixel partnered with content creator @ownbyfemme throughout Coachella 2024 to showcase all of the cool features that people can use to shoot and edit their photos. 

When working with creators, ask them to show how your product works and highlight how easy or convenient it is to use. We’ve seen the best results from educational video content, such as:

• Product demonstrations
• How-to videos
• Step-by-step tutorials

2. Repurpose UGC across all of your brand-owned channels.

Today’s consumers prefer content from real people over traditional ad creative featuring paid actors or models. And that’s the best part about working with influencers and UGC creators — you can easily source a goldmine of highly-engaging, relatable branded content that you can repurpose across all of your marketing channels. 

People find it especially intimidating to approach new tech products because they’re not tech-savvy, or because they don’t have enough industry knowledge. By repurposing user-generated content (UGC), you’re putting a familiar face at the forefront of your product, making consumers feel more comfortable about trying it out.

UGC is also diverse, giving you a wide variety of content to use when targeting different audiences. By doing so, the content your brand presents can truly resonate with all of your different audience segments. For instance, GoPro repurposed IGC on their Instagram, showcasing the many different occasions and ways people can utilize their product — whether it’s to capture your skydiving experience or your underwater adventure. 

3. Work with macro–influencers to make a bigger impact.

Although micro-influencers are typically key players in the influencer marketing space, macro-influencers have a bigger impact for tech brands, especially when it comes to tech and app companies. 

Why? Because many apps and tech products, such as mobile games or cameras, typically have mass appeal and need to market to a large, generic group of people. Because of this, teaming up with macro-influencers with large followings can bring brand awareness to the masses. Simply put, it’s more bang for your buck. 

That’s why ecommerce app Shop works with large creators like Mr. Beast and Jenn Im.

On the other hand, it’s certainly better to work with micro-influencers if you are promoting a very specific product to some specialty niche. Micro-influencers are known for their reliability, specialized content, and strong connection with their audience. Consequently, they typically achieve higher engagement for a lower CPE.

4. Fairly compensate your influencers.

Because technology is something that requires a lot of knowledge and expertise, tech influencers typically require fair compensation for collaborations. This could be in the form of money or a highly-valued product given for free. 

For app and gaming companies, expect to pay for posts unless you’re providing a valuable electronic device to influencers. Because apps and games are typically free or not very expensive, influencers will almost always require payment in addition to free access to the product.

5. Work with a large variety of influencers.

There are endless possibilities of influencers to work with when you’re a tech brand because there are so many different kinds of products. The products range from electronics, such as cameras and Bluetooth speakers, to software, such as smartphone apps and online games. 

That being said, influencers can promote tech products from other verticals. For example, you can work with home design influencers to market home electronics or food influencers for a food delivery app. Don’t limit yourself to one community when there are so many different kinds of influencers to collaborate with! 

However, keep the “test and invest” method in mind when working with influencers. Try working with influencers from a few different niches and provide trackable links or codes to monitor each influencer you work with. Then, use performance data to determine who fits well with your brand and re-invest in similar influencers for your next campaign.

Check out Part 2, where we walk through 3 examples of tech brands that have innovative influencer marketing strategies. 

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