Nowadays, everyone in the marketing world seems to be talking about influencer partnerships. However, finding the right person to talk up your B2B product or service can be a lot more challenging than if you are plugging a consumer product like makeup or exercise equipment. Another barrier could be a lack of willing influencers for your niche products. This is where CGI influencers can help.
What are CGI Influencers?
CGI influencers are computer-generated, fabricated “people” with their own social media accounts and carefully curated backstory. Imagine Betty Crocker, Max Headroom, or Tony the Tiger in the 21st century. Unlike “real” influencers, you don’t have to pay your CGIs a commission, and you can strictly control what they are saying about your company and product. CGIs are currently used and implemented on all social media platforms. The platform you choose depends largely on what platforms your customer visit. (Keep in mind: while Facebook and Twitter get most of the press, there are more than 400 social media platforms.)
Some recent CGI examples include the CGI version of Colonel Sanders, the chicken king, and Lil Miquela, a virtual pop diva with more than 1.6 million social media followers.
Tracking and understanding how consumers move through the sales funnel is vital to an effective marketing plan. Marketers can often break out each stage of the sales funnel into separate data points in marketing attribution. In some cases, you know when the prospect moves from interest to decision, so you can pinpoint exactly what marketing efforts helped make that conversion. Understanding your attribution can also show you exactly where CGI influencers would make the most difference in your sales funnel.
Why are CGIs so Successful?
CGIs are successful because they depict the ideal consumer for your products. Unlike humans, they don’t have a shady past or a glib brother-in-law that keeps showing up on their social media pages. In addition, they can speak any language, live in any country, and adapt to any culture. They can also work 24/7. To your customers, your CGIs are the business people they’d like to be: organized, well-spoken, and well-respected.
Content Strategy with Your CGI
Uses for CGIs to promote your B2B product or service are only limited by your imagination. The first step is to build an audience and get followers for your CGI. It’s best to resist any overt advertising and product promotion at this stage. That will come later. You want to intrigue your customers. You could even have a contest to encourage your customers or potential customers to follow your CGI on social media.
Once you have your audience established, you can do any number of things with your CGI. An option is to create a social media campaign showing your CGI using your product in various settings, perhaps even worldwide. You could also have your CGI meet your CEO (or another senior executive) and tour your manufacturing plant to showcase your steps towards being more environmentally friendly.
As with any marketing campaign, you’ll want to have clearly defined goals before you begin creating your CGI. You’ll also want to make sure you know who you need to attract with your marketing and have a way to measure your success.
Value and Ad Spend
Using CGIs is an exceptional way to get the most for your ad dollars. You can get a lot of traction by building your CGI’s social media persona organically. Since he or she is always on brand and topic, there’s no budgetary waste like you might have if you pay a live influencer to post about your product. With a CGI influencer, you can use your marketing budget to program and write the CGI’s posts and back story.
One important thing to keep in mind when working with influencers (human or computer-generated) is that the use case changes rapidly. Due to this, government regulators are struggling to keep abreast of changes. The Federal Trade Commission frequently updates guidelines on digital marketing and is expected to examine influencer marketing more carefully as the sector continues to grow. For your company, make sure that you stay attuned to legal and regulatory guidelines.
Making the decision to use a CGI and choosing the right marketing message can be a challenge. At Pollock Marketing Group, we have the technical experience and expertise to help you reap the benefits of CGI marketing without the hassle.
