Influencer marketing has been a staple of most brands’ marketing strategies in the past several years, especially for SMBs. The power of influencer marketing has become evident and more brands than ever are utilizing influencer collaborations with hopes to achieve better engagement with their audience, increasing sales, and building brand trust and recognition.

However, the popularity of influencer marketing has created a problem. This problem is most evident on Instagram, the platform of choice for most influencer marketing campaigns. Namely, since nearly everyone wants the benefits that an influencer campaign offers, Instagram’s users are being bombarded by sponsored posts. Left, right, and center. When sponsored content is so ubiquitous, people lose confidence in the content, and their trust in the influencer drops.

In order to build brand trust through influencer marketing in today’s social media landscape; brands need to come up with a new way to create sustainable partnerships with influencers. The following 3 strategies can help you carry out a successful campaign and build brand trust through influencer marketing.

1. Brand Collaboration with Nano Influencers

The main issue facing influencer marketing campaigns today is that most people are losing trust in large influencers and their paid product endorsements. The most important aspect of an influencer’s online brand is its authenticity. Something that many influencers with large follower numbers are struggling with. Nothing showcases this better than the rise in popularity of nano influencers.

Nano influencers cater to the user’s preference for a more authentic online persona, one they feel is trustworthy. Since nano influencers have less than 1000 followers on average they have a much closer connection to their audience. Oftentimes, knowing many of their followers in person as opposed to just online. This close relationship facilitates a higher level of trust and loyalty. Since nano influencers have more direct communication (usually one-on-one) with their followers they have a better chance of increasing brand trust for the companies they work with.

2. Building Brand Trust Through Sponsored Influencer Giveaways

Most influencers regardless of follower numbers want to increase their following and engagement rates. As these metrics are most often used by brands when considering an influencer for a paid partnership. One of the quickest ways to achieve a rise in both metrics is by running a giveaway. Many influencers organize giveaways and reach out to brands to sponsor them by offering a prize. Sponsoring a giveaway is a great way to create a connection with an influencer and their audience and achieve great results in the process.

Giveaways have the added benefit of attracting the right type of audience. Consists mainly of people who are curious about your products or services and want to try them out. A sponsored giveaway is a sure-fire way to boost brand awareness and sales while building brand trust in the process.

When considering taking part in a sponsored giveaway you need to make sure that it will fit in seamlessly with the influencer’s content as well as provide value to their audience. However, be aware that among those who take part in the giveaway will be users who only wish to participate in the giveaway and are not interested in your brand beyond the contest.

3. Host and Invite Influencers to Live Brand Events

One of the best ways to build brand trust is by hosting live events and inviting influencers in your niche to attend. This provides a great opportunity to combine offline and online marketing strategies. Including influencers in your event is a fast and efficient way to spread awareness about the event and assure your followers (and theirs) that you have a real connection with them.

A live event will also offer the opportunity to build brand trust as the influencers attending will most likely post photos and videos of the event on their own feeds. The brand content created this way is authentic and will offer your brand a natural spot on their social media accounts without a paid campaign.