A Strategic Guide to AI and Virtual Influencer Marketing
Explore how brands can effectively leverage virtual influencers to engage with their target audience.
Virtual influencers, underpinned by AI and advanced technologies, are transforming the digital marketing landscape. Patrik Wilkens, VP of Operations, TheSoul Publishing, delves into the AI-driven strategies for fostering virtual influencer success, offering insights to navigate this exciting, tech-fueled revolution.
Do you consider the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape a challenge or an opportunity? And are you concerned over what exact role artificial intelligence will play in shaping your marketing strategies?
Within this landscape, virtual influencers, increasingly supported by advanced AI-powered content creation tools, are redefining the influencer marketing industry.
More than just digital mascots, these computer-generated personalities possess human-like qualities that resonate with their audience and are becoming more influential than their real-life counterparts. One survey even found that 58% of individuals already follow a virtual influencer on social media, with a third having bought an item the influencer promoted.
The questions arise: How are these AI-powered influencers disrupting traditional marketing norms? And why should businesses and marketers integrate them into their strategic plans?
Strategies for Virtual Influencer Success
Virtual influencers are now the avant-garde of the digital landscape. They need a well-thought-out strategy that goes beyond creation and promotion. This strategy encompasses a deeper understanding of the digital realm and the ability to foresee trends.
The methodology adopted at TheSoul Publishing to foster the success of virtual influencers will be detailed in the following sections.
Strategy One: Creating Relatable Characters
When creating a virtual influencer that connects with the target audience, it’s essential to start with developing the character carefully. This is a crucial step in ensuring the virtual influencer succeeds since audiences tend to engage more with characters they can connect emotionally.
We took a different approach to create Polar, the virtual influencer. Rather than focusing on a glamorous digital popstar, we created a character with a backstory, distinct personality traits, and interests to make her as close to a real person as possible. This strategy makes her relatable and engaging to her audience, fostering a deeper connection.
It’s important to remember the target audience when creating a character. Who are they, and what are their interests and values? For example, if the audience is mainly Gen Z, the character’s personality, interests, and language should reflect that demographic. We also need to consider the digital landscape’s cultural diversity and global reach, ensuring that the character is developed with cultural sensitivity and inclusivity to resonate with a diverse audience.
Furthermore, language localization has become crucial in today’s globalized world. To ensure that an organization’s content also resonates with non-English speaking audiences,marketers can leverage AI for translations and language localization, making it possible to connect with the audience worldwide.
All these elements combined make the virtual influencer’s character relatable and compelling, fostering a dedicated fan base that is eager to engage with their content. This, in turn, paves the way for a successful virtual influencer.
Strategy Two: Creating Continuously Engaging Content
Virtual influencers must produce consistent and engaging content that captivates their audience. Current virtual influencers that do so already have a 300% higher engagement rate than traditional influencers.
Certain elements contribute significantly to viral success:
- Unique Positioning: Virtual influencers stand out from the crowd of human influencers due to their uniqueness. This individuality sparks curiosity and interest, driving massive follower engagement.
- Innovative Engagement: How virtual influencers connect with their audience is distinctively digital and innovative. This unique engagement often leads to a domino effect, catalyzing viral success.
- Cross-platform Presence: The ability to exist across various platforms simultaneously allows virtual influencers to reach a broader audience, amplifying the potential for viral spread.
Strategy Three: Leveraging Technology
Embrace technology to provide interactive experiences for your audience.
As technology evolves, new avenues for engagement, like live performances via hologram, will emerge, enabling virtual influencers to connect with their audience in unprecedented ways.
Due to technology, virtual influencers have several advantages over real-life influencers:
- They can exist in multiple places simultaneously, allowing for broader reach and engagement.
- They can more easily avoid controversy, reducing potential brand risks.
- They also have the potential to reach into emerging technological platforms, such as the metaverse, providing unique engagement opportunities for brands.
The potential for real-time audience engagement through AI exists as well, with AI platforms learning from user interactions and trends to tailor content and responses to audience behavior.
See More: 4 Ways AI Is Changing Content Creation and Marketing as We Know It
Predictions for The Future of Virtual Influencer Marketing
I see the future of virtual influencer marketing as centering around several vital technological innovations:
First: Digital Ownership Fuelling Branding Collaborations
We foresee a rise in collaborative opportunities between virtual influencers and brands, facilitated by the growing popularity of digital ownership and NFTs. These collaborations will provide brands with a novel avenue to engage with their target audience, driving brand awareness and customer loyalty.
Second: Virtual Events Becoming Mainstream
The proliferation of virtual concerts and events featuring virtual influencers will continue to surge. For instance, marketers can explore live hologram performances to reach more significant audiences in real-world venues. As holographic and virtual reality technology evolves, we can expect a leap forward in how virtual influencers perform and interact, further blurring the lines between the physical and digital realms.
Third: VR and AR Platforms Captivating Us All
The emergence of mixed reality platforms, combining augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), will also provide a fertile ground for virtual influencers. Brands will have a golden opportunity to offer immersive experiences that captivate consumers on an unprecedented level.
Fourth: AI Giving Us ‘Real’ Virtual Influencers
AI is becoming increasingly pivotal in shaping the future of virtual influencers. With artificial intelligence making impressive strides, we foresee the development of autonomous virtual influencers. These AI-powered personalities will respond in real-time to audience interactions, creating a more personalized and engaging experience for fans.
Source: TheSoul Publishing
Polar greeting her fans during an interview -TheSoul Publishing
Fifth: Digital Fashion is the Future
Virtual influencers’ integration into digital art and fashion is an emerging trend that holds immense potential. With the digital fashion industry expected to become a multi-billion-dollar market and the advent of NFTs opening up new possibilities for digital art, virtual influencers could play a pivotal role in these sectors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the popularity of virtual influencers proves their ability to make an impact in digital marketing. By thoughtfully creating compelling characters, producing engaging content, and integrating technology, your virtual influencer could become the next big thing.
As we move forward, adopting virtual influencers is not only thrilling but also a smart choice for those who want to keep up with the latest trends in digital marketing.
Besides virtual influencers, how can social media marketers leverage AI as part of their marketing strategy? Please share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn . We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
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