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Why Getting a Little Emotional Helps Grow Your Influence Marketing Program

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About Influence Pros Podcast:

Influence Pros is the weekly show where professionals learn about case studies and success stories in the fast-growing world of influencer and advocate marketing. Hosted by Heidi Sullivan of Cision and Julianna Vorhaus of TapInfluence, the show chronicles how B2C and B2B companies are working with online influencers and customer advocates to grow reach, engagement, and conversions. View all shows—including free downloadable resources—at InfluenceProsPodcast.com.

Allie Ingalls and Jennie Hughes from WhiteWave Foods join the Influence Pros Podcast to enlighten us on the ways of customer appreciation, finding true emotional stories, and expanding reach organically.

Allie Ingalls - InstagramA Little Sunshine Goes a Long Way

Are influence and advocacy marketing the gifts that keep on giving?
Yes, yes they are. And knowing how to tap into pre-existing fans and authentic emotional stories gives you even more. Allie Ingalls and Jennie Hughes of WhiteWave Foods agree that being generous with customer rewards and aware of consumer needs help create a lasting and effective base for true advocacy and successful influence marketing campaigns.
WhiteWave Foods is a big company on a big scale, and—most importantly—has a big heart and a small family farm feel. Dedicated to creating, promoting, and distributing healthy foods worldwide, WhiteWave actively creates innovative products and marketing to drive the demand for healthier foods everywhere. Allie and Jennie are experts on how to make a big idea feel personal, approachable, and successful.  They’ve gathered many rays of insights and tools, and, thankfully for us, are willing to share their sunshine.

In This Episode

  • How telling a story is good advertising
  • Why giving gifts to customers will bring high returns
  • Why it helps to use fans as influence marketers
  • Why constant innovation is essential in marketing
  • How influence and advocacy are connected

 

Quotes From This Episode

“An influencer can really be anyone from day to day. And it’s really someone who’s passionate about a belief or opinion or product and they feel so passionate about it that they really want to share that with others.” —@Jennie0384
“It kind of makes you think about the ripple effect. We sort of hit the bullseye and then let the bullseye sort of extend beyond and beyond. I love the idea of giving legs to someone who’s going to advocate for us on our behalf and empowering them to send the message further.” —@allieingalls
“I think the most important things is we’re finding influencers who are already fans of our brand. It’s so much easier to be able to activate your brand message and your brand promise with people who are already excited to tell your story and they’re already natural advocates.” —@Jennie0384
“You need to do something innovative and unique to break through the noise a little bit.” —@allieingalls
“I always say don’t fit a square peg into a round hole. Allow your influencers to shine through and find their strength and activate them according to the platforms you have.” —@allieingalls

“I think that paid sponsorships aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but the way you do it is so critical. Just making sure that you’re coming across is very authentic. So when we brief our influencers, we’re very, very careful to just setup some guardrails and let them fill in and take the message that we’re trying to promote and make it their own. Otherwise their followers are going to know that’s not real. That’s not a very genuine endorsement.” —@Jennie0384

“It’s really more on brands to ensure that as we’re working with influencers, we’re doing it in a very meaningful and relevant way. I think those kinds of messages, is what really breaks through the clutter and the noise of digital.” —@Jennie0384

Resources

 

Would You Rather

Allie Ingalls

Would you rather, for a whole year, live in a tent in the woods or have your own bunk at a hostel?
Okay, listen, hostel all the way. That has electricity and running water. No, I don’t camp.
Would you rather be CEO of a Fortune 500 or just a really popular seller on Etsy?
I would rather be CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I do not know how to make things.

Jennie Hughes

Would rather get $10 million or never look older than 25?
I would probably rather get $10 million. I think I have a lot of things that I would like to do with that. I actually don’t mind aging. I think it’s somewhat of a mark of your experience, so to speak. So that one I’m okay with. But I think the money would definitely help. I’ve got a 12-year-old daughter who’s probably going to want to go to college, I would imagine.
Would you rather be unable to make phone calls for a year or totally unable to receive emails for a year?
That one is super easy. I would much rather not receive emails for a year. That sounds like a vacation.

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