It’s been a big month in the world of social, and our social media team had a lot to say in our August newsletter, so much so that they needed a whole blog to tell you about it.

Gymshark ace responsive marketing – Swiftie style

By Ligita – Social Media Executive

A great example of responsive marketing! Gymshark has captured the internet’s attention with its responsive marketing. Responsive marketing means planning future campaigns around upcoming events and staying on top of current trends.

Gymshark recreated some of Taylor Swift’s famous Eras Tour outfits with a fitness twist. They used a lookalike model to bring these iconic looks to life, tying their brand to a popular cultural moment.

Online people call this Gymshark’s ‘gym girl era.’ This campaign not only grabs attention but also connects with the Taylor Swift fans in Gymshark’s audience. On top of that, the campaign introduces Gymshark to new fans who now share a common interest with the brand.

I think it’s a smart move from Gymshark. Using current events or trending topics in your marketing can help you catch your audience’s eye and create engaging content, whilst helping businesses to stay relevant, efficient, and connected with their audience.

Current topics or events are helpful for businesses because they already have hype online, and therefore don’t require you to build that hype. Nevertheless, it must be done right, and you need to make sure the current topic/event suits your business.

The future of LinkedIn influencer marketing

By Hristina – Social Media Manager

Influencer marketing on LinkedIn is off to a rocky start, but does the future look any brighter?

It’s no secret that influencers or “personal branding experts” are thriving on LinkedIn currently. The platform lends itself perfectly to writing opinion pieces, sharing best practice, career advice and industry-specific insights, all the while building your own personal brand, and gaining masses of followers.

With some of the better known LinkedIn influencers gaining upwards of 100,000 followers, brands are starting to awaken to the power these content creators might have to raise brand awareness and endorse products.

Hootsuite has been one of the first brands to adopt LinkedIn Influencer Marketing as a strategy – and not without controversy. Just a few months ago, prominent faces on LinkedIn (from Steven Bartlett’s marketing director, to the founder of Pretty Little Marketer, to the Head of Content at Kickstarter) posted content endorsing Hootsuite as the top content management platform…

… Without disclosing it was a paid collaboration! The posts from all these people had the exact same images, the exact same keywords used in the copy, and the exact same message. But nothing in the copy to disclose that the brand paid for advertisements.

This caused quite a bit of backlash and controversy in the industry as there is legislation in place regulating the disclosure of partnered content and ads, which often influencers and brands conveniently forget to comply with. Practices like this can be damaging to consumers who trust the opinions of these content creators, and could lead users to believe endorsements are completely unbiased, when they are in effect paid partnerships.

Just this week, however, Hootsuite did a second run of the campaign. This time, fully disclosed by creators.

This development means that the future of LinkedIn influencer marketing could be brighter as brands are now learning to be more transparent about it.

Need Social Media Support?

Visit our social media marketing page to learn about how The Marketing Optimist can support your business.

Alternatively, to arm your team with the skills to not only market, but develop your business across LinkedIn, explore our LinkedIn training for teams.