How Alaska Airlines is Winning With Influencer Marketing on Instagram

February 8, 2017

Have you considered Influencer Marketing on Instagram as a method to help build your brand’s following?

Are you wondering whether influencer campaigns are truly a successful avenue for growth and exposure?

Many social media marketers are wanting to reach out to influencers to help build their brand’s presence on Instagram yet they are not sure where to begin or if it will be worth their time and energy.

This week on the Social Media Social Hour, I dissect a case study of a successful Influencer Marketing campaign with Shannon Johnson of Alaska Airlines.

Let’s do this!

About the show:

The Social Media Social Hour is a podcast for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to get on the social media fast track. The podcast is an interview format, where each week I get up close and personal with top brands and influencers to talk social media, tech and online marketing. Each week I share tools that I personally use to help me with social media management, sales, marketing, accounts management, and productivity. The Social Media Social Hour is presented by Tack – Power your marketing with authentic content from customers and fans.

In this episode, here is what you’ll discover:

About Shannon Johnson:

Shannon landed her current position with Alaska Airlines as their Social Media Marketer via the slopes. After beginning her snowboarding blog back when the blogosphere was in its infancy, she taught herself HTML and learned the ropes of social networking. Now, she leads the social media charge at Alaska Airlines, and has helped grow their following on Instagram from 8,000 to 100,000.

Mentionable Tips by Shannon Johnson:

  • Create a unique Influencer Marketing campaign on Instagram (i.e. The Alaska Airlines Weekend Wanderer campaign).
  • Enlist a social agency to help do the initial deep dive into the world of influencers.
  • When vetting an influencer, check their:
    • Number of followers
    • Engagement rate and quality of engagement with those followers
    • Quality of photographs
    • Ability to story tell
    • Overall online personality
  • Match the influencer to the theme, i.e.
    • Ski destination – find a snowboarder
    • Family destination – find a mom
  • To measure success of the campaign look at
    • Fan growth during the campaign
    • Engagement rate
    • Types of comments
  • Payment can be in trade to start
  • Takeovers & Instagram Stories are a popular way to utilize an influencer to help grow your page.
  • Create a hashtag like #iflyalaska where all the UGC can be seen at one time.
  • “Always get permission for User Generation Content”
  • Create an online survey for potential influencers. Ask for: key information, stats, and interests so you can compile it all in one location and refer back to it.

Items/people mentioned in the show:

Shannon Johnson’s Social Media Six Pack:

  • Mt Hood or Jackson Hole? – Jackson Hole
  • Jackson Hole or Park City? – Jackson Hole
  • Jackson Hole or Squaw Valley? – Jackson Hole
  • OK, how about Jackson Hole? or Veil – Veil
  • Veil or Mammoth Mountain? – Mammoth
  • Mammoth or Whistler? – Whistler!

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