What makes a piece of good brand content?

We've read articles detailing the science behind the successful ones. But this post isn't about science, it's about art. Because every campaign that we've seen push the boundaries this year has had a great balance of art and science.

The art being the creative and emotion influencers portray to their audiences, the content. And the science being the strategy and technology that brings these campaigns to life, in context.

So, how can your brand get it right? It's a question that marketers ask themselves daily. The fine line between balancing brand messaging, keeping audiences happy, and ultimately achieving campaign goals is one that involves a balancing act of the art and the science mentioned above. The good news is, more and more brands are getting it right and as Influencer Marketing moves from being a trend to a reality in every brand's online strategy. Practice really does make perfect!

The truth is, the rise of influencer marketing came about because it became apparent that target audiences were far more inclined to listen to influencers as opposed to brands. Influencers across the globe are building loyal followings on social channels like Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. They captivate their audiences and influence the people around them every day. They do what every brand can only dream of.

Well, some brands aren't dreaming any more. They're borrowing.

If we look at the definition of "borrow" it actually helps us understand how to juggle the art and science part of Influencer Marketing quite well:

When you borrow something, such as an influencer audience, you do not take ownership of it. You simply utilise it for a short period of time before returning it. When brands attempt to own the creative process they are not borrowing the audience effectively. To create good brand content and optimise the influencer audience you need to let the influencer retain ownership of the creative process and the content that is produced.

But enough talking. Below are examples of brands leading the way when it comes to borrowing audiences. Brands that can teach us a thing or two about balancing the art and the science of influencer marketing.

1. #InsideOut

Intel wanted to promote 2-in-1 devices to people who were still not sure what the category of gadget was. A 2-in-1 device doubles as both a laptop and a tablet. The device would ideally be suited to a younger professional audience between the ages of 25 and 35. Intel chose to roll out the influencer marketing arm of #InsideOut by partnering with four South African influencers, each creative and each holding down full-time jobs:

2. #DoItWithPink

Lucozade was launching their new pink drink and needed to create awareness around the launch. Pink drinks are notoriously difficult to sell to the market. The influencer campaign focused around "redoing it in pink." South African influencer Nick Frost speaks to a music market and utilised the campaign to create a playlist of music featuring pink:

I try not to regret things. But if I could do over my matric dance, I would: https://t.co/4TSV8Nj5Sn #DoItWithPink pic.twitter.com/uXHNu3ZQIJ

- frosty (@Nick_Frost) December 3, 2015

For the @LucozadeSA "Do Over" campaign: PINK LEMONADE! #DoItWithPink #DoItWithEnergy Click: https://t.co/OLHeLRJl5u pic.twitter.com/QbqJrDdnye

- The Expressionist (@AnthonyBila) November 26, 2015

3. #CastleLightLime

Influencers were required to create hype around a new alcoholic drink and encourage people to join the "lime line". Influencers were seeded content in the form of 'gifs' to disseminate the message. However, one influencer, Anna-Belle Durant, ascertained that the provided content wouldn't relate with her audience. She decided to create her own GIF and the final result produced a content and brand win online:

Okay guys it's Friday so you have no excuse not to get involved with my #CastleLiteLime Line!! Follow the hashtag to find out how you can win, and by win I mean finish work early and grab a case of lime goodness and dance. Thanks to the best human @nicoleoh_ for helping with the video and of course my handsome @craigycraig for the music. Thanks to @castlelitesa for the beer heheh.

A video posted by Anna-Belle | South Africa (@shesaidsa) on Aug 28, 2015 at 5:17am PDT

4. Coca-Cola #FantaTastesLike

Music influencer, The Fuss, was commissioned to produce a YouTube video illustrating what Fanta tasted like, instead he re-interpreted the message and recorded an entire song using Fanta cans and bottles. This is what Fanta sounds like:

The campaigns above were run by Live+, Ogilvy, Initiative Media, Mediacom and Aqua utilising the Webfluential platform to source relevant influencers to suit the brand goals.