Influencer Marketing: A Powerful Partnership
**This is a proposed partnership concept to illustrate how to pair companies and influencers for an academic assignment. I am not affiliated with Letterboxd, TikTok, or straw_hat_goofy.**
When considering a partnership between a brand and an influencer for a campaign, it’s best to find an influencer that not only has a large and engaged enough audience. The best partnerships match thematically as well. This increases the likelihood that their existing audience would be interested in the product or service you provide.
One such partnership that does not yet exist, but would likely work very well, is between the Social Networking site Letterboxd and TikTok user ‘straw_hat_goofy’. Letterboxd is a social media site dedicated to movie viewing and rating. Users are able to track what movies they want to see, what ones they have already watched, and can post reviews of movies they have seen. (Marsh, 2021) straw_hat_goofy is a user on TikTok who has, as of July 31, 2021, 2.1 million followers. He has a highly engaged fan base, with videos often getting hundreds of thousands to millions of views, tens of thousands of likes, and hundreds to thousands of comments. (Juju)
Beyond metrics, straw_hat_goofy would be a great pick because his entire channel is dedicated to reviewing and discussing movies (and shows that tie to movie franchises, like MCU and Star Wars shows). His bio reads “Can I Be Your Movie Guy? I love talking all movies.” He would be a great fit for a long-term partnership, and should not be limited to a short campaign that centers around only a few content pieces. The partnership should include a permanent link to his Letterboxd profile in his TikTok bio and an agreement to include Letterboxd in content when appropriate. The agreement should allow flexibility in the creativity and content so as to not alienate his audience.
straw_hat_goofy is best known for movie reviews, rating movies from 0–5 ‘Straw Hats’ and going into details of why he gave the ratings. He covers everything including story, cinematography, acting, and more. This would indicate that his audience cares about these things, and enjoy reading reviews from a trusted source. A great campaign could include straw_hat_goofy creating a Letterboxd profile full of short typed summaries of full review videos he posts on his TikTok. Additionally, there are times that people ask in his comments for recommendations of movies, and this would be a great way to encourage viewers to visit Letterboxd (and hopefully encourage sign-ups for the service.) An example is a commenter who asked him for recommendations for movies with great LGBTQ+ representation for Pride Month viewings. This would be a great partnership video in that he could answer in a video with 2–3 movies, and then encourage the viewers to check out a full list on his Letterboxd profile.
This partnership would also be well-timed given the current global pandemic. While some movies are being released in theatres and places are opening back up, COVID-19 restrictions could still play a major role in Letterboxd’s popularity and use. The collaboration with straw-hat-goofy could emphasize going back through all the movies, both new and old, that people likely watched when staying home. It could also be a way to celebrate a return to the movies by taking the time to review and discuss movies with others, connecting users with others who are partaking in the same ways.
Letterboxd has seen a large increase in popularity recently because of changes in entertainment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Letterboxd has seen its user base nearly double since the beginning of the pandemic…And it’s not just more users. It’s more use: ‘We’ve seen more activity per member,’ Buchanan said in a recent Zoom interview.” (Marsh, 2021) Additionally, TikTok has seen extensive growth within the last year. “…the video creation app TikTok that’s been hugely popular among Gen Zers has seen a huge surge in user activity since the onset of the coronavirus. TikTok reached two billion downloads in April 2020 — not to mention, it also sees the highest engagement of any social media channel….” (McPeak, 2020) These parallel surges in popularity makes the Letterboxd and TikTok platforms a great fit for a campaign as well.
Video content is one of the biggest trends within influencer marketing, and in social media use in general. Marketers are rightfully taking notice, and as you can see in the above chart from Smart Insights, most plan to make video an integral part of their marketing plans. Videos work well to increase trust between an influencer and their audience. “It keeps viewers more engaged and a stronger authenticity makes people feel more human and part of the action.” (Carbone, 2019) Therefore, using video to promote a platform that is centered around movie-watching is not only thematically a match but will also simply be more effective. straw_hat_goofy in particular does a great job of utilizing the TikTok video format, including the green screen effect, to show clips, stills, and articles of movies he is reviewing to help illustrate his points and create genuine interest in the movie he is discussing.
Influencer marketing will only continue to grow in the coming years, and it is important for brands to continually search for influencer partnership opportunities that will make sense for their brand and product. Seek influencers with engaged audiences, that already create content that aligns with your brand and its goals, and a successful partnership should follow.
Carbone, L. (2019, December 11). Top 8 Influencer Marketing Trends Coming in 2020. Later Blog. https://later.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends/
Juju (@straw_hat_goofy) TikTok | Watch Juju’s Newest TikTok Videos. (n.d.). TikTok. Retrieved August 1, 2021, from https://www.tiktok.com/@straw_hat_goofy?lang=en
Marsh, C. (2021, January 13). Is Letterboxd Becoming a Blockbuster? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/movies/letterboxd-growth.html
McPeak, A. (2020, May 7). How Brands Can Leverage Influencer Marketing During the Coronavirus | Klaviyo COVID-19. Klaviyo. https://www.klaviyo.com/blog/dtc-influencer-marketing-coronavirus
