In today’s increasingly competitive market, online gambling companies are looking for ways to come out ahead of rivals. But having the best brand goes beyond just having the website, theme and offer. Operators should also know how to connect to the players on a more personal level.
This is where influencer marketing comes in. Tiz Gambacorta, of 8020 Research, calls it the “next level” of marketing,” an essential for companies “if they want to stay in business.”
“Online companies, specifically in this space, we don’t have a very strong personality branding aspect, even the biggest companies,” Gambacorta tells CalvinAyre.com. “So how do we bridge that gap? That’s where influencer marketing comes into play. How can you leverage the brand, the persona of someone to endorse your brand that doesn’t have, technically, a personality?”
The core of influencer marketing is essentially connecting with the audience—on a deeper, personal level, based on his values. It’s selling, but without selling, Gambacorta pointed out. So how can brands, such as those in the online gambling industry, tap into that?
It’s a combination of three things: the brand and offering, the influencer, and how the brand can work with the influencer to put the marketing in place and get the desired results. “Those steps are completed by the brand working with the influencer and putting those marketing pieces in place,” Gambacorta explained.
But whose job is it to create the content, CalvinAyre.com’ Becky Liggero asks. For one, it’s the gambling company, Gambacorta noted.
“It could be the influencer in theory, but technically, most of the time, the influencer is the influencer. It’s good at getting influence, at getting likes, subscribers, whatever it is,” he said. “So naturally, who is it going to be? Well it could be agency, if they have the right person or essentially if any marketer whether he’s working in an agency or not, that understands the two sides of the equation and understands the process of core influence which really leverages the influencer to get players to the brand.”
