A good influence: how ethical retailers can find new ways to connect with customers

As you can imagine, organic discovery can’t be relied on in the attention economy. And even specific searches by customers doesn’t always translate into visibility.

 

Ethical retailers are in the same boat as everyone else, which is why you have to be using every possible channel to connect with customers. 

 

Think of it as expanding the size of your pitch in the online marketplace.

Leverage social media

Social media, for its various well-publicised faults, has given brands and retailers something they never expected to have – a direct line to the customer, wherever they are, on a personal device that they purposefully choose to use every day.

 

For ethical retailers, this can be an amazing way to connect with customers – whether they’re actively looking to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle (and seeking out related content) or simply discovering through browsing.

 

Some things to think about are:

- Which social media platforms do you want to be on?

You don’t have to be on every social media platform to make an impact. Consider which platforms your target audience uses and concentrate on having a presence on those, rather than trying to do all of them. 

 

Another factor is the type of content you want to create and share – reels and videos, images, written posts etc. Many of the newer platforms like TikTok are built around a specific type of content, whereas others like Instagram support a wider range of content types as they incorporate new functionality.

 

Or you may not want to create your own content at all and instead work with others to promote your brand through their posts (more on that later).

- Are you selling, educating or doing both?

For some retailers and brands, social media is a way of sharing their products with existing and potential customers and making sales. Others use these channels to primarily share their brand ethos and to communicate and comment on relevant topics. Some manage to straddle the line between the two.

 

Again, an understanding of your target customer will help you identify whether they’re happy to discover and buy through social media or whether they’re looking to connect with a community. 

 

Just remember that no one wants to be sold to all the time. Adopt this approach to every post and you’ll turn your social media profiles into the equivalent of an advertising billboard that everyone ignores.

 

- What is your stance on AI?

Ethical retailers should know the importance of customer trust (just look at the damage greenwashing claims have done).

 

The increasing sophistication of generative AI tools, combined with the supportive strategies of social media platform owners like Meta, means ever-more-convincing AI content is flooding feeds.

 

Your brand will have to decide whether you want to use generative AI tools for content creation, and how you will (or won’t) communicate that usage to followers.

 

What we do know is that consumers don’t like to be misled, so trying to pass off AI content as original artwork, photography or videography will damage trust. 

 

Sustainability-focused retailers may also find that their adoption of AI gets more backlash due to the technology’s environmental and ethical impact.

- Is it entertaining?

The newest social media services are entertainment first. Most users aren’t creating content; they’re just consuming it. And they’re turning to the likes of TikTok, Twitch, Instagram and the long-standing YouTube for entertainment in the same way they used to just turn on a TV.

 

Ethical retailers need to be aware of this user mindset when planning what to share on different online platforms. It’s not that what is posted must be frivolous, throwaway, or funny to be able to entertain users. Educational and informative content can be a form of entertainment as well.

 

But like trying to grab the attention of a channel-hopping TV viewer, retailers have to understand that users have an endless feed of content just the swipe of a finger away. What is posted needs to be entertaining, engaging and compelling right from the start if people are going to watch, read or interact with it.

 

Partner with the right influencers

Despite the negative connotations that the word ‘influencer’ often conjures up, the – well – influence of content creators can’t be ignored.

 

In fact, eMarketer predicts that social media creator revenue will reach $20.6 billion this year.

 

And while some may feel that influencers – who are often considered to be encouraging overconsumption – don’t have a place in ethical retail, many social media users have their own environmental concerns and welcome the opportunity to engage with a like-minded person, follow their lifestyle and discover new products that fit into that.

 

So, how can ethical retailers find the right influencers to partner with? 

- Study their content

Before choosing to work with an influencer, ethical brands should be carefully scrutinising their content and profiles.

 

Is what they post aligned with your brand ethos? Who else do they work with? Are they promoting unethical products and brands one day and sustainable ones the next? Do they only talk about the things that matter to your brand when they’re being paid to?

 

The comment section on their posts – particularly any about sustainability and ethical concepts – are also a good indicator of what their audience think of them. Do they question some of the things posted or call the influencer out for inconsistency? Or do they engage in conversation, ask questions and respond positively to what’s posted?

 

You should be looking to partner with influencers who are genuinely aligned with your brand and share your ethos even when not collecting a cheque.

- Think small

You might think that working with a large influencer with thousands or even millions of followers will equal better results, but for ethical brands smaller influencers are usually a much better fit.

 

One reason is that followers, views and likes aren’t as valuable as was once thought – especially if you’re looking at conversion from content to customers. Often these metrics are overinflated due to bots, which makes it hard to accurately measure success.

 

The metrics that matter now are interaction and attention, measuring things like comments, saves, shares, revisits, time spent on a page or video etc.

 

This is where small and micro influencers shine as they tend to have close knit communities and genuine bonds with their followers. After all, an influencer with millions of followers can’t possibly have a connection with each of them. 

 

Whereas influencers with smaller audiences are able to interact with more of their regular followers. And this converts into the credibility, authenticity and audience trust that drives the engagement that ethical retailers are looking for. 

 

- Look for long term partnerships

If authenticity matters, then one-off influencer partnerships tend to be less beneficial for ethical retailers because they can come off as purely transactional, rather than being built on shared values.

 

So, when choosing an influencer to partner with ethical brands should look for those that they can work with long term. Because if a creator is already living and talking about a sustainable lifestyle, an ongoing partnership is a much more natural and genuine approach as it means the products are incorporated into day-to-day life.

 

In fact, organic product usage rather than a one-off paid campaign can be more valuable in the long run for some ethical retailers. It tells followers that the product delivers on its promises.

 

Long-term partnerships also give you opportunities to leverage an influencer’s content and their audience on other channels. For example, ethical retailers can post creator content on their website and own social media channels, as well as use it in advertising. 

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