Sustainable business has risen from a niche talking point to one of the central narratives of modern commerce. You can see it when you turn on your TV, and commercials tout the environmentally progressive nature of the products being sold. You can see it on social media as debates rage over a corporation’s impact. Sustainability means whether the practices surrounding the creation and distribution of a product are viable long-term. Many brands that do have sustainable practices have turned their positive impact into a profitable model.

In influencer marketing, sustainability is a huge driver of success for brands. Sustainable businesses have some unique competitive advantages over brands that aren’t known as sustainable, and their influencer marketing campaigns can shine because of it. In influencer marketing, having a unique selling point that is attractive to a high volume of consumers will set you apart, especially if there are the right influencers available to promote it.

Let’s look at some of the specific advantages sustainable brands have that can drive huge ROI on influencer marketing campaigns.

Appealing to Consumers

Consumers want more from brands in terms of social activism than they ever have. Regardless of your business’ size, you need to align with the beliefs and values of the consumers you are targeting. If you are targeting Millennials and Gen Z consumers, then chances are sustainability is a value that they will be prioritizing. This gives sustainable businesses a considerable advantage, as their identity already aligns with the belief systems of a massive chunk of the most desirable demographics.

There is a significant amount of market research that shows just how important sustainability is to consumers. A Facebook report on the spending habits of Gen Z consumers showed 68% of Gen Z consumers expect brands to contribute positively to society, and 61% are willing to pay more for products produced ethically and sustainably. This isn’t just reflected in the words of consumers; it is shown in their actions. An NYU study showed that sustainability marketed products grew 5.6x faster between 2013-18 than conventionally marketed products and 3.3x more quickly than the consumer packaged good market overall.

Influencer marketing is about generating leads through the platform of social media stars. It is made much easier when the product being marketed already aligns with the values of a considerable percentage of the consumers on the platform.

Specific Niches to Market To

Not all products have a natural niche fit on social media. Products that don’t fit in a niche can still succeed in their influencer marketing campaigns, but having a niche can simplify the process. When you have a niche to orient your social media marketing campaign towards, finding the right influencers to target is made easy. You can reach out to the influencers that consistently produce content based around that niche. The sustainability, vegan, and environmentally-friendly niches are huge on social media, with many influencers establishing their content around these topics.

Niche marketing is a competitive advantage because it allows businesses to narrow their scope and target the people that are the best fit for their products. This leads to a more personalized experience for customers. Marketing material that is specific to their interests is a huge selling point for a lot of customers. According to Statista, 90% of U.S consumers find personalized marketing content somewhat to very appealing. Data from HubSpot showed that 92% of marketers say that consumers expect a personalized marketing experience.

Having a defined niche to market to allows you to reach a group of consumers with an established interest in products like yours. It also makes finding a good influencer fit much more of an easy process. A specific niche will make your campaign much more personalized, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Likelier Influencer Participation

If you want to market with influencers, you need influencers willing to agree to utilize their face, reputation, and platform on your behalf. While just about every product out there can find an influencer that is the right marketing fit, many influencers out there won’t promote products that don’t align with their brand. As mentioned previously, sustainability is a massive trend on social media. Don’t believe me? There are countless articles listing the top sustainable living influencers, sustainable fashion influencers, and sustainable POC influencers.

Sustainability is a legitimate social media phenomenon that countless influencers have built their entire platform upon. If you’re selling an unethically made product and doesn’t have a sustainable slant, many of these influencers will pass on the opportunity to work with you. Having a product that is sustainably created and marketed as such will make it much likelier that the typical influencer will want to collaborate.

Influencer marketing is about forging partnerships with the right people to promote your business. It is about finding someone whose platform and following aligns with your brand’s goals and getting them to use it for your benefit. Getting an influencer to agree to work with you is a pivotal part of this process, and it is made much easier if you are a sustainable business.