Photo Source: Pinterest
It’s hard to scroll on social media these days without seeing some sort of over the top brand trip or brand dollars being spent on huge marketing efforts. From Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Snow Club in Montana to Neutrogena’s Lake Tahoe getaway, all kinds of brands from beauty to sports, tech and more are getting extra creative with grabbing attention and getting people to talk.
Now what exactly is a brand trip? Any kind of brand can do this, as long as they have the budget and the means. Companies within different kinds of industries select a group of influencers, content creators or people who make a big impact in their community and invite them on a typically all expenses paid trip.
It can be up to 3 days or more depending on the location and activities. From the minute you wake up to right before bed, you are doing something with the company and everyone else invited on the trip so if you happen to be invited to one, be prepared to take content and not really rest. Although it may sound like a fun, free vacation, those getting invited are still creating content and working either to post on their own social media pages or fulfilling deliverables for the brand if contracted.
All this attention can be great for the brand when influencers or creators start posting online about it, but it also comes with controversy. Why do influencers who are already able to afford these trips get invited? Why is there so much over consumption and over the top activities?
There’s 3 letters to explain this — ROI. Return on Investment is a big part in why brands choose influencers, content creators and public figures to attend these events. Brand trips are not just experiences to post about on Instagram and make a dozen Tiktok videos about. They work to also amplify the brand beyond paid budgets and social media advertisements.
A great brand trip doesn’t just create content. It creates conversation, conversion, and long-term brand loyalty so let’s dive in.
Community Alignment
Brands don’t do anything without strategy in place. Time is money and vice versa. A great brand trip works when the people in the room and in the environment make sense. A beauty creator who only posts makeup videos getting invited to an outdoor nature event about new camping gear makes no sense.
Creators or influencers that genuinely make sense and align with the brand values, mission and more are the ones attending these events. When brands do this, they are choosing to align themselves with people that naturally fit into the aesthetic and style of the company. It will be easy for them to create content because they are already in that world.
Photo Source: Pinterest
Alignment such as this is a great strategy because influencers going to these trips can have even more doors open for them afterwards. If you go on a brand trip with Rare Beauty, you create great content and really do your thing, why would another brand not want to invite you to also do the same thing for them?
This same theory goes with anything else in life as well. When one door opens, another can open and another and then you’re aligned to all these new opportunities because you said yes to one thing. You never know where life can lead you!
But when brands are intentional about inviting a mix of different tiered creators on trips, that can actually help them reach even more audiences big and small. Macro, micro, mid-tier and niche creators are some of the best options brands can reach for because you’re not just going for the singular group of creators with millions of followers.
Micro-tiered influencers can be just as effective and influential because of their tight knit community and followers. More followers doesn’t always mean things will be better for the brand so if you’re in the lower end of followers right now, that is not a bad thing at all!
We all start from somewhere so keep going, build your community and nurture that relationship because your community’s trust is worth more than any transaction or opportunity.
Organic Posting
Going on these lavish, once-in-a-lifetime trips comes with perks for the brand such as getting organic content posted by the influencers and creators that were invited. As mentioned earlier, creators are still working on these trips by creating and posting content for their followers. If they were paid by the brand and are in a contract, they will also have to fulfill their deliverables whether it’s a certain amount of Tiktoks, Instagram Stories and more.
Photo Source: Pinterest
There’s instances though where not all influencers or creators are paid to attend trips. A popular influencer on social media named Brandon Edelman who goes by @bran_flakezz is known for breaking down a lot of social media advice into bite-sized information for anyone interested!
One of his most recent videos explains what goes down on brand trips from the full list of who is getting invited to travel booking information, deliverable requirements and more. When you’re getting paid to go on these trips, there might be some content requirements for you but 9 times out of 10, everyone on the trip is going to post something.
This organic content is everything for the brand because even though the creators aren’t getting paid, they are providing an experience that is so fun and exciting, why would the creator not want to post about it? The entire experience is curated for you from walking into the hotel room with dozens of products laid out, to experiences like driving ATVs in the Dubai desert with Tarte. They make these moments for you to share online but also to enjoy yourself.
Continued Brand Loyalty
Getting invited on these brand trips are not just a “one and done” type of deal. Typically, relationships are continued even after these brand trips whether it’s with social media paid partnerships, event invites, PR lists and more. Tarte is known for their very big and glamorous brand trips but it doesn’t stop there. They continue to keep that energy and momentum with their events, PR packages and more.
Photo Source: Pinterest
This keeps the conversation going and you’re not just getting invited on a trip to then never talk about the brand again. Loyalty like this is something that you can’t buy so keeping these relationships with influencers, creators and public figures can be a huge benefit for the brand. When they have future launches, more trips or events, they know who to call because they’ve already worked with them in the past. It doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity for new creators to be a part of it, it just means they are tapping into building that loyal foundation.
So don’t be surprised when you see a creator continue to post about a brand even if they aren’t getting paid for it because getting invited on these trips and having these experiences are truly once-in-a-lifetime. Imagine getting invited on a trip by a brand you’ve been using since you were in middle school. It feels like a full circle moment!
Earned Media Value and Return on Investment
EMV and ROI are two key words that every brand pays attention to. EMV is anything that is not paid, organically created such as social media mentions or PR coverage talking about a brand. If you get a new mascara from a beauty brand and you end up loving it then creating a video about it, you just gave that brand EMV because not only are you talking about your love for the product organically, but you’re getting social media engagement from it too which can go back to them.
Photo Source: Ulta Beauty Instagram
When I first got my Dyson Air Wrap that was paid for with every penny I earned, I loved it and still! If you search it up on Tiktok, you can probably find dozens of videos I’ve made about it, how I use it, before and after looks on my hair and much more. I was never paid by Dyson to do this but they got a ton of EMV from those videos because I just shared how much I loved it!
Return on Investment is what the brand is getting back financially. If a tech brand invites 10 influencers to a trip and they’re constantly creating content everyday, sharing their day to day on the trip, tagging the company, and more, then this organic content can translate back to their audience to want to learn more. When their followers go out and purchase these products, the brand is getting a huge ROI because now the invited influencers’ audience is getting in on this too. This ripple effect of all the 10 influencers posting, sharing and talking about the trip is driving engagement, possibly sales and definitely conversation.
Content like this will continue to live way beyond the trip. Whether it’s vlogs, in-feed content, long-form or short-form videos and more, these will be remembered and live on the internet to be watched for weeks, months or even years after the trip ends. Even when brands can’t necessarily pay influencers for the trip, all these organic posts, stories, vlogs and more are generating massive EMV and ROI that the brand didn’t have to buy through paid advertisements.
Photo Source: Neutrogena Instagram
As any creator knows, going on free trips and getting free products doesn’t pay the bills so even though these are incredible experiences, they will only work long-term if the creator feels they are valuing from this as well and if the brand can continue to pour into their creators even after the trip.
At the end of the day, all of this is a job and it is a business strategy. It’s fun and exciting to share these bits online, but both the creator and business need to benefit or it won’t work for either side.
Glamour & Guide 