9 Ways to Leverage Influencer Marketing in a Conservative Industry

Navigating influencer marketing in conservative industries can be a unique challenge, so we’ve gathered nine specific strategies from founders, CEOs, and marketing experts. From educational collaborations with experts to collaborating with local community experts, discover how these professionals are successfully leveraging influencer marketing in their respective fields.

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Educational Collaborations With Experts

In a traditionally conservative industry, influencer marketing has more staying power when executed as an educational collaboration with respected experts. In the automotive industry, for example, partnering with trusted auto engineers or safety experts to talk about a new vehicle’s features and safety standards can go a long way. They can write reviews, host safety seminars, or contribute to a technical blog.

This focus on technical precision and professional expertise ensures that potential customers see the influencer’s endorsement as credible and valuable, and builds trust. Focusing on value- and knowledge-based content helps to bridge the gap between old and new, as well as between traditional marketing and modern influencer strategies. Equally important, in conservative sectors, it emphasizes the brand’s knowledge-based expertise—a key route to building trust and credibility.

Mark McShane, Founder, Cupid PR

Leverage Legal Community Endorsements

As the CEO of ENX2 Legal Marketing, I’ve found that influencer marketing works well even in conservative industries like law. We partner with respected legal experts, authors, and bar association leaders to promote our clients’ expertise.

For example, we connected one of our law firm clients with a well-known trial attorney who wrote the foreword for their new book on employment litigation. In exchange, the author promoted the book to his 100K+ social media followers. This influencer partnership led to media opportunities, speaking engagements, and new clients for our law firm client.

In another campaign, we collaborated with the former president of a state bar association to create an educational video series on changes to local laws. By featuring our law firm clients as experts in these videos, we gained credibility and exposure with lawyers statewide. Our law firm clients saw a significant increase in new client leads the month the video series launched.

Influencer marketing in law is all about leveraging partnerships with influential members of the legal community. When done right, their endorsements can shift perceptions, establish thought leadership, and open doors to new audiences. For our law firm clients, finding the right influencers to collaborate with has been key to successful marketing campaigns.

Nicole Farber, CEO, ENX2 Legal Marketing

Partner With Healthcare Social Influencers

As the founder of PracticeVIP, a digital marketing agency for healthcare providers, I often leverage influencer marketing to reach new audiences in a conservative industry. For example, we partner with physicians and healthcare experts on social media to promote the benefits of our digital marketing services. By giving them an opportunity to review and endorse our system to their followers, we gain credibility through real reviews from influential leaders in the medical community.

We have also worked with physicians and practice administrators on platforms like LinkedIn, where their audiences are largely made up of other healthcare professionals looking to grow their practices. In exchange for a free marketing analysis, influencers provide video testimonials, case studies, and share the results they achieved using our system. One influencer campaign drove over 50 new practice consult requests in a single month.

Our influencer collaborations have been most successful when we find partners who genuinely value our marketing expertise and share our goal of empowering physicians to thrive. By building real relationships, influencers become our best evangelists and long-term clients. Leveraging influencers in a conservative field like healthcare requires a genuine, value-first approach.

Jeff McGeary, Founder & CEO, PracticeVIP LLC

Align With Financial Advisors Online

In the conservative financial services industry, we leverage video-influencer marketing by partnering with trusted financial advisors who have a strong online presence. These influencers create content that demystifies complex financial concepts and provides practical investment advice. By aligning our brand with respected voices in the field, we build credibility and foster trust with our target audience. This approach not only educates potential clients but also positions our brand as a thought leader in the industry.

Mike Vannelli, Creative Director, Envy Creative

Engage Conservative Influencers on Social Media

The conservative media ecosystem relies heavily on influencers on Twitter and Instagram to share conservative news. In the past, I’ve reached out to conservative influencers to have them promote videos. By getting 5-10 to promote the video, you can soon get a pile-on effect because all the influencers will be compelled to give their take on the video. This will boost the video in the algorithm and can help you go viral. 

The nice thing about this is that conservative influencers tend to be cheaper, so you can get good CPMs to promote a piece of content by taking this route. The trick is to make content that will appeal to their conservative audiences. Either get political with it or appeal to a more blue-collar sense of humor. Brands like Black Rifle Coffee do this well.

Jon Elordi, Director of Marketing, Main Street Rank

Utilize Micro-Influencers for Targeted Trust

Instead of focusing on big-name influencers with massive followings, I identify individuals who have a smaller but highly engaged audience that aligns with the target market of the conservative industry. These micro-influencers often have a deeper connection with their followers and are seen as trusted sources of information and recommendations.

For example, when working with a financial services company targeting conservative investors, I partnered with a personal finance blogger who had a loyal following among retirees and those seeking financial stability. This micro-influencer created content that highlighted the company’s commitment to conservative investment strategies and long-term financial planning, resonating with their audience’s values and priorities.

By partnering with micro-influencers who are already trusted and respected within the conservative community, I was able to leverage their influence to build brand awareness, credibility, and trust among potential customers. This approach yielded positive results and ensured that the messaging remained consistent with the industry’s values and expectations.

Liga Rudzite, Marketing Manager, Lemon Pitch

Turn Employees Into Company Influencers

Currently, I work as an internal communications manager in the largest vertical agricultural holding in Eastern Europe; the company has more than 23,000 employees. As part of the influencer marketing, we decided to go the opposite way: to make influencers out of our current employees. 

We have a training project on the introduction of social networks for all interested employees in manufacturing. All homework assignments are designed to tell about the company transparently. In this way, we increase the education of employees on a popular topic and increase the awareness of the company as a whole for job seekers. 

Kseniia Gorodnichaia, Marketing and PR manager, Rosagro

Form Partnerships in Faith-Based Communities

As the founder of Stay Here, a faith-based mental health organization, I’ve leveraged influencer marketing to raise awareness in Christian communities. We partner with influential pastors, authors, and speakers who share our mission to end stigma around mental health issues. 

For example, we provided resources and training for megachurch pastor John Piper’s ministry. In return, Pastor Piper endorsed our work on social media, introducing us to his over 1 million followers. This partnership led to increased traffic and donations, allowing us to provide free therapy for hundreds of teens.

We also work with Christian mental health advocates like Kay Warren, who has written about her struggles with anxiety and depression. By contributing blog posts and resources to her platform, we’ve gained exposure and credibility with Christian women, a key demographic. Our clothing line, featuring inspirational messages of hope, grew out of this productive partnership.

In conservative spaces, choose influencers carefully and focus on mutually beneficial partnerships. Look for those genuinely passionate about your cause. Their authentic promotion and word-of-mouth marketing can transform perceptions and open new audiences. For Stay Here, influencer marketing has been crucial in delivering our message of faith and mental health in a compelling way.

Jacob Coyne, Founder, Stay Here

Collaborate With Local Community Experts

Trust is very important in the legal field, especially concerning personal injury. To use influencer marketing in this traditional field, you need to work with well-known people in the community. Working together with local doctors and rehabilitation experts has worked well for me.

For example, we worked with a well-known physical trainer who helps people in accidents. People with good experiences with our company have helped us get new clients by posting about us on social media and in local community forums. This method builds trust and aligns us with trustworthy speakers that our audience already trusts.

92% of people believe recommendations from real people more than recommendations from brands. This shows how powerful personal endorsements can be. In one case, a recommendation from a well-known surgeon caused a 30% increase in inquiries about our services.

Being honest is very important in these relationships. We ensure that all of the endorsements are genuine and that our leaders tell people how they work with us. This maintains the trust and honesty that are so important in our field. Focusing on natural, community-based influencer marketing has improved our image and client base without using flashy or aggressive methods.

Mark Hirsch, Co-Founder and Personal Injury Attorney, Templer & Hirsch

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