For years we've lived in a world that relies heavily on digital communication. Now, the pandemic has managed to expedite the shift from in-person sales and interactions to online—creating a growing need for digital humans.
So, what are digital humans?
They are hyper-realistic avatars with personalities, facial expressions, and voice inflections that create the ultimate balance between automation and human interaction.
As the capabilities of digital humans continue to advance, more companies are using them as digital brand ambassadors, or influencers, to enhance marketing campaigns and streamline business operations.
The Modern B2B Influencer
Digital interactions have become essential to the success and competitive advantage of companies in every industry. By providing 24/7 customer service and personalized, human-like conversations with consumers, digital humans bridge the gap between digital and physical while creating an innovative way to connect consumers with brands.
A full 64% of US consumers and 59% of all consumers say they feel companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience, a study conducted by PWC found. Somewhat ironically, digital humans can provide people with the human connection they have been missing while also providing unlimited availability and comprehension of 70+ languages.
Another element of digital human technology that companies are using is the ability to turn favorite celebrities into digital brand ambassadors.
Enlisting the help of a well-known public figure to expand your brand's awareness and create buzz surrounding a specific campaign can be monumental, but actually hiring one for your B2B influencer marketing of course comes at a high price.
Partnering with a celebrity to turn them into a digital brand ambassador is much more attainable. Gone are the days of going back and forth with a public figure's manager to determine availability and negotiate a price. We live in a digital time when virtually anything is possible, including digitizing human beings—with their permission, of course.
For celebrity digital brand ambassadors, basic movements and conversational phrases can be captured in a few minutes, creating endless possibilities for improved influencer marketing and a brand's partnership with them.
Four Elements of a Digital Brand Ambassador
Whether you're transforming an actress or basketball star into a digital ambassador or creating a brand new personality to be the face of your brand, keep four essential concepts in mind when working with a digital human experience platform to design an influencer to support your brand.
1. Personality Code
It is essential to create a personality that engages your audience and leaves them with a memorable experience.
You want the personality to embody your brand and values, appeal to your audience, create an emotional connection through the use of nonverbal cues and expressions, and create positive moments for your audience.
Simply put, people are directly interacting with your brand through your digital ambassador, so the experience should be as positive as possible.
2. Design for Conversation
Focus on interactions, not transactions. The purpose of digital brand ambassadors is to ensure they are as close to a real person as possible—not just a chatbot. So, your digital human needs to engage and relate with your user.
People want an engaging experience, not a robotic one they can get from an ATM.
One step to creating conversational design is to role-play interactions to ensure the digital human is emitting the proper emotion to the user. Experimenting with your interactions and expressions helps design input that could be missed without taking the time to ensure the digital human's conversation is as lifelike as possible.
Such insights help the digital human guide the conversation with the user rather than taking a command-driven approach. It also gives the digital human the ability to make small talk so the exchange doesn't seem one-sided.
3. Multimodal UX
It is essential to build an experience using the power of versatile visual and voice interaction. Unlike human B2B influencers, digital brand ambassadors are a multimodal digital interface—meaning they can use varying types of digital content to create a balanced experience, such as walking users through a specific process while answering their questions.
Another way to create versatility for your digital human is to determine what capabilities you need based on your industry and influencer marketing priorities.
For example, a healthcare company may use its digital human as a tool to alleviate some of the administrative burdens of its physicians. In that situation, the company would most likely want its digital human to work with patients, filling out forms and answering general health-related questions.
4. Personalization
A main priority for marketers is to create lasting and positive relationships with their customers, so ensuring your digital human makes its interactions relevant, seamless, and personal is vital.
Digital human platforms can be connected to a company's internal database, so the influencer is equipped with readily available background information that can be useful during customer interactions.
Part of creating personalization and relevance for your audience is having the ability to monitor your digital human's behavior and its interactions with users to determine areas that may need to be manipulated for a smoother experience.
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As consumer expectations and buying behaviors continue to evolve, it is up to companies to come up with innovative solutions such as digital humans to build on marketing investments, attract new customers with solid brand connections, and ensure customer loyalty.
By anchoring a digital brand ambassador, progressive B2B companies can create deeper customer relationships and sustain a positive customer experience that will extend customers' lifetime value and ensure that their interaction with your brand is one they will never forget.
More Resources on B2B Influencer Marketing
Five B2B Influencer Marketing Guidelines for Brands
