The power of Influencer marketing has risen, becoming an effective method of growing your brand, generating traffic and increasing sales. Utilizing an influencer marketing campaign is a change from traditional marketing campaigns as it allows businesses to collaborate with influential individuals inside and outside their industry to produce and share content that will transcend their audience.
Here are some of the best practices to get the most out of your influencer marketing campaign:
Find an Influencer That Fits Your Brand
Before you dive head first into influencer marketing, it’s important to research popular influencers in your industry. This relies on your ability to firmly understand your brand and find influencers who are able to promote your brand most effectively.
They should match your style and personality and possibly already use your product or service. For example, if you’re in the fashion industry, finding an influencer who already wears your clothes ensures that they already have a favorable opinion of your brand.
Know the Difference Between Influencer and Celebrity
Both influencers and celebrities can have a massive social following and it can sometimes be confusing which is which. The best way to look at it is how they built their social status. Fundamentally, a celebrity is someone who has significant social capital. This individual may have a significant online presence, typically several thousand followers on major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Those famous on social media may have gained their following by posting a video that went viral or capitalizing on the latest trends.
However, just because someone is a celebrity doesn’t mean that they are an influencer. An influencer will drive, motivate, or provoke insight to those that they reach. Imagine an influencer as a role model, someone you look towards for advice, and a celebrity as someone you laugh at.
Allow as Much Creative Freedom as Possible
Controlling the work done by your influencer can limit the success of your campaign. It is important to remember that the influencer you are looking to collaborate with got to where they are for a reason, so it is important to keep them as genuine as possible. Lay the groundwork and provide them with a foundation of content that they can build on. Allow them to be as bubbly and flamboyant as they want.
The influencer you choose will know their own audience and can likely decide what content would be delivered in the most effective way. However, the direction of your campaign should be decided through an agreement between you and the influencer. Let them be creative with the content as long as it’s on brand and aligns with your company’s values.
Connect with an Influencer Through a Marketing Platform
If you’re not familiar with the latest YouTube, Instagram and Twitter sensations, it can be difficult to choose the best influencer for your campaign. In this case, you can utilize an influencer marketing platform to help you find the most relevant and influential people online. Many of these platforms offer various services that can help enhance your influencer marketing campaign through:
– Influencer search and discovery
– Influencer relationship management
– Fee negotiation and payments
– campaign management
– Social listening
– Audience demographic data
– Performance metrics
Know Your Goal
Before you spend countless days reaching out to every single Instagram user above 10,000 followers, you must first consider exactly what you want to achieve from your marketing campaign. It is critical to ensure that you don’t just “jump on the bandwagon” and spend time and money chasing an individual simply because that have a large social following. Tailor you influencer to the goals and outcomes that you want to achieve. For example, if you want your product or service to reach a new demographic, then find an influencer whos primary followers are your target audience.
Selecting an influencer who does not suit your goals can have adverse effects on your campaign. You can stray in a wrong direction and end up wasting time, money and effort on an influencer and campaign you won’t benefit from.
Utilize Every Platform and Medium Your Influencer Has a Presence On
First, know what platforms your potential influencer is the most influential on. The wider their influence, the more of an audience you will be able to reach. It is common for popular influencers to produce content over multiple platforms. For example, Will Smith has an Instagram account, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Additionally, programs and websites exist that allow you to schedule and post over multiple platforms at the same time, allowing users to keep their pages and profiles updated. The larger an influencers reach over multiple platforms, the more chance of success.
Target those that utilize the most popular platforms with the biggest user base such as:
– Twitter
– Instagram
– Facebook
– YouTube
– Pinterest
– Google+
– LinkedIn
– And more.
These will offer your best chance of success.
Be Authentic
When you have chosen an influencer you would like to contact, you must do so in an authentic, organic way. Build a strong foundation with them, learn about them, maybe like some of their pictures, share some posts, retweet something. The more you know about them, the more you can achieve by working together.
Unless you’re willing to throw heaps of cash at the influencer, it is not recommended to take a ‘business’ approach to contact. Be genuine and build a long-lasting relationship on a personal level so they know you are someone they can trust, this way, your campaign will be mutually beneficial. The influencer may eventually become an advocate for your brand.
Don’t Ignore Influencers with Small Audiences
Before you begin to target the Taylor Swift’s, Dwayne Johnson’s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s out there, consider whether or not they’ll help you achieve the best outcome for your campaign. If you operate in a niche market or are working on a budget then selecting a lesser known influencer is often a more compatible option.
Suppose you’re a fashion designer and want to get your product out there. It would make no sense to pursue Donald Trump who has 53 million Twitter followers, as he will not have an influence on your target audience. However, someone who has a fashion blog or channel on YouTube may have less of a following but be much more influential.
Communicate
Communication is key. Regularly keep in contact with your influencer to ensure the campaign is running smoothly. Set dates and times of contact so you can stay up-to-date with your progression. If you are nearby, meet for a coffee and a relationship that will last. You can pitch new ideas to your influencer, or they could let you know what could be improved.
Don’t be afraid to assert yourself if your campaign isn’t going as planned or there are things your influencer could be doing better, but it is important to not deter them.
Track and Measure Your Target Goals
To know whether you are getting the most out of your influencer campaign you must track and measure your targets. Consistently check your numbers to see if you’re getting the most out of your influencer.
Likes, comments and shares aren’t an indication of a successful campaign. Ultimately, you want sales. See how much traffic has been driven to your website from social media and track how many of them have been converted into sales. Use a platform such as Google analytics to monitor your progress and see whether your campaign is successful or not.
Knowing what areas are thriving and what areas need work are crucial for success.
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