Maximizing Influencer Marketing: Foundational Steps for Success
In today's digital landscape, influencers are the celebrities of social media. They possess the potential to wield more power than even the most meticulously crafted marketing campaign, and they're eager to share it with the right brands. Whether you're planning your first influencer marketing campaign or looking to fine-tune your current strategy, there are foundational steps to follow. Let's start with the basics.
Research
Before committing to an influencer, it's crucial to research their audience. Browse through their last 10-20 posts and identify WHO is commenting, as well as the ratio of 'likes' compared to their followers. Ensure that the followers who engage the most genuinely engage with the content and align with your target market. Watch out for comments that feel too staged or generic, as this may indicate bots or engagement pods. Pay particular attention to the quality of their photos, as depending on the goals of your campaign, using influencers to create remarkable photo or video content for your brand is a valuable objective.
Get Quotes
Influencers charge a wide range of fees for their posts, and it's best to have an agreement that outlines the fee, the number, type, and dates of posts, and any other details of the relationship. It's also advisable to negotiate with the influencer to share their results from the content, particularly regarding reach, shares, and saves, which you won't be able to see publicly. When agreeing on the content, check for any fine print (e.g., use of Instagram stories vs. Instagram post to feed, agreements on the length of time to keep the photo on the feed, etc.)
Creative
When planning content with the influencer, approach the posts as engaging content that people will want to watch, share, and interact with, rather than ads. Allow the influencer the freedom to create content that feels natural to them and that their followers will love.
Know the Rules
Guidelines exist for how influencers share content they've been paid to create or post. Ensure they're following the guidelines, such as using appropriate hashtags and tagging the post as a 'Paid partnership with...'
Take Your Campaign to the Next Level
Once you've selected your influencer/s to partner with, maximize the relationship and investment with these tips:
Broaden Horizons: Don't limit your influencer marketing to Instagram. Consider your business, your customers, and where your customers spend their time. Channels such as YouTube and Podcasts have a high male audience ratio, whereas Instagram has a higher percentage of female users.
Commit: Consider building a long-term relationship rather than a short-term exchange of posts for payment. The campaigns and content you create with a future vision in mind will better serve your brand and message and help you optimize your investment over time.
More than a Number: Don't get fixated on big follower numbers, as power is not solely in millions. Micro-influencers (those with less than 10,000 followers) can deliver stronger results than those with massive numbers, provided they have an engaged audience.
Measure Success & Optimize the Opportunity: Consider how you can best measure the success of your campaign with each influencer and how you can optimize the opportunity with a unique discount code, affiliate link, hashtag, competition, or limited edition product release.
Think Outside the 'Gram: Don't limit your relationship and content creation with influencers to standard content/posts. Take your partnership further and invite them to be involved in your brand by inviting them to events, to be part of photo and video campaigns, or to 'take over' your account for a day. Get creative and find something that works for both parties while also holding the attention of your audience.
Final Thoughts
Social media is constantly evolving, and while some predict the decline of influencers, we at Social Tap believe they still have a place in the marketing mix. Our advice is to be strategic, creative, and think long-term. Place value in quality over quantity in your partnerships.
Ready to run an influencer campaign? Need a helping hand? We've got you covered.
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