Influencer marketing is on the rise and marketeers can’t wait to start launching their campaigns. The promises of influencer marketing include all kinds of perks and advantages – this article includes some simple tips to keep in mind when launching an influencer marketing campaign.
Influencer marketing is an effective way for businesses to build their brand online and enrich their content strategy. To illustrate the effectiveness of an influencer marketing campaign, consider these stats:
- Influencer marketing is growing more rapidly than digital ads
- 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers trust influencer opinions over traditional celebrities
- Businesses generate a return of $6.50 for every $1 invested in an influencer marketing campaign
On that note, here are five things you should know before you include an influencer marketing campaign in your marketing strategy.
Define Your Audience
The key to making any influencer marketing campaign successful is to know who your buyers are. Start by asking yourself questions: Who is your target audience? What problems do they face? What do they do to solve these problems? How can you help? To make this easier, visit online forums about your industry or follow their comments on review websites. For example, on this topic, influencer marketing works exceptionally well for millennials.
Also, make sure that you reach your target audience through the right channels. For example, you can’t promote a bakery on LinkedIn – that is not where people who are interested in cakes or other baked items are. However, it will be easier for you to promote a business like this on YouTube or Instagram.
Find the Right Influencer
The next, and most important, step is to identify an influencer that suits your target audience and your brand. Don’t look for people who have the most followers. Instead, find influencers who share your brand’s ethos. People like these are likely to work harder to promote your business. Plus, they also ensure that your products are seen by their followers – people who are likely to buy from you or share your message.
Pay Accordingly
What’s in it for them? Influencers won’t promote products for nothing. Sure, you can try to please them with free giveaways. Makeup companies let influencers keep whatever they promote, and even give them free merchandise. However, that won’t always work.
To make the relationship work, pay your influencer for whatever they have to do to promote your business, in addition to their usual fee. For example, if the job requires the influencer to travel (e.g. to promote a travel package), pick up the tab for air travel and their hotel stay, too.
Brief Clearly
Brief your influencers on what you expect from them. Don’t make things too professional, but avoid giving them too much freedom. You can brief them about your goals, and let them decide how they are going to achieve them. The influencer knows their followers better than you do, so they would know what to do and say to make them see what you have to offer.
To illustrate, consider an influencer marketing campaign for a box of cereal. You can brief the influencer on what you want to gain from its promotion. The influencer can execute your idea by a video that shows them having breakfast in bed and reviewing the cereal.
Work for a Longer Period
Influencers expose your brand to the public. Good influencers put your brand on the map. If the collaboration works out for you, make it stick. However, keep in mind that it’s harder to make famous influencers stay longer. They are picky about endorsements and how long they stay with a brand.
If your influencer marketing campaign is a success, it’s only natural that you make the influencer stay. Get to know them. Send them emails. Don’t just read their blogs or follow their posts on whatever social media channel they are on. Better yet, talk to them personally. This will show that you care about them more than what they can do for you.
Conclusion
An influencer marketing campaign can help your brand reach more people. You just need to know how to execute it. Find influencers who match your brand, promote to the right audience, brief influencers on your expectations, and reward them accordingly. And remember, it pays to hold onto influencers who benefit you more than any other marketing campaign you have tried.
Join loves to help you find the right influencers and set up your campaign. Contact us for a free demo!
