As many as 30% of 18-24-year-olds and 40% of 25-34-year-olds consider themselves content creators, according to a recent survey from HubSpot.
That’s a lot of potential influencers for your brand to work with. The trick is choosing the right ones, and following the right strategy.
Fortunately, that’s what this blog is all about. So, read on as we share five essential steps to successfully working with influencers.
Sections
1. Decide on your goals
As with any form of marketing, the key to success is knowing what you’re working toward. Do you want increased brand awareness? More sales? More engagement, traffic, or followers?
It’s important to answer these questions before you start reaching out to influencers. Your goals will dictate not only the types of influencer campaigns you work on, but the types of influencers you work with.
2. Plan your strategy
Now that you have your goals, it’s time to plan your strategy for working with influencers.
This includes determining an overall budget for your campaign, based on your goals, the number of influencers you want to work with, and your costs per influencer. You’ll also want to plan how you will reach out to and maintain relationships with your influencers.
You’ll also figure out the KPIs for your campaign, and the methods you’ll use to determine whether your campaign is working. Finally, you’ll assign team members to manage various aspects of your campaign.
3. Find your influencers
Once you have a budget in mind, you can begin reaching out to influencers.
Macro-influencers (more than 100,000 followers), with their massive followings, have obvious perks — especially if brand awareness is your goal. However, they are the most costly to work with, and may be less willing to compromise on the creative aspects of your campaign.
Their followings also tend to be less engaged than those of a micro-influencer (10,000 to 100,000 followers). Plus, micro-influencers tend to be much more amenable to working with brands and are more affordable, enabling you to spread your budget over a wider swath of potentially more influential influencers.
If you are just getting your feet wet in the world of influencer marketing — or if you manage a local business — you may want to consider working with nano-influencers (fewer than 10,000 followers).
Pro Tip: Review the latest FTC guidelines for influencer marketing and ensure your influencers are apprised of them as well.
4. Choose your campaign
Depending on your goals for influencer marketing, different types of campaigns can be more or less successful.
If you want to increase your Instagram followers, for example, an Instagram contest or giveaway can drive new followers to your profile. If your goal is to boost product sales, then a sponsored product review, unboxing video, or product collab — especially if paired with an influencer-exclusive discount — can be powerful.
Here is a list of the various ways you can work with influencers:
- Blog review
- Instagram post
- Instagram giveaway
- Instagram takeover
- Sponsored TikTok video
- Product review on YouTube or TikTok
- Live tutorial or DIY video
- Unboxing video
- Product collaboration
- Ambassador program
5. Track your success
As your influencer campaigns get underway, it’s important to track their performance.
This way you can see what’s working well, and learn how to do more of it. With these insights, you can identify your top-collaborating collaborators, enabling you to maximize your budget.
To track incoming traffic or sales, many brands choose to assign dedicated affiliate links or promo codes to their influencers. Although, it’s important to remember that some followers won’t click on these links directly, or even use the promo code, even if the influencer is the one who originally introduced them to your brand.
Influencers can share their own insights with you as well, including the number of likes and comments for their campaign. What’s more valuable for you as the brand, however, is the number of new followers they drove to your profile.
Be influential this year
Influencers can help your brand reach more customers, boost engagement, and earn more sales.
Ready to launch your influencer marketing program? Contact Your Marketing People today. Our experts will help you quickly identify the right influencers for your brand and guide your strategy for success.
