3 Things to remember when working with Influencers
Even with the ‘Like’ count missing from plain site, influencer marketing continues to grow. It is a great way for brands to get their product or cause, in front of an engaged and connected audience; with the marketing possibilities continuing to grow. And why wouldn’t it? Influencer marketing statistics show, for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, businesses are making $5.20 in earned media value.
Influencers are receiving partnership and sponsored post proposals more frequently than ever: 45% of influencers receive approximately four campaign proposals a month. They are in high demand, have tight turn around schedules and their content is booked for months in advance.
With this is mind, here are some important things to remember when venturing into an influencer campaign.
Know Who and Why You’re Reaching Out
When sending a proposal to an influencer, try to avoid sending a mass invitation and or campaign RFP. Influencers want to connect with brands that they use, believe in and trust to share with their community. They are excited about working with brands that understand them personally, and that match their values and content creative outlook.
Selecting influencers can be a difficult but also, a fun part of the process. When you understand why they’re the right fit for your brand, having the right partnership will help increase the quality of commitment and content you’ll receive.
In order to understand why and how your content will perform, you need to better understand the reasons for selecting a particular creator/influencer. Do they share a passion for your brand already? Do they support the industry you’re in? Does their audience seek information regarding what service and or product you can offer?
A large part of the process is to ensure you understand who the audience is, and what makes them tick – Understanding how the influencer engages with their audience and how they relate to them accordingly, will increase your performance as a brand. For example, how best speak to them, what colours they use in their feeds, what type of Instagram stories they create, do they post videos in their in feed? Frequency, etc.
Knowing exactly who and why you’re reaching out to this influencer will go a long way when it comes to working together. Knowing what type of content they create ensures that you are partnering with the right person and meeting the expectations of their audience.
The Content Guide to Rule Them All
Setting the creator up for success is a crucial part of a great campaign. The more informed the influencer is about the partnership the better. Creating a detailed content guide helps the creator know exactly what your expectations of the partnership is and exactly what is required. This includes; exact dates for drafts and deadlines, what they should avoid, education points on the product or service and all the accounts they should tag and or mention.
There is no detail too small here. This is the exact reference the influencer will use to create their content and in order for them to get it right, they need to have all the information laid out for them.
Follow count isn’t everything. Think about engagement.
There are always ways that the ‘following’ numbers can be inflated; could be a boost in the influencer’s algorithm one day, or could be followers who joined them at the beginning of their journey, hence aren’t engaging with them as the content has evolved since inception.
It is important to have views and been seen, it’s also important that the audience is interacting with the content/brand messages. In order for your brand to see the partnership as a success, you need to examine many other interactions ie comments, number of swipe ups, poll responses and shares etc. If you see an overall positive response in the comments about your brand, you’ll know you’ve selected the right creator.
Have you seen any collaborations recently that were a real hit? We’d love to hear from you! Please share