Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of your influencer marketing campaign. These mostly relate to micro-influencers (as they are cheaper and more effective), but they can also be used with macro-influencers.
Do Remember that Influencer Marketing is a Collaborative Situation.
You are not hiring a social media influencer to be your salesperson. These people are professional content creators, after all. Don’t ignore their input, but neither should you instantly assume that they will take control. As with any aspect of business, do not micromanage. You know your brand and audience, they know their personal brand and audience: you just need to combine all that knowledge in a compelling way. These people can walk away at any time–and any fines they’d incur for breach of contract probably amount to less than the revenue you’d miss by not having that campaign!
Don’t Opt for Quantity over Quality.
This advice is twofold, applying to both audience size and number of influencers themselves. Do not assume that a macro-influencer’s massive following will translate into massive engagement. A 2016 study cited in Digiday found that the more followers an influencer has, the less engaged those followers are. Micro-influencers have less reach, but statistically more engagement. Don’t reach out to every micro-influencer you find, though. Sometimes the size of an audience does matter; some markets are oversaturated with content creators. While 50,000 followers is impressive for an influencer who reviews vegan soaps, that reach would be far too small to matter in the overall world of beauty-focused social media stars and vloggers.
Do Bolster Your Influencer Campaigns with Digital Advertising.
Given that the influencer has a built-in audience, you might neglect (either intentionally or otherwise) to promote your influencer campaign. This is bad for both your brand and the influencer. As mentioned above, a growing number of micro-influencers and almost all macro-influencers use their social media presence to generate their income. If the posts featuring your products do not perform well in terms of views or likes, then the influencer might break with your brand. Don’t let this happen: advertise your collaboration!
Don’t Confuse Micro Influencers with Brand Ambassadors.
Micro-influencers are content creators who often profit in some way from their social media presence. While most have day jobs, an increasing number of micro-influencers are relying on their online content to generate income. Creating content–whether blogs, videos, or photographs–is work, and must be treated as such. Brand ambassadors, on the other hand, are just average customers who would probably be happy to receive free products in exchange for honest reviews.
Do Clearly Explain Your Goals and Metrics to Your Influencer.
Most influencers are young and inexperienced in the business world, but that does not mean that they don’t understand performance metrics. Social media influencers are often members of Generation Z or Millennials, meaning that they grew up with technology. Gen-Z influencers in particular were raised with social media, so it stands to reason that these people will understand concepts like key performance indicators. As we mentioned above, more and more influencers are professional. Tell the influencer what you want from the campaign: more likes, more sales, more subscribers, et cetera. An influencer might even be able to help you tailor your digital marketing campaign to his or her specific audience!
These are great general tips for anyone who is getting started in influencer marketing. Remember that it’s better to focus on engagement rather than followers: a micro-influencer with high engagement is better than a macro-influencer with low engagement!
In our next blog, we’ll discuss how to find the best influencer for you and your brand.
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