It’s a simple concept; would you trust you don’t know brand showing off its own product, telling you how great it is? Or an Influencer, someone you trust and look up to for inspiration to tell you the product is worthy?
According to statistics, 89% of marketing teams/individuals believe they get greater ROI from marketing involving influencers than any other channel. In addition, 72% of the current commercial American market is making use of this method.
The simple truth is in the name, influencers have influence. We look up to use because they share interests, have a social impact and show us the latest trends, features and products within these special interests before we even do.
Here are 6 easy steps to ensure a successful Influencer Marketing Campaign
1. Determine your KPI and Campaign
Before we dive into anything “influencer” related, you first need to determine the strategy of your campaign. In our case, we worked with Borrowed Boutique. We needed to develop a strategy that would use influencers to drive web traffic (and therefore, sales). This allows us to set goals with the client and manage certain expectations.
2. Find relevant influencers
The first step is to find the ideal candidate, someone that you can see truly embracing your brand.
Ideally, you need to find someone who understands/ and or is passionate about the product/service you provide.
Here we can look at young-child influencers, moms or family blog owners.It is important to ask yourself, could this person love my brand, embrace it, encourage their followers to act on a “call to action” and, most importantly, how easy will they be to work with?
A great bonus is finding people who have already worked with other brands in order to ensure they understand the process/ they can act professionally. We also look at their analytics to see how we can make sure of their various channels. On the other hand, smaller influencers tend to provide more flexibility since they might not be involved with as many projects as larger influencers,
We found our influencers through similar brands, blogs and instagram.
3. Create clear communication
As with any other agreement, communication is the absolute key. Make sure you take the time to talk to the influencer. It is important that they know who you are and understand what you do. These are real people with passions and emotions towards brands. Therefore, we need to make sure we are genuine with them. Be honest, don’t be vague and answer all questions they might have.
4. Discuss channels and terms
Once you have introduced yourself and the influencer feels comfortable, you can share the details of the campaign with them to see if they would be interested in the collaboration. It’s best to first request a media kit. This usually has all of their channels, analytics, experience and sometimes costs.
While some influencers are happy to accept products in exchange for the collaboration, others can charge you per post, story or video.
Give your influencers a clear brief, to make sure they can give you all of your desired deliverables, meet deadlines and, sometimes, signing agreements such as an NDA.
For us, we really wanted to make use of valuable content such as videos and photos, as well as “call to action” such as visiting the store and using discount codes provided by the influencer.
5. Be a part of the content, or encourage content
One of the best ways in which you can create a lasting impression as a brand is by helping them with content, or just creating positive encouragement. For the lovely influencers that partnered with Borrowed Boutique, we organised photoshoots and contests and fun content ideas to keep it collaborative and easy-going. We also helped them boost their posts to make sure both parties receive great traction.
This helped us build our relationship and opened doors for further reviews and content, which brings us to our ultimate point.
6. Create loyalty and relationships with additional events/projects
Networking is one of the most important things you can do in life, and the same goes for your brand. A good network can take your brand from zero to hero if you apply yourself and connect with the right audience. In addition, a great relationship with an influencer will only encourage a positive response and attitude towards your future projects. If you do it right, some might even become so passionate about your brand, they will embrace it and share it even outside of campaigns.
Word of mouth is the most powerful tool you can ask for; at the end of the day, we just want people to love and embrace our brands naturally. What better way to do that than being involved with a community that shares the same passion.