Give Your Influencer Marketing Campaign Greater Influence

 Monty Wyne

Your biggest goals for an influencer marketing campaign are threefold: 

  •  Improve your brand advocacy

  •  Expand your brand awareness

  • Reach new targeted audiences

These goals will not only improve your bottom line but establish your brand as a mainstay in the digital age. Why not follow in the footsteps of a growing number of businesses utilizing this proven resource. A resource which provides a $6.50 return on every dollar invested. 

1.)  Develop an intimate feel for your intended audience

Don’t immediately think that the best strategy is to simply hire the most visible influencer/celebrity for your brand. Tap into your user base instead and identify your followers. Find out how they interact with your brand. What are their interests? Their desires? Their goals? This will give you a good idea of the type of influencer your audience will pay attention to.

Don’t be swayed by the popularity numbers of a specific influencer. Selena Gomez was named the most influential person on social media in 2016. Pantene North America selected her to be their spokesperson in 2015. Despite her 230 million followers across different platforms and a 65% female audience, only 25% lived in the U.S. and just 3% engaged with her posts. Dig deep before you make a decision.

2.) A greater following doesn’t always ensure a greater campaign

Although you capture a superstar digital influencer, thinking it’s a real coup for your brand, high numbers don’t always create an effective marketing campaign. Don’t focus on numbers alone, look at the quality of the influencer’s personal brand and level of engagement.

In 2017, there’s been a shift towards micro-influencers, those with fewer than 100,000 followers. Brands rely on these influencers because they produce a higher ROI. These micro-influencers with audiences under 100,000 represent over 90% of the influencer activity on Instagram. 

3.) Craft your campaign with, not for the influencer

You are hiring an influencer to improve your brand’s business goals, gaining a larger social following. Neither can be accomplished if your audience senses a lack of authenticity. Your influencer has business acumen or he or she wouldn’t have such a large following. With that in mind, make this a partnership, focusing on collaboration and sincere communication.

Your followers will instantly sense an influencer campaign that is too scripted or promotional. 

You want your influencer to use his or her own voice and style to introduce your brand. Trust his or her judgement and understanding of what will work best for your audience. This increases conversion and creates a lasting and meaningful partnership.

4.) Be selective when choosing platforms

Not all platforms will be optimal alternatives for launching your campaign. Evaluate your marketing metrics to see where your efforts have been most profitable. You might need to make some adjustments or revitalize your strategy.

Know which marketing platforms will be a good fit for your products or services. A clothing brand needs a strong visual presence, like Instagram. A social gaming app geared for teens may work best on Snapchat. Or a non-fiction book launch might benefit from a leading journalist or fellow writer on a more text-centric platform, like Twitter.

5.) Utilize technology to take your campaign to the next level

Any marketing campaign, with or without an influencer, must be measured, analyzed, and refigured to optimize your future initiatives. Besides analyzing relevant KPIs, try content-aggregating platforms and software to determine the status quo of your market, key demographics, and any leading trends. If you’re using Facebook, make sure you implement its conversion software. TagBoard can display influencers’ posts on your Site. Bitly is helpful for tracking every click an influencer drives to your product. 

In the end, you might just want to contact a digital marketing agency that specializes in influencer marketing in the digital space. These proven professionals can take care of everything for you, monitor your results, fine tune your campaign to increase effectiveness, and ensure you are optimizing your marketing investment.

(This article is an excerpt from marketingprofs.com, July 7, 2017)