Incorporating an influencer marketing strategy can be highly effective in today’s diverse marketplace, if done correctly. But this isn’t your father’s marketing campaign. Good communication and understanding how the process differs from your typical ad buy is critical to making the process work. We recommend the following tips to ensure you execute a successful influencer campaign, as well as help you build your relationships with social talent.
Do: Let the influencer do their thing!
Don’t: Dictate every shot in an influencer’s video or picture.
Time and time again, we see clients excited to partner with the right influencers based on that influencer’s content. Then, when establishing campaign guidelines, the company forgets that the influencer has their own brand and style that resonates with their audience. Remember, you chose this influencer for a reason – you liked their content and they speak to your audience. Give them the freedom to create something they know will resonate with their followers, which in turn leads to campaign successes (e.g. driving traffic to your site, increased engagement, etc.)
Do: Utilize a mix of micro and macro influencers.
Don't: Rely on only one influencer to achieve your goals.
You’ve fallen in love with that one influencer who is going to eat up your entire campaign budget, but that’s okay because they have one million followers! Just as you do A/B testing when creating ads, you need to test the waters of your influencer campaign with a mix of influencers before settling on a “one and only.” A mix of influencers is key – small and medium-sized influencers are going to get you more impressions and engagement for your budget, and throwing in a mix of multi-channel promotion is even better! Why settle for just an Instagram post when the influencer’s blog has great SEO potential?
Do: Set social and content guidelines.
Don't: Give "loose" guidelines.
We’ve heard campaign horror stories where brands have forgotten to include vital information and requirements for influencer posts, only to ask influencers to edit after their posts are live. While a copy edit can be okay, it is a campaign killer to demand complete message changes or picture and video edits that require a reshoot. It’s not fair to the influencer and only hinders your campaign launch. Be clear in your brand requirements and campaign messaging. Ensure you are providing influencers with the right campaign hashtag, brand social handles and links.
Influencer campaigns can be a lot of fun and provide engaging and meaningful branded content that can be shared on owned social channels. From videos to photos, an influencer can create unique and targeted content for your campaign. Providing the right guidelines and giving the influencer the ability to be creative in their own way is how your influencer campaign will be successful.