Did you know that about 74% of people make purchasing decisions as a result of social media?
My team recognized the power of social media influencers early in 2015 and has launched several programs to help brands create authentic partnerships.
Influencers Rising
Influencer marketing has evolved from a pioneered marketing tactic to an essential part of the marketing mix. Brands are getting traction with influencer marketing, making this emerging niche worth about $2 billion, projected to grow to $10 billion by 2020.
Nowadays, people are skimming information, so brands have just a few seconds to create engagement. By integrating influencers into a marketing mix, brands increase their chances of getting noticed, especially if the influencer is passionate about your brand and the problem your product is solving.
Nowadays, people are skimming information, so brands have just a few seconds to create engagement. By integrating influencers into a marketing mix, brands increase their chances of getting noticed, especially if the influencer is passionate about your brand and the problem your product is solving.
Throughout the process of providing integrated influencer marketing support to our clients, we’ve learned how to streamline communications with influencers. To this effect, we crafted a methodology that allows us to identify and target influencers based on brand identity and the specific client objectives at hand. This process enables us to streamline communications. We set clear branding guidelines and delivery expectations, and deliver a detailed briefing document to get everyone on the same page. Here’s the framework we use:
Establish And Follow The Process
We developed an internal process to structure our influencer marketing programs. The guidelines begin with setting strategy, carefully researching influencers’ brands and stats, establishing relationships with influencers’ talent agencies and management, following a pre-established contract template that we developed, and customizing this template for each client and campaign.
Define Your Goals And Strategy
Start by clearly defining your goals. Go back to your brand guidelines to set clear objectives and strategy for your campaign(s). There are many ways to effectively incorporate influencer marketing to effectively reach your marketing goals, so don’t limit the possibilities. It’s also essential to confirm your target audience and establish KPIs.
Do Your Research
A useful strategy to determine if an influencer will be a good fit for your brand is to review past content that the influencers have posted: are their tone, beliefs and style in line with your company’s sound and style? What are the hashtags for your brand? Look for top posts in those hashtag conversations and see who’s posting them. It only takes a click to view their profile so you can begin to review their following, engagement and content.
Manage The Relationship
Aim for an authentic relationship between your brand and chosen influencer(s). Influencers want to be allowed creative freedom. It’s vital to trust influencer feedback on what types of content and posting styles work best for their audience. They care about their brand image and will not take on partnerships that feel forced. Make sure your influencer partners feel like a valued part of your team, and not just a means to an end.
Analyze Results
Tracking and measuring campaigns is essential. Use analytics tools to view the engagement your campaign generates. Determining the matrix depends mainly on your goals. If your goal is brand awareness, then new profile visits and follower growth are important to track during the campaign. However, if your goal is a product purchase, then link clicks and actual purchases are essential to track during the campaign. Post “likes” and video views are great, but they have to lead to desired actions to truly deliver ROI.
Each influencer partnership is a learning experience, so if you find that certain things don’t work for one campaign, you can apply those lessons to your next campaign.
Finally, when working with influencers, remember a tried-and-true saying: “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Finally, when working with influencers, remember a tried-and-true saying: “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
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