The power of influencer marketing is reaching new heights and for all the right reasons. In 2018, most companies who opted for influencer marketing were able to achieve a whopping 520% return on their investment, according to statistics released by SmallBizGenius. With millions of internet users blocking ads on their mobile phones and laptops, marketers need to think of new ways to attract the attention of their target audience. For this, influencer marketing has emerged as an effective customer engagement tool, given the trust that millennials and Gen Zers have on their social media peers, as compared to big brands.
However, influencer marketing is easier said than done. For starters, the content put out by your influencer needs to be original, engaging, informative and entertaining, all at the same time, says an article by SEMDestination. Here’s a look at 5 tips to planning an effective influencer marketing campaign.
1. The Right Influencer
Choose influencers who are a perfect fit for your brand. This can be done by analyzing their followers and checking if they are part of your target audience. Start by checking the location of their followers. You can also choose multiple influencers, just like GAP did in their Styld.by campaign, to enhance reach.
2. The Right Target Audience
Define the right target audience, based on factors like location, age, gender and interests. However, to reach the maximum number of views, you can also target people who do not seem like obvious customers but might develop an interest in your offerings.
Daniel Wellington is one of the most famous watch companies and mostly works with travel and fashion bloggers. However, it also has ties with Canadian Bros, an Instagram account of two dogs. In one of the posts, a dog is looking at his owner, who is wearing a Daniel Wellington watch. The caption is written from the dog’s point of view, which is pretty appealing for dog lovers all over the world. This way the watchmaker was able to reach a new audience base.
3. Analyze Previous Work
Check out the promotions done previously by the influencers you have shortlisted, rather than the number of followers. This gives a clear idea of how much the influencer could impact your brand marketing. Note how well they communicate a brand’s vision, number of people they are able to engage when they go “live” on their channels, whether they have out-of-the-box ideas, how many leads are getting converted and how well they retarget old products.
4. Pay Them Well
Many influencers are willing to promote your company in exchange for free product samples or discounts on services. However, when you pay them a marketing fee, they are likely to be more committed to the campaign. The prices charged mainly depend on the post engagements, the type of posts, such as images or videos, and on the platform on which the promotion will be done, says an article on Tinuiti. It is a great move to compensate them so that they work well on your behalf.
5. Build Long Term Relationships
More than getting one campaign done, paying the influencer and moving on, think about long term relationships. Establishing lasting connections can help you get quality work from the influencers. And, in turn, the influencers would be happy when you trust them with your business marketing. This could act as a major motivation to work better.
With such an approach, both influencers and brands can grow their presence on social media and expand their business. Twitter researchers say that influencers help increase purchase intent 2.7 fold. Make sure you collaborate with an influencer who posts regularly and has high active followers. This will definitely help you connect with potential customers and drive revenues for your business.