How To Make Influencer Marketing Work For Your Brand

This is an area of marketing that has recently become popular for brands, mainly because it is cost-effective, and just plain effective. Brands are finding that making the right connections, and having the right marketing moves, can end up giving them a profitable campaign.

It can be tough to ensure momentum continues, and there are also problems associated with choosing Influencers in the first place. We’ve picked out a few pointers that should help make Influencer marketing easier for your brand.

Stick at these ideas, and you may just end up with a campaign that works perfectly for you.

Take the micro route

There are plenty of Influencers out there that can suit your brand, but it is always best to go down the micro-influencer route first. If you have only just started finding Influencers, don’t aim too high. It’s more important that you test the waters with a couple of micro-influencers that can offer you some momentum while also being less costly (in resources and money) to bring on board. It’s not always easy to find the best micro-influencer, but it’s better to experiment at low cost than it is to experiment and make mistakes with a huge cost.

Get the channel right

It’s absolutely vital that you choose the right social media channels for your Influencers to work on. This cannot be emphasised enough. Work out which social media your audience is on the most, and find Influencers who have the same areas to work in.

However, to qualify that a little, it’s important that you know how dynamic or useful each channel is. LinkedIn, for example, brings results after a certain amount of time. So don’t put all your resources into that unless you’re in the influence game long-term. Pick out quick win channels (like Twitter, for example) and mix these up with channels that reward the long haul, and you should have a good Influence platform. Above all, focus on what your audience uses, and nothing else.

Get the pay right

Some Influencers don’t want to be paid in cash. Some have made financial compensation a big part of what they do, and they will expect this to be the case with you. But get it right, and know what you’re dealing with. Ask questions about compensation before you jump on board with an Influencer. It’s not unknown for some Influencers to become offended when work has begun, and a potential client offers them perks rather than money.

Perks can be a great thing. Influencers like freebies, and they like to have fun freebies. Getting the mix of financial compensation and freebies right will be important as the relationship develops.

Reaching out

This can be such a disaster if you don’t get this part right. Reach out to a number of Influencers because just having one doesn’t bring great results (unless you have a ton of money at your disposal). Reach out to a number of micro-influencers, and then that should bring you in a few people who can add value for your brand.

Another reason for reaching out to a number of people will become clear once work begins. One Influencer (outside of the top tier) will not make a huge impact. They will bring something to the table, but having more than one makes more sense. This arrangement can be fine-tuned later, but for the start of the whole thing, have more than one Influencer and reach out to as many as you can.

Due diligence when choosing

While it’s important to reach out to a number of Influencers, you must carry out your own checks on them first. There are thousands of them out there, but not every single one is real. The number of fake Influencers is rising.

Check them out and see if they have fake followers. This is quite easy to spot. If their follower numbers are dropping regularly, than they could well be an Influencer with nothing to back them up. Another thing to worry about is the engagement the Influencer has. If there is little to no engagement for more than a few posts, how legitimate do you think they are?

Relevant content is the final piece of the puzzle. If they simply aren’t putting out content that is constantly relevant to what you are all about, you’re wasting your time.

Know the playing field

Before Influencers started to become a big thing online, they were left relatively unchecked. This means that a number of Influencers were literally endorsing products all over the place, without any thought for the impact upon the industry they worked in.

Then, the law started to change. Now, unless you are very clear as a brand that you are paying or compensating an Influencer for marketing your products, you could find yourself in trouble. Some countries do not yet have laws for Influencers, but many do. Suffice to say, it’s important that you focus on making sure you know what the legal framework is for using Influencers.

Test it

The biggest mistake brands make with Influencers is not having a monitoring system. If you’re not looking at your online real estate, including your website and your conversions, you’re ignoring the impact of the Influencer. Or the lack of impact.

Test the Influencers you work with just like you test all other aspects of your business. See if the site is receiving more traffic and engagement. Check the conversion rate. The most important aspect here is ensuring you are getting a return on your investment. If nothing is coming through, then that Influencer is not working out.

Keep the tips above in mind when you start looking for Influencers. It’s a game all brands can win, as long as they know the playing field inside out.

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