Influencer marketing has got a bad rap of late what with all the stories of fake followers, dodgy reporting, inauthentic posts and, oh yeah, who could forget the Fyre Festival Fiasco?!
Well, I’m here to tell you that influencer campaigns can boost engagement, sales and loyalty and you can measure and manage the whole shebang…if you do it properly.
Here are 6 things you should do to get the most out of your influencer marketing.
1. Work with nano-influencers (up to 10k followers) and micro-influencers (10k-100k followers). Follower engagement amongst these guys and gals is much higher than with the humungous influencers who have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.
2. Do research on who will best represent your brand. Good ol’ manual social listening can help you to do this as well as hashtag research. Follow influencers who you think fit the bill.
3. Engage with potential candidates on social media for at least 2 weeks before reaching out to them. Comment on their stuff, give them kudos and then DM them!
4. Once you get them on board, create an agreement that outlines exactly how you would like them to represent you and what the timeframe for the activity is:
For example:
- 1 unboxing video on Instagram
- 2 videos/images of influencer using the product on Instagram
- 2 blog posts about the product
- 1 Amazon review
- 1 Pinterest post
5. Agree on a fair compensation plan. Sometimes you can provide free product in exchange for the promotion of it. Other times, it will be more appropriate to pay the influencer. Compensation for influencers depends on their popularity and can be anywhere from $30-$150 per post.
6. Keep an eye on engagement and ultimately sales during any influencer activity. It should be clear how much of an effect it is having.
There you go! If you’re smart about who you pick and how you manage the relationship, you’ll be golden!
