It’s nearly impossible to navigate social media without coming across some form of influencer marketing. Everywhere you look, influencers are promoting their latest snacks, clothing, makeup brands, and candles, and that’s just the start. From traditional posts to the ever-popular Instagram Stories to lengthy videos, influencers are constantly exploring new ways to earn sponsorship on their preferred platforms.
When defining influencers, it’s critical to keep in mind that anyone can be an influencer. As John Maxwell puts it, “To be an influencer, you must first love people before attempting to lead them”. You have influence if you have even one follower. If you receive a single like on one of your posts, you have generated engagement. Therefore, let us take a moment to recognize the aspiring influencers who are gaining traction. These individuals share information about their preferred brands and products simply because they adore them. To be fair, they’re probably also hoping for a brand deal in the long run, but they’re not making any money at the moment they post.
It may appear as though influencer marketing is a new concept that has only recently gained popularity. Indeed, influencer marketing dates all the way back to 15 years ago. PayPerPost, the first marketplace to compensate bloggers for branded content, debuted to considerable fanfare. Given that blogs were initially viewed as online diaries, many experts questioned whether incorporating advertising or sponsorships into the content would feel authentic.
That is still a challenge for today’s influencers, but for those who can promote products or services while remaining genuine and authentic, there are numerous rewards to be had. After all, people buy from other people, and when they like someone, they are more likely to trust their recommendations.
How To Create A Strategy For Influencer Marketing
1. Create a list of your objectives and key performance indicators
Any effective strategy begins with objectives. When considering influencer marketing, there are a variety of campaign objectives that you can pursue. While the most obvious benefit is likely increased sales, working with influencers can do much more for your brand than generate immediate revenue. Here are a few possible objectives:
Constructing Brand Awareness
By collaborating with influencers, you can ensure that your brand’s name is seen by thousands of people who may have never heard of it before. They’re learning about your brand from a trusted source, which means they’ll be more receptive to learning about your company or following you on social media.
Attract A New Market
If you want to sway the opinion of your ideal customer, there is no better way to do so than by partnering with an influencer. You should know that it will almost certainly require additional effort on your part to convince the influencer that your brand is the best fit for their audience. Influencers are frequently protective of their audiences as a result of the time and effort they’ve invested in growing their following and earning their trust. However, if you collaborate with the influencer to develop a strong campaign strategy, they may be able to assist you in reaching a new market.
Facilitating the Generation of Leads
Finally, influencer marketing can assist you in acquiring additional leads and customers. Depending on the product or service you sell, you may want your influencer partnership to direct their followers to a nurturing campaign where they can learn more about your brand. Alternatively, you could send them directly to your e-commerce store to begin generating revenue.
After establishing your objective, it’s time to define your key performance indicators, or KPIs. These are the metrics you’ll track throughout your campaign and analyze at the conclusion to determine how well it performed. If your objective is to increase brand awareness, you may want to track visits to your website or social media followers. If your objective is lead generation, you’ll want to keep track of how many people subscribe to your nurturing sequence. You can easily track sales using influencer-specific links or a special promo code.
2. Gain a firm grasp of the influencer landscape
Before you begin working with influencers in earnest, you should first gain a thorough understanding of the landscape. Recognize the various types of influencers — we’ve discussed micro-influencers extensively, but there are also macro-influencers and celebrities. You should generally avoid celebrities, as their following is so large that their engagement rate is extremely low, but their rates are frequently quite high.
Prior to pitching your brand to anyone, spend some time observing influencers and how they promote brands. This way, you’ll be more informed and able to make a stronger impression on the influencer.
3. Establish relationships with influencers
Once you’re certain that you’re on the right track, it’s time to connect with influencers. There are numerous ways to identify influencers who will work for your brand, but you should begin by looking within your industry. Not only will you learn about your competitors’ collaborations, but you’ll also learn about the size influencers they’re targeting. Then you can decide whether you want to look for individuals with a similar-sized following or something completely different.
Depending on the platform on which you wish to promote, there are tools available to assist you in identifying influencers in your niche. InfluenceGrid assists you in locating TikTok influencers, while Awario assists you in locating influencers across multiple platforms. However, you are not required to use such tools to identify influencers. Additionally, you can conduct a hashtag search to locate individuals who create #sponsored posts. From there, you can peruse their audience to determine if their message resonates with you.
Additionally, you can begin with your followers. Select a few of the individuals who are already fans of your brand. Browse the other accounts they follow to see if you can identify any influencers. This is an excellent way to connect with someone who is already reaching out to your ideal audience.
Finally
Influencer marketing is here to stay, and it will continue to grow in popularity over the next few years. No matter what their objective is, ecommerce brands can truly benefit from working with influencers. Influencers can assist you in increasing your following, increasing sales, or simply spreading the word about your business. Whatever the case, today is an excellent day to begin developing your influencer marketing strategy.