Influencer Marketing: Strategy Guide for Brands
If you’re a marketer, you’ve probably heard of influencer marketing – and if you haven’t, it’s time to start paying attention. Influencer marketing is a very efficient approach to contact your target audience, and it should be used by all businesses. In this guide, we’ll explain what influencer marketing is, and give you some tips on how to create an effective influencer marketing strategy.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing can be defined as marketing that enables a business to use an influencer’s online networks to promote their product or service for a fee. To promote a company’s products or services, influencers use original content like photos, videos, blog articles and more, to relate to your product or service. Influencers can be found on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, TwitchTV, and other social medias / streaming services.
Your brand can leverage influencer marketing to gain the trust of your target audience by using social influencers. They can act as social proof that your product or service is worth investing in with the words and actions they take. The power of influencer marketing is undeniable, if Kim Kardashian or another celebrity with a large audience posts a product their followers listen. Another great example are the athletes that showcase their shoes, apparel, or supplement routine. The young athletes that look up to them flock to purchase these products in hope of increasing their performance.
Types of Influencers
Influencers vary by audience size and the main determinant of a good influencer is how engaging their audience is, not necessarily the large number of followers. Here are the classifications of influencers:
· Nano-influencers: 1,000–10,000 followers
· Micro-influencers: 10,000–50,000 followers
· Mid-tier influencers: 50,000–500,000 followers
· Macro-influencers: 500,000–1,000,000 followers
· Mega-influencers: 1,000,000+ followers
How Much Does Influencer Marketing Cost?
Influencers who have a large audience are entitled to compensation for their efforts in growing a large following. The bigger the following, the higher the expected cost to advertise with an influencer. The amount you pay influencers will be dependent on the following they command and the social media platform they use. Nano influencers charge between $10-100 per page, while Micro-influencers can charge between $100 and $500 per post. The rates can go as high as $10,000 per post for mega-influencers, while celebrities can even charge as high as $1M per post. Some Nano-Micro Influencers will represent your brand or post about your product if you send them free items to try or review. This can be a low cost / effective way to recruit Nano – Micro influencers that may be up and coming.
Tips on Creating an Effective Influencer Marketing Strategy
- Establish Your Goals and Budget
Knowing your goals and purpose for hiring an influencer is a very important first step. The primary objective of influencer marketing for brands is to reach new potential customers and increase conversions. Establish specific, measurable objectives that you can use to evaluate the success of your influencer marketing campaign.
- Identify Your Target Audience
Create a persona of the target audience you want to reach with your influencer marketing campaign, then begin searching for influencers who provide content for that group. This also helps to select the platform to find the influencer. Finding out the target audiences your competitors can also help to identify the audience.
- Make A Strategy for Your Campaign.
Creating general brand standards for your influencers to follow is a smart idea. These guidelines can help you identify the type of content you want posted about your business and products.
- Identify and Choose the Right Influencer
Select several influencers that serve your target audience based on your marketing objectives and past work done. Look at the number of followers and engagement. Keep in mind that just because they have 100,000 followers does not mean they are all real. It is very common in today’s world for people to buy followers. Although we recommend you never buy followers, a lot of people do it. It is important to analyze the engagement the person receives on their posts. Also keep in mind this person is going to be representing your brand and products, it is important to find people that align with your values.
- Narrow Down the Influencers and Contact Them
Set up a meeting to discuss your goals and vision with the Influencer. Present the campaign and listen to what the influencer has to say. Use this information to determine if they’re a good fit for your campaign goals and if their values align with the companies.
- Choose The Influencer and Sign Agreements.
Once you have identified the Influencers you want, sign agreements which specify the duration of the partnership, cost of partnering, marketing efforts, offers and more.
- Finish the Planning of the Strategy and Schedule it
Finally, create a schedule with the influencer and let them get creative. You can also provide them with content produced by your marketing team and schedule the influencers to post at the same time. This is especially important during sales or the launch of a new product / service.
- Analyze Results
It is important to monitor and analyze the results of your influencer marketing campaign to determine the influencers effectiveness. If you aren’t seeing an uptick in traffic or conversions it may be time to analyze and reevaluate the approach your team / influencers are taking. It’s ok if the results don’t come in month 1 or 2, it’s important to stay consistent.
Conclusion
A well thought influencer marketing can improve your brands awareness and sales. Use the steps above to get started and build your own influencer strategy! It may take months to build the influencer strategy and team before their first post, develop a plan and then execute it. Remember, consistency and patience are the keys to success.
