The momentum of influencer marketing is underway and isn’t losing steam any time soon. In fact, Influencer Marketing Hub reported 63% of marketers intend to increase their budgets for influencer marketing in 2019. When executed correctly, this digital practice has the ability to drive objectives like brand awareness and sales.
Take, for example, a B2C client here at LEAP Amp. The client came to us wanting to explore new digital tactics for increasing sales during the holiday season. Having no previous experience with an influencer program, we introduced a tailored strategy that led to more sales in one week than the previous year’s entire holiday campaign.
Whatever results you are looking for with an influencer program, here are 5 tips that will strengthen your strategy.
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Analyze and build report on your audience.
Seems like a no brainer, but this step is vital in matching a brand’s audience with an influencer’s audience. Whether you have a stacked digital performance team or are viewing platform analytics, take detailed notes of your audience’ demographics, interests and behaviors. Don’t forget to tap into your community managers to gauge overlooked information like audience lingo, GIF and emoji usage, and tagging cadence. It helps more than you’d think!
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Determine if executing the campaign is something you’re capable of doing in-house or if you need some help with the heavy lifting.
Having a helping hand navigating the next few steps is a full-time job. We’re here to create a partnership together. Let’s talk.
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Set expectations with budget… with emphasis on paid media
This is one of the mistakenly biggest setbacks to getting a program started. A rough industry standard is that one Instagram influencer post could cost $1K per 100K followers, but there are several levels of influencers that could cost less than you may assume. No matter your budget, make sure a dedicated paid media and targeting strategy is included in the total budget.
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Understand the levels of influencers.
Each influencer has varying levels of followers and engagement rates. Categorizing them by ascending level helps to set expectations around budget.
- Local: Utilizing average consumers in your local markets is an affordable option. Think of these people as real customers and fans on social media. Local influencers usually have under 2,000 followers and are great for geo-targeted campaigns.
- Micro: These niche-specialty influencers usually have under 100,000 followers and are experts in a specific interest. Typical examples include fashion and travel influencers.
- Macro: The primary difference between macro and micro is that macro influencers have over 100,000 followers and tend to be a bit pricier.
- Celebrity: Think of your favorite celebrity partnering with worldwide brands that have high budgets. With over 100,000 followers, they are reaching consumers worldwide.
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Let authenticity guide the program
While all of these practices are a foundation for a successful influencer program, the most important advice we can provide is to stay true to the voice of the brand with authentic influencers and content. If it feels forced, it probably is forced. Revert back to your audience research. If the partnership isn’t a conducive one, fans will let you know in the comments section.
Ready to get started with your first influencer marketing program or need an extra set of hands to optimize your current one? Email us at info@leapamp.com.