Influencer Marketing Best Practices - 8 Tips
The influencer marketing global market size grew to $16.4m in 2022, and is expected to continue to grow in 2023 (Influencer Marketing Hub). Influencer marketing is a strategy that involves partnering with content creators and thought leaders who post content on social media or other online platforms to leverage their influence to promote a brand, product, or service. This can be an effective way to reach a targeted audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. However, there are a few best practices that can help ensure that your influencer marketing program is set up for success.
Identify the right influencers for your brand: It's important to choose influencers who align with your brand values and target audience. Look for influencers who have a genuine interest in your brand and can authentically represent it to their followers. A large following isn’t necessarily the only indicator an Influencer is right for your campaign
Set clear objectives and goals: Define what you hope to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign, whether it's increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or generating sales. This will help guide your strategy and ensure that you are targeting the right influencers and platforms and measuring the right metrics to determine the success of your campaign.
Establish clear guidelines and creative direction: Provide your influencers with guidelines on what they can and can't say about your brand, and make sure they understand your brand's tone and messaging. This will help ensure that the content they create aligns with your brand's image and values.
Don’t over-direct: Influencer content is most impactful when it resonates with their audience and feels authentic and organic vs. overly robotic brand placements. Let the creator do what they do best and speak to their audience in a way that makes sense for their channel and fits into your brand goals.
Foster long-term relationships: Influencer marketing is most effective when it's done as part of a long-term strategy. Rather than working with influencers on a one-off basis, consider building relationships with creators who can consistently promote your brand over time. This will create more brand recognition and engagement with their audiences in the long run.
Be transparent: Be open and transparent with your influencers about what you expect from them and the compensation you are offering. This will help build trust and ensure that everyone is on the same page. Be aware that most influencers will require some form of monetary compensation beyond a free product.
That being said, product gifting in return for UGC (User Generated Content) can be a good starting point for brands with smaller budgets. This tactic does require dedicated resources in-house to manage the influencer outreach, ongoing communications, and shipping logistics if not sourced through a partner.
Monitor and measure: Keep track of the performance of your influencer marketing campaign, and use data to optimize your strategy. This could involve analyzing metrics such as engagement rates, traffic, and sales to see how your influencer marketing efforts are driving results.
By following these general best practices, you can get started with your own influencer marketing program and leverage one of the most reliable forms of marketing: word of mouth.
