Influencer Marketing: Making the Most of Your Campaigns

What is an “Influencer” and Why Are They Needed in Marketing?

Individuals are known as influencers and can be anyone from celebrities to everyday people who have gained a large following due to their expertise or lifestyle. Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular forms of digital marketing in recent years. In 2022, more than 72% of U.S. marketers leveraged influencer marketing and spent more than $16 billion dollars.

Influencer marketing involves partnering with social media influencers to promote a product or service to their followers and for companies or organizations to reach their target audience in a more authentic and engaging way. In this blog, we will explore what influencer marketing is, a few of the best practices to engage in, what to avoid, and some tips to consider to launch a successful campaign.

Image from Pixabay, Building a Brand and benefits

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing where brands collaborate with social media influencers to promote their products or services to their followers. Social media influencers are individuals who have a large following on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, and YouTube. Depending on the industry or specific business, the influencers selected are recognized because they represent a certain value, have a large number of followers who trust their opinions, or can leverage their networks in ways that will benefit a company or organization.

There are four types of marketers, depending on the number of followers:

Nano-Influencers: 10,000 followers or less

Micro-Influencers: 10,000- 100,000 followers

Macro-Influencers: 100,000- 1 million followers

Mega- Influencers: 1 million + followers

The use of influencer marketing is to help companies to distribute content to promote their products or the services they offer, with the goal of increasing brand awareness, driving sales and building a loyal customer base. Another focus for influencer marketing is search engine optimization (SEO). An influencer typically has experience with leveraging social networks and engaging in a marketing campaign, it helps a company and its “brand” to build trust with its current audience and target audience.

With influencers, brands can also expand their reach beyond their current customer base and target new demographics, depending on the influencer’s network and visibility. Almost 72.5% of U.S. marketers will include influencer marketing this year. (Newberry). Influencer marketing helps companies and their brands to increase audience engagement and conversions. According to a study by Influencer Marketing Hub, the average influencer marketing campaign generates $5.20 for every $1 spent.

The changes in the use of social media platforms used by marketers from 2020-2025. Instagram is in the lead, more than 20% higher than Facebook. Image from: https://blog.hootsuite.com/influencer-marketing/

Best Practices for Influencer Marketing

When it comes to influencer marketing, there are several best practices that brands should follow to ensure success. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Choosing the right person and spaces: It is important to find someone whose values and interests align with your brand or your mission. In selecting an influencer, finding a person that has knowledge of your product and maintains a high level of engagement with their audience is important. Understanding their following on social networks is also important to make sure that they are reaching the target audience. Starting with clear goals and guidelines and messaging which aligns with the company goals and the authenticity of the influencer is important.

Also, consider their audience demographics and engagement rates. An influencer with a large following doesn't necessarily mean they will be the right fit for your brand. You want to choose someone that has a highly engaged following and that can help the company to generate social proof. Sometimes, “micro-influencers” can be highly effective for niche products or services rather than mega influencers. Consider partnering with several micro-influencers for a highly targeted campaign that is more cost-effective and impactful. For ideas about the cost of influencer work, explore the Influencer Marketing Guide from Collabstr.

There are many social networks to leverage, however, Instagram is currently in the lead with a projection of 76% of social marketers using Instagram for influencer campaigns this year. Take time to understand where your audience is and find an influencer that can leverage that space well. When you think of social networks, consider the audience that primarily uses those spaces and then look for influencers that have strong presence.

2. Disclosure of relationships: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires disclosure of any monetary/financial relationship between the parties in an influencer agreement. The FTC has required influencers to disclose sponsored posts. Being transparent about sponsored content and disclosing any partnerships with brands in compliance with FTC rules is essential and helpful for building trust and projecting authenticity to the audience. With promotions and advertising, the goal is to convert interest into sales, and therefore, working with an influencer who believes in the brand and where there has been full disclosure, adds to the authenticity and builds trust with the audience. 61% of consumers have trust in the recommendations they find on the various social platforms and those that come from influencers.

3. Collaboration and Goal Setting: With influencer marketing, it is important for both parties to represent themselves in alignment with their “brand.” The company should provide materials such as a media kit to the influencer and the influencer should provide sample content to the company, to ensure that the content created is in alignment with the brand’s image and of high quality. Content creation and consistent branding are essential.

By starting with goal-setting, it will help the company to measure the success of the influencer campaign. The top three main goals for an influencer campaign, according to Hootsuite, are “brand awareness, product consideration, and driving sales.” Understanding the goals and creating a targeted campaign with an influencer will then help the company to evaluate campaign success through analytics and information received. With ongoing collaboration, review of goals, and monitoring analytics, it will serve as a guide to adjust the campaign goals and content created as needed.

Reminders for successful campaigns

It is important to disclose relationships as the FTC has been more active in looking for influencer campaigns that have not been disclosed. Rather than working with a different influencer for each campaign, consider building long-term relationships with a few key influencers. This can help build trust and loyalty between the influencer and your brand and promote authenticity as well.

For influencer marketing campaigns to be effective, here are additional tips:

It is not about the number of followers: An influencer’s follower count doesn't necessarily equate to success. In past experience, tweets had more engagement, clicks, and interaction with Twitter accounts with influencers having fewer followers than some of the higher “macro” or “mega” influencers. Look for influencers with high engagement rates and a loyal following. An influencer with a smaller following can still be highly effective if their audience is engaged and trusts their opinions.
Follow the 3 Rs: Relevance, Reach, and Resonance. Choose an influencer that is relevant to your target audience. Consider the influencer’s following and how that can be leveraged to increase your reach. Look at the content shared by the influencer and make sure they are a good fit with your brand so that the messages resonate with both their and your audience.
Be transparent: Remember to disclose the relationships between the influencers and the company. When posting content, be sure to mention that it is “sponsored content” or written “in collaboration with” as a sponsored event, for example.

4. Track Analytics It's essential to track the success of your influencer marketing campaign. Track Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) such as audience reach, engagement, and conversions. It's important to have a plan for tracking the impact of the campaign. Use Google Analytics or create a specific UTM for each influencer so that you are better able to measure the success of your campaign and then adjust strategy if needed for future campaigns.

Focus on creative freedom to promote your brand in a way that feels authentic to their audience.

“Think of an influencer as an internet celebrity with a large and engaged audience who can sway customer sentiment and behavior around their affiliations and interests.” “According to the 2021 Nielsen Trust in Advertising study, 71% of consumers trust advertising, opinions, and product placements from influencers.” Consider the campaign goals in the image below.

Influencer Marketing Campaign Goals

Final thoughts

For ideas of successful influencer campaigns, explore some examples that targeted different audiences and used celebrity influencers as well as non-celebrity influencers, and the impact. Influencers can have a small following but high engagement, leading to a big impact. Be sure to research and build relationships so that both you and the influencer understand the goals and work together to launch and maintain a successful marketing campaign.

Resources

Ailion, J. (2023, February 15). 4 types of influencers - the full list. Moburst. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://www.moburst.com/blog/types-of-influencers/

Alaniz, Maria H. (2022, June 30). 10 of the Most Successful Influencer Marketing Campaigns: And How They Did It. Retrieved on March 13, 2023 from https://www.legacymarketing.com/blog/10-of-the-most-successful-influencer-marketing-campaigns-and-how-they-did-it/

Crestodina, Andy (2022, January 21) Influencer Marketing for SEO and Authority Retrieved on March 12, 2023 from https://moz.com/blog/leverage-influencer-marketing-for-seo

Israel, Sarah (2022, December 8). Why Sponsored Posts Matter (And How To Get Started) Retrieved On March 12, 2023 from https://blog.hootsuite.com/sponsored-post/.

Lee, Dami. (2020, February 12). The FTC is cracking down on influencer marketing on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Retrieved on March 13, 2023 from https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/12/21135183/ftc-influencer-ad-sponsored-tiktok-youtube-instagram-review

MOZ, The Beginner’s Guide to SEO. Retrieved on March 13, 2023 from https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

Newberry, Christina. (2022, September 20). Retrieved On March 12, 2023 from Influencer Marketing Guide: How to Work With Influencers https://blog.hootsuite.com/influencer-marketing/

Nielsen Trust in Advertising, Retrieved on March 12, 2023 from https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/2021-Nielsen-Trust-In-Advertising-U.S.-sell-sheet.pdf

Revolutionizing Influencer Marketing (2023, March 8). Retrieved on March 11, 2023, from https://www.gobrandverge.com/revolutionizing-influencer-marketing/