Influencer Marketing: How to Get it Right

As we have established, influencer marketing is a fantastic way to reach your target audience and gain brand exposure. It is important however that you don’t jump in feet first and work with the wrong influencers that don’t reflect your brand’s values and mission. You must plan your campaign in order to succeed. To help you get started, we have pointed out the main risks you should be aware of when constructing your influencer marketing strategy and listed our top tips to help you plan and run a successful, long-term campaign with the right influencer.   

What Are The Risks Associated With Influencer Marketing?

Fake followers

Fake followers are fake accounts that have been set up with the intention of selling their ability to follow someone else’s account. Some brands and influencers have been found to purchase these in vast amounts to make them look more established on social media. Sometimes social networking accounts like Instagram will delete these accounts, however, it is becoming harder for them to identify the difference between fake and real accounts. There are a few ways to tell if an influencer has fake followers and they are all worth exploring before you reach out to them:

• Engagement Rate – (Average number of engagements divided by the number
• of followers). If an influencer has a very low engagement with their audience, it is likely that some of their followers are fake. Legitimate influencers have high engagement rates, their followers will like, share and comment on their posts regularly.

• Engagement Type – Another thing to look out for is the type of engagement the influencer is receiving. If they have a high engagement rate, but a significant amount of their engagement comes from outside their followers, it is likely they are signed up to some sort of paid engagement platform. This may take some time to analyse but it is important for your influencer to have real, authentic engagement from their followers in order for influencer marketing to be successful for your brand.

Covert Advertising

Fans don’t like to see lots of ads and excessive ‘fake’ praising of a product that influencers have clearly been paid to promote and have no interest in. It is especially obvious that an influencer has been paid to promote something when they have never mentioned the product or service or anything remotely similar on their social media before.

It is also now seen as morally wrong for influencers to talk about a product without acknowledging their relationship with the brand. The law in the UK and America has recently been updated to state that if there is no clear separation and labelling of paid content, it is covert and fraudulent advertising. This means that it is important that you ensure any influencers you are working with highlight adverts and promotional material. Most influencers do this through hashtags and include #ad in the comment attached to the post.  

So now you know the risks associated with influencer marketing, you now need to know how to plan, run and monitor a success campaign and make the most from your investment.  

How to get it right

Follow these steps to give your brand the best opportunity for brand and sales growth through influencer marketing;

• Set a goal – what do you want to achieve through influencer marketing? Think of something you are struggling to achieve through other advertising methods.
• Research – take the time to learn about different influencers, understand their passions and interests and the demographics of their followers.
• Connect with the right influencers to engage your audience – it is extremely important to collaborate only with those who have a genuine connection to your product. This is the only way you will be able to build brand trust, be authentic and drive top quality leads. According to a survey conducted by Olapic, ‘authenticity is the main reason why consumers trust influencers online and ‘personalisation is key’, with 66% of respondents citing a need for an influencer’s content to be relevant to their unique interests.’
• Analyses their followers to ensure they are legitimate – when you have a list of influencers that suit your brand, analyse their followers and engagement rates to ensure they are authentic.
• Have a well-structured plan – the best influencers are in high demand, so having a well-structured, clear agenda will make you more appealing to them.
• Create a briefing document – outline all expectations, deliverables, legalities and guidelines and ensure both parties sign before the collaboration starts.
• Commit – long-term partnerships with influencers will generate greater value, so put in the effort to create a lasting relationship.
• Provide a great influencer experience – be reliable and ensure your product or service is presented in the very best way to the influencer. For example, if you are sending a product, make sure it is gift wrapped with a personal message. If an influencer has a good experience with your brand, they will want to continue working with you.
• Give the Influencer Creative Freedom – Allow your influencer to create their own engaging content – no one knows their fans like them so let them be creative with how they want to show off your product or service.
• Grow your own Social Platforms – Don’t neglect your social platforms just because you are working with influencers. It is important that you post regular content and nurture relationships with your followers.
• Measure Success – Ensure your influencer is delivering results, they could be driving traffic to the website, increasing sales or even just increasing your engagement on social media. Whatever your aim is, make sure it is being achieved. 

As more and more consumers are following social media influencers that match their lifestyle choices and personal values, it is extremely important for brands to create and manage authentic relationships with their chosen influencer and their followers in order to be successful with influencer marketing. If you follow these steps you should be able to create a targeted, well-planned strategy to achieve this and reach your goals.

If you require any help or support don’t hesitate to contact TWI on 01473 326907. We invest in the world’s leading media database technology to ensure we can source and target the right online publications, bloggers and influencers, for any brand.

Read more – The Power of Influencer Marketing