Influencers, who have amassed a huge following online due to their expertise in their respective niches, often populate platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They have a unique way of sharing content online, which draws an audience and results in more brands wanting to collaborate.
As a business owner or marketer, you should be willing to invest in extra time and resources to implement a strategic influencer marketing campaign. In doing so, you will ultimately reach the results you want.
Here are a few steps to get you started.
1. Get to know your Target Audience
Based on a 2018 report, businesses that used influencer marketing as a strategy experienced a 520% return on investment. But, in order to achieve your end goal, you must first identify and understand your target demographic. Do your research. Figure out where they spend most of their time before seeking out an influencer to promote your products or services.
For example, if you’re about to promote a product specifically designed for teenage girls, you should be placing your campaign on a platform like Instagram, which has a high concentration of young-adult users.
2. Choose the perfect influencer for your brand
Whether your definition of “perfect” is an influencer with an elegant, minimalistic feed on Instagram or a tech expert who shares honest reviews on YouTube, researching the background of your prospect should be the first priority.
Be wary of account users who engage in fraudulent activities like buying fake followers and engagement. Use tools and software to scan the authenticity of the influencer and monitor how they behave online to ensure that you’re about to invest in the right influencer for your brand.
It also helps to check out some of their previous posts, and observe their content quality, and level of engagement. You can also analyze their audience to make sure they align with your brand’s objectives.
3. Collaborate & Co-Create
Having a meaningful, collaborative partnership with the influencer has the potential to produce a win-win outcome. As a marketer, if you encourage content co-creation and respect the influencer’s unique style, your combined efforts will result in better content quality, engagement, and reach. An influencer who genuinely likes the brand will be motivated to convey the message in an effective manner.
It is also crucial to keep track of and measure the effectiveness of your campaign. For instance, if your recent post didn’t garner the targeted number of likes and shares, monitor the followers’ feedback to gain some insights and make informed revisions and adjustments with your influencer.
As with any strategy, influencer marketing requires careful planning and execution. But once you’ve learned to identify your goals and you continually optimize your campaign, you’ll be able to build something that will benefit your business in the long run.
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