By now, you’ve probably already heard of influencer marketing. But, what is an influencer and how do they work to boost your brand on social media?
Influencer marketing involves paying individuals (usually with a large following) to promote your brand through social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Influencers are incredibly successful in promoting businesses, as 61% of consumers actually trust their recommendations for products and services over other means of marketing. By 2028, influencer marketing is projected to be an $85 billion industry.
Creating an influencer campaign isn’t necessarily easy, though. You need to have the right connections and plans in place to attract influencers who can speak to your brand’s identity, values, and – most importantly – audience. This is where Zero Gravity Marketing comes in. Our team of marketing professionals has the expertise to make things happen for our clients. If you’re interested in developing an influencer campaign for your brand, here are a few tips to get you started.
Determine Campaign Objectives and KPIs
The first step in developing an influencer campaign is to determine your objective. Start by asking yourself (and your team) a few questions to brainstorm.
Why do you want to run an influencer campaign? Is it for brand awareness or conversions? What will these campaigns feature and who, specifically, will they target?
It’s vital to develop your campaign’s goals first so you have a baseline from which to measure future success. These objectives and KPIs will also support the creative process and strategy behind developing an influencer campaign.
Identify Influencers You Want to Work With
Not only do you need to determine which influencer(s) fits your brand best, but you also need to understand where exactly they are most influential. Put simply, which platforms will allow these influencers to reach the most users and your target audience?
Whether you’re considering micro-influencers or macro-influencers, finding the right people to campaign for your brand is key. Between these two types of influencers, there’s usually a big difference in terms of price, availability, and the message they can send to our audience. You’ll need to hone in on the exact influencers you want to work with to make sure their values, voice, and audience align with your goals.
So take the time to do your due diligence! Finding the right influencer – one that suits your brand and voice – may take time, but this added effort will pay off.
Determine the Campaign
There are many different types of influencer campaigns. Finding the right one for your business objectives can make all the difference.
Maybe you’re looking to place your products in front of potential customers, or perhaps you want to launch a sweepstakes, contest, promo, or giveaway that makes your brand stand out from your competition.
Sometimes, you might opt for affiliate campaigns that can generate more leads or overall sales, or maybe you want to embark on a hashtag campaign, which can be used on everything from billboards over the interstate to social media and everywhere in between.
Knowing what you’re trying to accomplish in your campaign can help you find the influencer who’s right for the job. It’s all about knowing what you want to achieve and what your brand’s goals are so you can find the person who makes the most sense for your campaign.
Execute and Amplify
The next step is to assess the people you’ve employed in your campaign’s plan. You can optimize the campaign’s performance by aligning your team on approaches, hashtags, creative ideas, and all other elements of your strategy. Make sure everyone knows how you’re going to amplify your messages through other channels, such as through paid social, by adding the posts to emails, and creating blogs and videos that your audience will want to see.
Report, Measure, and Optimize
Finally, you’ll want to review all of the KPIs you’ve agreed upon from the beginning and determine how the campaign performed. What worked well and what didn’t go as well as you’d planned? Knowing this information and identifying any weak points within your campaign will help you optimize your next influencer campaign.
Pro tip: Ongoing influencer efforts and building relationships with your influencers (versus one-time activations) can have enormous benefits. This way, you always have a pool of influencers you know and trust (and who already have experience with your brand) at-the-ready.
Contact Zero Gravity Marketing for a Customized Influencer Plan
At ZGM, we eat, sleep, and breathe digital marketing. Our team is here to help ensure your influencer campaign flourishes – and, most importantly, delivers the intended results. Touch base with us to learn more about our services or to discuss working together to optimize your brand’s digital marketing strategies.
