Influencer marketing is today a real hit in the marketing world. It’s still a relatively new marketing concept, however, more and more companies make use of it. Basically, it’s about companies collaborating with influencers – in other words, influential people who have a large group of engaged followers and who make money on their social media platforms.
Influencers can inspire their surroundings, and a good influencer generally spends a lot of time and energy on being genuine and loyal to their followers. This helps them create a strong brand, which other companies can be a part of – through a paid collaboration. This allows credibility to sink between brands, and your product or service is perceived as more credible than it would have been in a traditional ad. Above all, as a company, you can reach a target group that you might otherwise have had difficulty reaching.
In this post, we offer some guidelines on how to develop your influencer marketing strategy, build credibility and hopefully increase sales.
Find the Right Influencer
There are plenty of influencers, but it’s not just about finding an influencer – it must also be the right match. Content, profiling, reach and engagement are the most crucial factors you need to keep in mind when choosing an influencer. What is their niche? Do you share the same values? The more you have in common, the greater the chance that the followers will also appreciate the collaboration. It should feel as genuine as possible, and not like advertising.
Whether you’re interested in gaining increased visibility on social media or growing your company, you need to find the right influencer. After you’ve found out who you want to collaborate with, you can get in touch directly with the person via social media, e-mail, or phone.
Get the person interested, clearly explain your goals, expectations, what products/services you offer, and then start negotiating. A mutually beneficial agreement for both parties should be your goal.
Gain More Followers
Having a clear purpose and goal for your collaboration is often very helpful when choosing the right influencer. For example, if you want to reach new followers or strengthen your existing follower base, then you should make it your goal to interact with more people and gather feedback on your account and posts.
The number of followers will influence people’s decision to follow you or not, but it will also impact influencers who may be interested in collaborating with you. But you might wonder, how to get more followers on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other popular social platforms. Some of the best practices are to share high-quality content, follow relevant accounts, and engage with your audience.
Set a Budget
It’s also important to try to determine your budget for the collaboration in advance. Different influencers charge different amounts, depending on the number of followers, engagement, reach and the channel they will use to present the collaboration.
For example, a YouTube clip may have a higher price than a blog article, but it can also generate more new customers. An Instagram post can be more expensive than an Instagram story, but an Instagram post lasts longer. So it’s a trade-off you need to make, possibly together with the influencer with whom you start your collaboration. The same holds true for the number of followers. An influencer with a higher engagement rate and a greater reach often charges more than someone with a smaller follower count.
Another factor that you need to consider is whether you should spend more money on a large influencer, or invest in micro-influencers. The engagement is usually higher among influencers with fewer followers because the relationship is often closer.
Track and Evaluate Results
Always follow up and evaluate your influencer marketing campaign. How did the collaboration go? Is there anything that can be done differently the next time? Find out what the collaboration actually generated.
But remember that the first collaboration may not give the best results. So, it’s essential to create a good relationship first and strive to establish a long-term collaboration, if everything else feels right for both of you.
Make sure both parties get what you agree on. You should have an agreement, which clearly states what is expected, exactly what is included, and cost details. These agreements are often good to have as a basis if everything doesn’t go as planned; that is, if the joint expectations, which are expressed, don’t correspond to the actual result.
Final Thoughts
In today’s highly competitive world of marketing, building a solid influencer marketing strategy can be a powerful tool to make people pay attention to what you offer. The abovementioned tips will help you develop your strategy, increase your visibility, and represent your brand in the best way.
