How to Build an Effective Influencer Marketing Strategy

The term ‘influencer marketing’ now holds a whole new meaning as opposed to its old definition decades ago. Where influencer marketing used to be reserved for celebrities only and campaigns were just endorsements from these celebrities.

The modern-day influencer landscape now focuses on the ‘everyday person and new strategies bank on this for their success. Using an influencer marketing agency can ensure optimized influencer strategies. 

As a brand, developing a dedicated influencer marketing plan is a great way of getting you in front of your target audience, building brand awareness, increasing purchase consideration, and attracting new customers. 

There is an abundance of victorious influencer marketing strategies out there, and then there are some that don’t do so well, but what’s the key to success? Here, we have outlined the crucial steps needed to be undertaken when developing your influencer marketing strategy to guarantee optimal effectiveness.

Define your marketing goals and budget

Give yourself a head start by setting out what you wish to achieve through the running of your campaign. This will ensure consistency throughout. Some examples include:

Increase your brand’s social media following

Grow your brand’s identity

Increase consumer purchases

Increase your SEO with backlinks

It is also wise to state your budget from the outset. You should expect to pay influencers a fixed rate based on their follower count and the number of sponsored posts you are expecting. If you are unsure about where to even begin with budgeting, 19% of businesses typically spend between $1,000 – $10,000 per year on their influencer marketing campaigns. 

Choose your type of campaign

Assuming you have an understanding of your target audience and buyer personas, you will need to pick a campaign type that adheres to them. Here are a few examples:

Guest posting

Sponsored content

Mentions

Contests and giveaways

Takeovers

Discount codes

Qualify influencers and begin to reach out

There are millions of influencers on social media today, and the number continues to rapidly grow. Due to the sheer number of them, it can get overwhelming to find those that best suit your brand. Consider partnering with an influencer agency to find the right creators. 

To qualify influencers, keep these questions in mind:

Do they post content relevant to your industry or brand?

Does the influencer have a credible engagement rate?

Have they worked with similar brands in the past?

Do their style and personality fit your brand’s guidelines?

Once all of these questions have been answered with ‘yes’, you can start reaching out to those selected. Micro influencers can typically be contacted via their DMs on their predominant social media platform. In contrast, you might need to find a business email or get in touch with an agency of more established influencers. Contactout personal email finder will help you reach candidates, influencers, agencies, or companies on Linkedin. It easily finds your prospects information such as personal or company email, name, and addresses. 

Manage your influencer campaign

An essential part of your influencer marketing strategy will involve managing the campaign details. Some brands choose to be very hands on and manage everything themselves and others hand the reins over to influencer marketing agencies; however, this will largely depend on your budget.

Influencer management is critical for your overall progress. Remember, influencers are not your employees, they are your business partners and so they should be treated as such. Ensure that you maintain a good relationship with them by allowing them creative freedom regarding sponsored content.

Micromanaging your influencers could run the risk of ruining your relationship with them, but on the other hand, having too little involvement may lose sight of your campaign messaging. Finding the right balance will take time. 

Track results and refine

Monitoring your campaign progress is essential for evaluating whether to change your strategy or not. The first step is to determine whether your campaign met your goals. Here are a few key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you measure success:

Brand awareness: website traffic, social or PR mentions, and quality of links

Audience building: social followers

Engagement: comments, likes, shares, saves

Sales: leads, new sales, and overall ROI

Make sure to track all campaign variables to understand how to drive better results in your next campaign.