1. Identify your target audience
Understand your target audience’s demographics, psychographics, and behavior.
The first step of any strategic marketing campaign is understanding your audience’s demographics, psychographics, and behaviors. You need to know your audience and what matters to them to find an influencer or UGC Creator who will add value to your campaign.
For example, suppose you own a line of cookware, and you understand that most of your customers are women and men who enjoy cooking at home and investing in high-quality cookware. In that case, the Influencer you choose to work with should align with those goals.
On the other hand, if you invented a new type of griddle and know your audience is primarily male and fancy themselves as “Grill Masters,” you’ll likely want to partner with an Influencer whose community is made up of community members who share those characteristics.
Ralph the Baker is an Influencer we represent who recently surpassed 1 million TikTok followers. In every video he does, he’s in front of a flat-top grill – he is the perfect choice if your budget will support a collaboration with Ralph the Baker.
Here is a great example of a promotion Ralph the Baker was involved with for our client, TrueCoverage:
@ralphthebaker Y’all check out this Boudin king cake burger #TrueCoverage #OpenEnrollment #Sponsored #ad #ralphthebaker #foodtiktok #cook #cooking #eat #Louisiana ♬ original sound – Ralphthebaker
On the other hand, if you are a toy manufacturer specializing in making mini versions of real-life toys, you’ll likely consider a creator whose audience loves knowing about new and fun toys. An excellent option for this type of content would be a creator who does unboxing videos like Fun With Life Now.
@funwithlifenow Picked this up.at Fancy Pencil Land on my trip to Chicago #mininotebook #mininotebooks #molang #diary #stationeryobsession #minibook #minidiary ♬ Cute – Bensound
2. Research influencers
Look for influencers who align with your brand and have a large following within your target audience.
Refrain from assuming that all Influencers are created the same because they are not. Read the comments on multiple videos and look for fake comments, low engagement, or inconsistencies. Partnering with the right Influencer can provide an exponential return on your investment, but partnering with a fake one, can quickly drain your bank account and cause damage to your brand.
3. Set clear goals
Define the objectives of your campaign and how you will measure success.
It’s hard to measure a goal if a goal was never set. Share your goal with the Influencer, how you define success, and then track everything on the back end via Pixels, UTM Codes, and API Tracking so that you can connect the dots from an influencer’s post to the eventual crossing of the finish line.
4. Create a content plan
Develop a content plan that aligns with your goals and objectives.
Your Influencer partnership should fit within your overall content strategy and complement your current work. Having an overarching strategy will be much easier to set goals, measure, and contact the right Influencer for your campaign.
5. Leverage multiple channels
Use different social media platforms to reach a wider audience.
A well-rounded Influencer like Ralph the Baker will have hundreds of thousands of followers on multiple social networks – not just one. You will likely be able to negotiate a package deal, but don’t be surprised when you pay per social network. This isn’t a case of the creator trying to get as much money as they can from you, but it is because you’re reaching separate audiences on separate social networks, which means more value to you and, thus, a more significant investment.
Sometimes, the assumption is that since it’s the same video, shouldn’t it only cost one price no matter the number of social networks that the Influencer will post it on? That answer is no. Many influencers have vastly different audiences across many other social networks.
6. Use storytelling
Use storytelling to create a narrative that connects with your audience.
When I say “use storytelling,” I mean you need to empower the Influencer to use their storytelling style to tell your story…not the other way around. Influencers need to be given the space to create and authentically include your brand in their creation.
Setting too many restrictions on an Influencer’s creativity will damage the campaign; worse, the audience will recognize that this video is clearly scripted.
7. Use giveaways and contests
Use giveaways and contests to increase engagement and drive conversions.
Consider allowing the Influencer that you hire to offer his followers a chance to win a prize or exclusive access to something but be aware that there are thousands of “contest hounds” who only exist to take advantage of free giveaways – so, like all good things; moderation is key.
8. Measure and analyze
Use tools to measure and analyze the performance of your campaign.
Measuring the results of your influencer marketing campaign can be difficult, depending on your goals. Influencer Marketing Software like Grin claims they can track the entire customer journey for roughly $3000/mo, not including the Influencer’s fees. Still, you can use several basic tools to gain a high-level understanding of the results.
A few easy-to-use tools to measure the initial results of your Influencer Campaign include using a link shortener like bit.ly to track clicks, UTM Codes to track your Google analytics, and discount codes to track purchases.
9. Remind your Influencer to use a clear call to action
Some influencers may not be aware of what a Call-To-Action is, so remind them if you want them to say a specific phrase such as, “Click the link in my bio” or “use this discount code” in their content.
10. Ask to see the Influencer’s Analytics
Any Influencer who is confident in their ability to indeed “influence” should not shy away from sharing their analytics with a potential brand partner. You should feel comfortable asking for proof of any traffic or sales claims, and the Influencer should be willing to provide recent screenshots and examples of prior work.
11. Bonus Tip: Be Prepared to Pay
As with most great things, you get what you pay for and while I shouldn’t have to justify why Influencers can sometimes cost thousands of dollars for a single post, I will. Well rounded Influencers spend years developing their voice, strategy, and communities so when a brand contacts them and offers them a trade deal or merchandise only deal, it’s pretty disrespectful of the time they’ve devoted to growing their communities. If you want to get a full understanding of Influencer prices, visit this great guide from Influencer Marketing Hub: How Much Do Influencers Cost in 2023?
If you need help selecting an Influencer for your next campaign or need some strategic guidance, book a call with me today and let’s get you on the right path! Click here to purchase an hour of my time.
