Influencer marketing is emerging as a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audiences to amplify their brand message. However, for smaller independent brands, the world of influencers and content creators may seem intimidating and unclear. And so today the aim is to demystify working with influencers by providing 10 valuable insights for independent retailers, design and lifestyle brands, creative businesses and interior designers alike.
Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or an established business owner, understanding the basics of influencer marketing can significantly impact your brand’s growth and success.
WHAT ARE INFLUENCERS AND WHY SHOULD YOU WORK WITH THEM?
Influencers have moved on from accidentally growing audiences to become content creators. They have dedicated and engaged audiences no matter what their follower numbers making them valuable brand partners. They are an ideal way to grow your audience and visibility in a crowded social landscape.
Top Tip: If you haven’t already, start a spreadsheet of Influencers and Content Creators that you’d like to work with.
IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS FOR YOUR BRAND
Content creators come in all shapes and sizes. Fitting into various categories like macro, micro and nano influencers they will be the ideal partner for you out there. But, and there is “a but”, it’s important that you find influencers that align with your brand values, ethos and target audience.
Top Tip: If you haven’t already, make a list of your brand values and identify who your ideal follower or customer is.
SETTING OUT OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTATIONS
Before collaborating with influencers, it’s vitally important to have a clear vision of your goals. Setting yourself clear and realistic objectives is crucial. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website? Or boost sales? And how do you communicate these expectations to the influencers you’d like to work with?
Top Tip: Plan ahead at least quarterly, what are your goals during that time? Look at your marketing calendar for key dates and promotions too.
AUTHENTICITY AND BRAND ALIGNMENT
Trust is crucial in today’s market. For a customer or client to feel confident enough to purchase from you then trust is everything. Likewise, the authenticity of your influencer partnerships is paramount too. These collaborations contribute to building trust with your audience, clients, and customers.
Top Tip: Find influencers whose personal brand aligns with yours organically. A good question to ask yourself is, would they themselves be our ideal customer? If the answer is yes, then it goes without saying that their followers are also your ideal followers.
CREATING COMPELLING INFLUENCE CAMPAIGNS
The key element to a successful influencer marketing campaign is creating engaging content. But who decides what that is? It may be that you have a clear idea of the content you’d like creating but remember that an experienced influencer has ideas to bring to the table too.
Top Tip: Be flexible and listen to the content creators you’re working with. They know their audiences better than anyone and as a result know what does and doesn’t resonate with them.
NAVIGATING PR GIFT OR PAYMENT AND CONTRACTS
There are lots of ways to work with influencers. From payment for content to affiliate marketing and beyond. But working with content creators doesn’t always mean you have to pay them! Don’t be afraid to reach out. After all the worst that can happen is you get a firm no for offering a PR gift.
Top Tip: If influencers are engaging with you regularly on your socials, then the likelihood is they’d like to work with you. Reach out to them, the more you reach out to the easier it gets.
MEASURING CAMPAIGN EFFECTIVENESS
Reach, engagement, and conversion rates, how do you work out if a campaign has been successful? It’s important to decide on KPI’s (key performance indicators) before you even start your campaign.
Top Tip: Write down clear objectives for a campaign and decide on the best metrics to understand if it worked. For instance, if you your goal if more website traffic, then create a UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) for your influencer. This is a simple piece of code added to your URL to allow you to track traffic from the campaign more efficiently.
BUILDING LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS
Building long-term relationships with influencers is a two-way thing. It’s mutually beneficial. Lasting relationships lead to more authentic and impactful content leading to stronger brand advocacy, and cost-effectiveness in the long run.
Top Tip: Long-term relationships are the champions by your side. They are the influencers and content creators that are totally invested in you and your brand. Perhaps think about creating an ambassador programme for them.
AVOIDING COMMON PITFALLS
It’s not all plain sailing when it comes to working with influencers and content creators. All were not created equal, and some may have used underhand tactics to grow their accounts. Add to this that there are industry guidelines for declaring ads along with restrictions on the music you can use, and you could find yourself in hot water.
Top Tip: Read up on the ASA rules around advertising and use apps like ‘Not Just Analytics’ to help you choose the right influencers for you.
THE FUTURE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencer marketing is an ever-evolving landscape. From emerging platforms (like Instagram’s recently launched Threads) to UGC (User Generated Content) along with new styles of content emerging it’s important to remain up to date with industry news.
Top Tip: Stay tuned to our newsletters and articles. We’re here to help you stay ahead of the game!
In conclusion, influencer marketing really can open new doors for small independent businesses. They allow creative brands to tap into a wider audience and elevate their brand presence. By following these hints and tips you can harness the power of influencers too.
In future articles we will look more closely at all these points, expanding and adding to them. But for now, remember – as you delve deeper into the world of influencer marketing to:
1. Stay genuine.
2. Focus on your brand identity.
Written by Rachel Edmonds
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