Social media is all about influencers these days. But not all influencer campaigns are made equal.
First, why influencers?
Social media is about marketing. And marketing affects your brand awareness, and brand reputation. Influencers are people who are active on social media, who vouch for your product or service in posts that your brand pays for. When their followers see that they like your brand, they’re more likely to buy from you as well. Influencers provide social proof that your brand is trustworthy and worth buying from.
And why does it matter who you use?
Not all influencers are the same. Expert social media managers like our team at Legendary Social Media in Vancouver have dealt with all types of influencers, from celebrities to regular folks who do it for fun and only have 700 followers.
Most influencers charge a fee to create content: photos, videos and captions, which they publish on their social media.
If you choose the wrong influencer, you could end up paying money that could be better spent elsewhere. The other risk includes damaging your brand’s reputation by working with someone unprofessional.
Pro social media tips for great influencer marketing campaigns
1. Have a clear campaign goal
Like with any marketing campaign, you want to have a clear set of goals in mind before you start. So think about your goals. Do you want:
- A bigger social media following?
- More customers?
- More exposure?
- Promotion of a new product or service?
Whatever your goal is, write it down and refer back to it often to make sure you are staying on track!
2. Learn the influencer field
Do you know the influencers who have overlapping interests with your company? If not, it’s time to do some hunting! There are a few ways to do this…
- Check your branded hashtag. Is an influencer already talking about your company all the time? They could be a good choice for your campaign!
- Check relevant hashtags for your product or service and see which influencers use those same hashtags a lot.
- Look at sites that help you find influencers
- Work with a company like Legendary that stays on top of social media influencers
Create a list of influencers you might be interested in working with.
3. Research your competitors’ campaigns
Take a look at what other people are doing. This can be a way of identifying what to do and what to avoid. Beyond that though, you want to make sure that you’re not courting an influencer who’s already worked with your competitor!
4. Look into influencers you might want to work with
Now that you have a list of influencers that you may want to team up with, it’s time to vet them! Vetting it a vital step. You want to make sure that each influencer’s style, quality level, and voice match your company. Why is this important? You’ve worked hard on building your brand and you want to make sure you don’t damage it by teaming up with the wrong person.
GOeVisit’s campaign with Legendary Social Media is a perfect example of this. We started with a list of 30 influencers, whittling it down to just to individuals who would live up to the company’s high standards of professionalism. We picked the right people – and that showed in the results!
5. Reach out the right way
Once you know who you want, you need to make sure they want you too. In order to make a good impression on the influencers you have chosen, always:
- Approach them in a personal way. No one likes to be sent a form letter.
- Contact them privately. Never comment on their posts – it’s seen as highly unprofessional. Instead, contact influencers by email.
- Tell them why you want to work with them.
- Be polite! People are more likely to want to work with you if they like your communication.
Got your influencers on-board in theory? It’s time to move on to negotiations!
6. Negotiate well
Just like any other business relationship, you need to negotiate with influencers. Before doing that, you need to make sure you know the average prices for your field and the level of following the influencers bring.
Once you are in the negotiations, be clear! You need to state how many posts your influencers will make, what they will focus on, and how often posts will be made. This is where a social media firm can help you make sure your company gets the most out of its influencer campaigns!
7. Keep the relationship on track
Keep an eye on your influencers’ posts. If there’s anything you feel isn’t appropriate or working, talk to them! Like any other relationship, you need to keep communication open.
As you continue the campaign, you may want to ask your influencers how they are feeling and if they have any ideas they want to add in. And whether you do that or not, always make sure you thank your influencers and make them feel appreciated for all their hard work!
