How to work with influencers to develop a content marketing plan
Make a budget.
It's easy to go over your influencer budget, so be very clear about what your marketing team's budget will be and distribute it in the most cost-effective manner possible.
To give you an idea of how much working with influencers costs:
The typical annual budget set aside by brands for influencers is between $1,000 and $10,000.
A collaboration costs an average of $271 USD.
The cheapest influencers are micro-influencers, who charge an average of US$83 each post.
The average cost of a macro-influencer post is $753 USD.
To begin, use marketing to locate your influencer.
Brands are chasing even the smallest of influencers in an increasingly crowded market.
This has resulted in a change of heart. Previously, a prospective influencer may offer to pay brands to mention them in order to generate attention and followers, and even go so far as to stage collaborations. Because of the increased demand, influencers have become more demanding and choosy when it comes to brands.
To begin, you must first win over the influencer by proposing a fair and profitable bargain and positioning your product or service as something that will appeal to both that person and his or her audience. The last thing they want is to be injured as a result of working with you, so finding influencers who share your beliefs is crucial.
Brands frequently host private events or trips to their facilities as a first point of contact. Even if the cooperation does not work out, you will have gained a few posts as a result of the influencer notifying everyone about your event.
Carefully select your influencers.
The three R's rule is well-known among marketers:
- Relevance: The influencer must be relevant to the audience you're trying to reach. You're looking for a somewhat large audience that's growing at a healthy rate.
- Resonance: The figures must be backed up with genuine participation. You don't care if 100,000 people see the influencer or the things he or she is advertising if they never interact with them.
Before you choose an influencer, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the information they provide trustworthy?
- Have they ever written about similar products or services to yours?
- Have they worked with brands from your own or your competitors' industries? This could imply that they'll be more interested in learning more about your company.
Because identifying the proper influencers is more challenging than imagining what you want them to look like, try using tools like Famebit, Upfluence, FollowerWonk, or AspireIQ to help you find them.
Create an approach that is consistent.
The following are the main points:
- That your buyer persona corresponds to the influencer's target audience.
- That the influence marketing content that you agree on is in line with your brand.
- That you are constantly working to improve your plan. Keep in mind that this type of content can be long-tail, so you may need to be patient before seeing significant returns. That's why it's not a good idea to pay a lot of money for a sponsorship and then disappear for months.
To avoid weary the influencer's audience with too many advertising postings, combine partnerships and paid sponsorship content.
Develop a personal connection with the influencer.
You don't have to become friends, but it's crucial to initiate contact with a private message.
Some brands utilise their own social media platforms to issue a public call for collaborators or brand 'ambassadors.' If you don't have time to investigate your market or don't have the cash to pay for influencers that fee for each partnership, this can be a good option.
It's crucial to remember that the influencer should be able to tell his or her own story. Even if you agree with the tone or content of their posts, keep in mind that you are the one who is invading their domain. To maintain consistency with their image and messages, the influencer will still desire control over what they publish.
Follow each platform's sponsorship guidelines.
The use of relevant notices to indicate paid or sponsored, influencer-led articles is required. Many social media platforms allow you to identify ads with hashtags like #ad and #sponsored, although tags in Instagram and Snapchat videos may be required.
Keep track of your performance stats.
The quantity of likes isn't very telling. Examine your conversions to see how many people have visited your profile or website as a result of influencer material, and whether any of them have made a purchase.
Because these metrics are complex, it's important devoting effort to them and incorporating social media analytic tools into your approach.
Remember to look at the comments in those media for feedback and to see whether you're reaching your target audience. (Are they commenting on the product itself, or just the photo or the influencer?)
