Believe it or not (believe it), influencer marketing dates way back to the 18th century. Throughout the history of advertising, the notion of obtaining famous individuals to endorse certain products and/or services has been a common tactic utilized by the world’s largest and most successful brands. And now, in today’s digital world, influencer marketing is more popular than ever. It is currently the quickest-expanding customer acquisition method. One reason is, that despite only 1% of millennials displaying trust in brand-related ads, as many as 70% of millennials are persuaded by the recommendations of famous people that they idolize.
Upon realizing the popularity and success ratio of this method, you may attempt to find an influencer for your business. Nevertheless, just before you do that, you should be aware of what exactly an influencer is meant to achieve and, more importantly, common mistakes you want to avoid. Fortunately for you, this is why we’re here!
As previously mentioned, influencer marketing is the fastest-growing customer acquisition method, and it represents a vital relationship between an influencer and your brand. In short, an influencer is a brand ambassador who is recruited to promote a brand’s products and/or services. This is meant to be accomplished in the most natural way possible and for a wider audience.
Most frequently, influencers have a large number of followers. Otherwise, how would they effectively market your brand? Their followers usually remain informed about the influencer’s published content on social media. Thanks to both their credibility and authority as opinion leaders in a distinct category, influencers have the potential to sway consumer choices.
Influencers tend to work alone, producing their content. While doing so, they will incorporate your brand into their original content. And, by following this approach, the content will be seen as authentic, natural, and not at all promotional (which is the whole point).
This is, in all likelihood, the most common mistake that brands seem to be making when it comes to using an influencer as part of their marketing strategy. Although quite self-explanatory, your influencer must, without a shadow of a doubt, be relevant to your brand. Meaning, you must ensure that your influencer’s audience aligns with your brand’s target market (the relevance factor is crucial). If not, your influencer’s audience will not respond to what you have to offer. For example, if your brand were to offer your customers beauty products and services, it would be rather silly to enlist a sporting goods influencer to write and review products for you.
Often overlooked, establishing an authentic connection with the influencers that you chose to recruit is essential for the success of the relationship and influencer marketing as a whole. With that in mind, creating common, shared values will surely be of great importance when developing a genuine bond with your influencer. In other words, consider unique ways in which your brand can provide value to the influencer, and not solely about how the influencer can bring value to your brand’s image. Lastly, always remember to thank your influencers for all their help and dedication because, without them, you may not receive the recognition that you rightfully deserve! When your marketing campaign is over, it is always wise to keep in touch (in case future opportunities arise and just to be nice).
Right from the get-go, it is imperative that you are crystal clear with your influencer concerning your brand’s goals, objectives, and expectations. Otherwise, your influencer may be running around like a headless chicken lost in a forest, and no one wants that, not even the chickens. Put simply, ensure that you notify your influencer about what you want, expect, and are trying to achieve with your marketing campaign, and make sure it’s something that can be achieved.
We know that it’s quite difficult to believe that this happens, but, unfortunately, it does. As with any marketing campaign you may run, it is critical to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, and that includes influencer marketing. You ought to link every single objective to a metric. Upon completion, for future influencer marketing campaigns, reflect on the success rate of each objective or goal to know what worked and what didn't. Trust us, your influencer will be far more inclined to partner up with you if they believe that you know what you are doing (and you do)!
When performed correctly, influencer marketing has incredible and far-reaching benefits, from enhancing your website’s SEO and expanding brand awareness to establishing much-needed trust and loyalty. However, to have the most successful influencer marketing campaign possible, you should understand and avoid the common mistakes that tend to arise in these types of situations. But don’t fret because, by following our sound advice, you’ll be an expert in no time at all!