Pitfalls to Avoid In Your Influencer Marketing Campaign

Influencer marketing - that is, using people with a social influence in a particular field is here to stay.  It is essentially establishing a relationship with a person so that they help you create relationships. Influencer relationships work. One pitfall, in fact, is probably not using one. That said, here are common mistakes marketers make in their influencer marketing, and how to steer clear of them. 

Bad briefs

The quality of your communication is everything. A lousy brief will waste everybody's time: the influencer's because they have to edit it, and yours, because of the to and fro feedback loop. So make sure you write clear, concise, and accurate information. It's also key to give your influencer creative freedom. Provide the necessary information, not copy. Also, do not micromanage.

Choosing a Name, Rather Than Relevance

Most marketers fall into the pitfall of choosing big names as opposed to relevance. Remember, the audience of the influencer is the audience you are targeting. That's why if, for example, you are marketing new software, a leading expert in technology influencer with 15k followers is better than a food blogger with 100k followers.

Relinquishing Content Control

While it's essential to give the influencer creative freedom, it's crucial to stay on the same page. Reading from different scripts can cause disappointment and fallouts, situations everyone wants to avoid. Give the influencers a list of clearly defined deliverables. Articulate your expectations from the very beginning of the campaign. Have them include a call to action, specifying exactly what the audience should do. Again while doing all these, allow them freedom. Remember, they know their audience better than you.

Failure to Stick With the Right One

75% of marketing teams agreed that finding the right influencer is a challenge. If your influencer ticks all the right boxes of what you value in one, hold tightly to them. A long-term relationship with an influencer ensures consistency and also cements your brand's relationship with the audience.  

Treating Your Influencer like an Advertisement Agency

Working with your influencer should be about a relationship, not a transaction. Get them involved with your brand. Give them the complete experience, and not only will they be grateful, but they will also feel more connected with your brand. This is powerful because the quality of the content they share will be earnest and impression-making.

So there you go. Influencer marketing is a way to go above the basics and reach niche audiences. Avoiding these pitfalls will keep your influencer marketing game strong, and everybody wins.

Contact us  to learn more about influencer marketing.

How Does Influencer Marketing Benefit Your Business

Influencer endorsements are marketing for the new millennium. It is when an influencer, a person on a social media platform with a high number of followers, creates content recommending or reviewing your product. It is already a booming business, with ad spending estimated to reach between $5 and $10 billion by 2022, yet there are businesses, particularly smaller companies that still seem hesitant to enter the new field. But with 72 percent of major brands dedicating some of their marketing budget to influencers, rest assured that savvy influencer marketing can be just as lucrative as traditional marketing.

Social media grows every year, nearing 3.5 billion social media users in 2019. Platforms make influencer marketing distinctive in that influencers have already created a niche and a customer base. Marketers need only to find a way to organically advertise on platforms consumer already use. Even micro-influencers can have a following of 1,000 to 100,000 people—potential consumers that are not limited by location.

This creates not only an opportunity for sales, but an invaluable abundance of information. Marketers are able to track current trends as well as customer reactions to their product. Platforms are a place where influencers and consumers alike can engage in a more organic way, which is the reason influencers garner such positive results. As many as forty-nine percent of consumers trust the recommendations from influencers and thirty-seven percent of consumers find inspiration through social networks. In that way, a good post can serve as a global storefront for millions of users.

It's not empty marketing. About seventy-five percent of marketers have said that social media has increased traffic to their business, and those who have been using social media marketing for two years have reported an increase in sales. When adding influencer marketing into the equation, the average value is about $5.20 per every dollar spent.

Influencer marketing is a powerful tool that is only slated to grow alongside social media. It seems that above all, consumers value the authenticity of influencers because they see influencers not as celebrities, but as peers. Marketers can use the trust influencers have built in their base to promote their product in a more efficient way than traditional marketing.

What to Look for in an Influencer

84% of millennials  don't like advertising and it's easy to see why. No one likes to be bombarded with videos, banners ads, and promotional pop-ups solely set on selling something. It's invasive and quickly drives visitors away.

What's a solution? According to research, consumers trust each other more than a brand.

Hearing from a trusted source about a product or service is more valued than a statement from a company. Knowing firsthand what someone else's experience was like saves time, money, and effort.

That's why you need to take a closer look at influencer marketing. Working with someone who has a dedicated following will allow your business to grow the right way, without the need for intrusive advertising.

Before you collaborate with just anyone, read our tips on what to look for in an influencer below!

Are They Relevant to Your Brand?

Choosing an influencer is more than a numbers game. Sure, a massive following looks appealing but if they're not aligned with your brand's value, message, and product, your collaboration will fail.

Think of it this way: a clothing company wouldn't partner with a technology influencer for obvious reasons. They'd want someone who showcases their outfits and shopping hauls.

So you get the right influencer for your brand, look around. Create a list of potential collaborators who'll complement your business rather than collide with it.

Is There Quality Content?

Constant misspellings and grammatical errors are a turn off to anyone. Not only that but influencers who only have sponsored content aren't ones you want to work with.

Too many sponsored posts are the equivalent to advertising--no one wants to be sold to every time they check their Instagram feed. You want someone who has a mix of sponsored and original content.

The original content should reflect their own personal opinions or experiences. This will further enhance your collaboration as they'll let followers know their real feelings about your product or service.

Are Their Followers Engaged?

Don't be fooled by a massive follower amount. What counts is how well they're engaging those people. 

Influencers who barely have comments and shares aren't ones you want to partner with. If no one takes the time to look at their content, who's to say they'll pay attention to yourcollaboration?

To see if their followers are engaged, check to see how many comments they receive per post. Also, consider collaborating with an influencer who has less than 10,000 followers. More than often, these "micro influencers" have a well-engaged audience than those above said number.

Find the Perfect Influencer

Don't settle for the first influencer you see. You need to do your research and make the decision if they're a good fit or not. 

Still not sure where to go from here? Contact us  today to get more tips on influencer marketing!

3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Working with an Influencer

Given the reach of the internet, many people who previously didn't have an audience have now found one. There are well-known bloggers, people who post on social media and those who create YouTube videos, to name just a few. In the marketing field, these people are referred to as influencers.

They're not your traditional kind of celeb; they may not be beautiful or fit. They don't have an army of makeup artists at their command. But they do have something to say, and people want to hear what they have to say. If you're looking to work with an influencer, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Are they working in your field? If you're selling, beauty products, then look for an influencer who tests and reviews beauty products. If you're selling baby products, look for influencers working in the parenting field. Remember that this is going to take some work because there are many influencers out there. And even within each field, there are divisions and subdivisions. For example, if a blogger always recommends organic products but yours are not organic, then don't approach that blogger.

2. Are they focused? How many followers do they have? Many people are looking to become influencers. They start blogs and leave them halfway. They keep changing their focus because they're not sure of what they're doing. Instead of working with people like this, make sure you find someone who has a focus and a good following.

3. Are they impartial? You want to work with someone who has a definite point of view and not someone who will recommend you just to get free products or other perks. In the long run, these are the kinds of influencers who people tend to listen to. So if you can find someone who comes across as impartial in their blog or social media feed but also seems to love your products, then you can be sure they're a good person to work with.

Contact us

for more great tips to work with an influencer to promote your product or service.

3 Common Influencer Marketing Mistakes Hindering Your Brand

Influencer marketing has been a major trend for several years, with no signs of going away. If you visit Facebook, Twitter, or virtually any social media channel, there is a good chance you will quickly come across influencers, from different segments of society, promoting different products and services. It sounds simple, but there are many common influencer marketing pitfalls, which can hinder your efforts.

At its core, influencer marketing is simply utilizing the power of celebrities, experts, or other authoritative persons to broadcast your marketing message. Yet, this is often easier said than done. More often, a company's influencer marketing campaigns will fall short of expectations. This is not caused by inherent issues with influencer marketing, but more directly related to specific mistakes when attempting this complicated marketing strategy.

Influencer Marketing Mistakes Harming Your Campaigns

1. Choosing the Wrong Influencers - The first and usually the biggest mistake is choosing the wrong influencer. Many companies will simply select a high profile name associated with their industry or niche. This can be catastrophic. The person you select must align well with your brand, share your values, believe in your product, and have a good reputation.

2. Conflating Influencer Marketing with Celebrity Endorsements - Receiving and leveraging endorsements from celebrities is a powerful tool that goes back to the beginning of modern marketing. Still, it would be wrong to equate celebrity endorsements with influencer marketing. It more about relationship building and goes much deeper than just getting a movie star to send a tweet. 

3. Focusing Exclusively on Follower Counts - Many social media superstars are targeted by companies simply because they have a high number of followers. While the follow count matters, it should not be the only factor to take into consideration. For example, consider engagement. Many times, a lower follower count with greater engagement will produce better outcomes.

What haven't we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like more information on influencer marketing, or a related topic, please contact us.

3 Common Influencer Marketing Mistakes Hindering Your Brand

Lets get REAL about Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has been a major trend for several years, with no signs of going away. If you visit Facebook, Twitter, or virtually any social media channel, there is a good chance you will quickly come across influencers, from different segments of society, promoting different products and services. It sounds simple, but there are many common influencer marketing pitfalls, which can hinder your efforts.

At its core, influencer marketing is simply utilizing the power of celebrities, experts, or other authoritative persons to broadcast your marketing message. Yet, this is often easier said than done. More often, a company's influencer marketing campaigns will fall short of expectations. This is not caused by inherent issues with influencer marketing, but more directly related to specific mistakes when attempting this complicated marketing strategy.

Influencer Marketing Mistakes Harming Your Campaigns

1. Choosing the Wrong Influencers - The first and usually the biggest mistake is choosing the wrong influencer. Many companies will simply select a high profile name associated with their industry or niche. This can be catastrophic. The person you select must align well with your brand, share your values, believe in your product, and have a good reputation.

2. Conflating Influencer Marketing with Celebrity Endorsements - Receiving and leveraging endorsements from celebrities is a powerful tool that goes back to the beginning of modern marketing. Still, it would be wrong to equate celebrity endorsements with influencer marketing. It more about relationship building and goes much deeper than just getting a movie star to send a tweet. 

3. Focusing Exclusively on Follower Counts - Many social media superstars are targeted by companies simply because they have a high number of followers. While the follow count matters, it should not be the only factor to take into consideration. For example, consider engagement. Many times, a lower follower count with greater engagement will produce better outcomes.

What haven't we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like more information on influencer marketing, or a related topic, please contact us.

Understanding Influencer Marketing and Using it to Your Advantage

Many people think that the term "influencer" only applies to people who are really popular, like celebrities. Sure, actors and models might be influencers but there are a number of other influencers out there in different fields. There are bloggers who have large followings, Instapoets who have garnered up to 2.5 million followers and people who have managed to connect with others on the internet on the basis of shared interests. There are people who post about fashion, beauty, parenthood, fitness, interior decoration, art and many other topics.

Influencers Post Written and Visual Data

The influencer's posts might be written; this is usually the case with bloggers. Or the influencer may just put photographs on Instagram or other social media sites. Usually, influencers use a combination of written and visual data. Think about the people you follow on social media or the internet and you'll find that this is true for most of them.

Finding an Influencer You Can Work With

So how do you find an influencer whom you can work with in your business? The first step is to discover these influencers, which can be done with a simple internet search. When you find someone who has a significant number of followers, take a look at their posts. Make sure that this person is posting something that you agree with. For example, if you're selling prints of classical artwork, there's no point in working with a blogger who only likes modern art. So you can't really skip this step. You have to thoroughly understand that influencer's point of view before you approach them.

Approaching and Working with an Influencer

When you approach them, you can do so in various ways. You can ask them to blog for you. Or you can ask them to review your products for their blog. For the first option, of course, you can offer to pay them. But it's not a good idea to pay anyone to review your products on their blog. You can send them the products free of charge and it should be up to them to review them as they see fit.

So start with one or two products and see if the influencer seems to recommend them. If so, then you can develop a relationship with that influencer and send them all your new products in the future.

Contact us for more tips to work with any influencer.

Influencer Marketing: A Powerful Word-of-Mouth Strategy

Influencer Marketing is one of the hottest trends in marketing strategy and it doesn't look to be fading out any time soon. More and more we see businesses turning to this tactic in validation of their product, and it seems to be working.

"Says who?"

This two-word rebuttal can shut down some of the best arguments in regard to which product is best. Word-of-mouth has been the most powerful and effective marketing strategy since the beginning of time. People trust the opinions of people, and with the rapid growth of social media use, Influencer Marketing hasn't skipped a beat. In fact, Instagram doubled its use of Influencer Marketing in 2017 and doesn't show any signs of slowing. There's no surprise since building relationships is what fuels a successful brand and that's exactly what Influencer Marketing is all about.

Target Your Audience

With the tools and software available to find the right creative talent who can sway your target audience, there's no reason not to give this marketing strategy a try. Your audience already follows and trusts personalities who are the perfect fit for your industry. These influencers can show the value of your product, reaching a wide range of people, building a strong network. Influencers are the bridge to connect you with your target audience.

Trackable

Choosing the right platform that is pertinent to your niche will allow for easy tracking of the impact your Influencer has on your audience. Finding the right personality combined with creative content is a powerful weapon for any brand. Influencer Marketing gives brands the ability to track the interest level of their target audience, traffic data, engagement, consumer reactions, demographics and so much more.

We've reached a new era in marketing and strong personalities are at the core of success. Influencer Marketing is on the rise and ready to take your brand with it! Contact us for more information on how we can assist you on getting the results you're after.

How to get started Promoting Your Brand With Social Media Influencers

You've almost checked off all of the items on your list. You have a product, you've tested it and it's ready to go. You have just one more mountain to climb. How do you get your name out there? Social media influencers can be an amazing resource to promote your brand.

When reaching out to influencers, you want to do your research. Get to known them and what they are interested in. If you are trying to push a tech product, a beauty influencer probably isn't going to provide what you are looking for. Once you've found your target audience, check their stats. How many followers do they have? Is there much communication between the influencer and their fans? The ideal candidate would be focused on building relationships with their audience as well. Look at some of their posts and read the comments. If they are actively having positive conversations with their followers, that's a good sign. Their audience needs to like their content, but they need to trust the influencer as well.

Now that you have your list of influencers to approach, decide what you are going to offer them. Are you going to offer them money in return for posting about your product? You can pay an influencer to write a post about your product, ask their followers to go like and follow your brand and even share upcoming launches and promotions. This could potentially get you a lot of views. Another approach would be to offer them free products. In addition to just saying nice things about your brand, they can also test it and post about their experience. The benefit to this approach is that if the influencer tries and likes your product, their followers are likely to want it for themselves.

It's important to build and maintain a good relationship with your influencers. If you are launching a new product, let them know. Ask them to follow you on social media and share their posts that are relevant to you. The purpose of finding these influencers is to build a lasting, working relationship. You aren't looking for just one post from them. Host a promotion or giveaway on your brand's social media account and ask your influencers to share the event. Your ultimate goal is for the influencer to be excited about your relationship. The way that they feel about you and your brand will be conveyed in what they post.

Regardless if your product has just launched or if you have been selling it for years, social media influencers have the potential to bring a wealth of new clients to your brand. Don't hesitate to contact us today to find out more ways to grow your business.

Influencer Marketing Trends that Will Dominate in 2019

Influencer marketing has grabbed all the attention during this year. Being aware of its dominance in the world of marketing, marketers are patiently waiting and predicting the influencer marketing trends for the upcoming year.

Following their steps, we have spotted some of the biggest trends that will take over in 2019. If you want to know what influencer marketing has in store for us, just keep reading.

Instagram is to Keep the Crown

There is no doubt that Instagram has ruled over the past year. The following graph by Statista clearly shows how the network reached a milestone of 1 billion monthly users in June.

Source: Statista

In the following year, the numbers will just keep on growing. Instagram is the platform that is to be leading for brand-influencer cooperation.

The reason why is because the business relationship between the brands and influencers is now established and they have both realized how to make the best use out of the platform.

Facebook will also keep its position as a predominant platform, yet the focus will still remain on Instagram.

Establishing Lasting Relationship with the Influencers

As a part of a holistic strategy, the brands will contain to establish long-term relationships with the influencers.

Brands and influencers now have enough experience to recognize a good opportunity. Having that in mind, if a certain relationship is progressive and fruitful they will both thrive to keep it running.

Amanda Sparks, digital marketer and author of Top Down Writer explains, “We need to get used to seeing some Influencers as ambassadors of certain brands since the benefits work both ways.”

Influencers are gaining a stable business relationship accompanied by a stable income. On the other hand, if the brand is able to retain a faithful partner, the audience will gain more confidence in their products.

Take Revolve for example. They have partnered up with several influencers with whom they cooperate for years and they have certainly got the attention of all their followers.

Claudia Sulewski, a Youtuber, influencer, and actress for Revolve

More Professional Approach to Influencers

As groups of new influencers rise as well as the number of deals that one company makes with influencers, the approach that the brands take will change.

Brands will have to get in touch with the influencers more often if they want to keep up with the trends and gain a new audience.

This means that they no longer want to depend on just one or two influencers and their followers.

In fact, content on social media will get more sophisticated and an entire agency can be involved in its production.

For example, Chinese multichannel network Papitube has signed more than 60 video bloggers. They create content on a professional regular basis though it might look like a business of one to their audience.

The Need for Originality Will Grow

People are overwhelmed with traditional ads so the demand for authenticity and transparency will rise.

“Influencers have already been struggling with producing an original content due to the growing number of influencers. In 2019, the competition will be even higher and they will all need to step up the game,” says Stephen Larson, a social media specialist and editor at TopAustraliaWriters.

In order to publish authentic content, some influencers will even resort to professional writing services to perfect their captions. The examples of writing services and tools they could use are Grammarly, Canada Writers, HemingwayApp, GetGoodGrade.com, etc.

There would be no room for mistakes so their approach will become more thoughtful and professional.

The Competition Will Rise

As newcomers step into the market, the struggle for the audience will increase among influencers and brands as well.

Hellen Lewis, social media marketer at Best Writers Canada shares her thoughts on this topics, “New faces will face bigger barriers. It means that they will need to find a way to attract the attention of the other party.”

It is not just about the competition among influencers. New brands also want to make the most of influencer marketing and find the right source of promotion for their brand in order to get their name heard.

For unknown brands, cooperating with the popular influencers has almost the same level of difficulty as reaching to world famous celebrities. They will need to get creative and offer good deals and quality products if they want to score the big deals.

Some Final Thoughts

The story behind the success of influencer marketing is that it offers a human-to-human connection. The audience will certainly correlate more easily with someone who is living a seemingly ordinary life but still has that touch of glam in its life.

Keeping track with dominating and upcoming trends in influencer marketing has become crucial, especially for the marketing departments. Finding the best way to approach the audience and win them over with authentic content will be a challenge but those who succeed will most definitely be rewarded.