Part two of a two-part series
The world of social media influencing has been viewed as the wild west of marketing, with the first restrictions being implemented in 2017. If you’re a little gun-shy and have steered clear of the whole lucrative mess, this is what you’re missing.
In a study conducted by RhythmOne, the researchers found that for brands who adopted influencer marketing organic digital media exposure was up with positive brand sentiment climbing by an average of 8.73 percent. Additionally, for every dollar a brand spent they gained $11.69 in earned media value.
I’ve put together a list of best practices for social media influencing that will not only explain the process to the newbies but get you, seasoned gunslingers, ahead of the curve.
Finding your influencer
It’s a lot easier than you think to find an influencer. Your company is probably following influencers on social media without knowing it. Scroll through your feeds or search your brand’s topic and find the big names that pop up.
Remember: anything below 10k followers won’t build you much traction and that influencers with huge followings are more expensive. Find your sweet spot. Then direct message them on their social media platform or send an email, if they’ve provided one in their bios.
If this sounds like too much work, you can always task an influencer agency, like Fohr Card, with finding someone perfect for you.
Working with an influencer
- Be transparent
Influencer marketing works because of its perceived transparency. Consumers originally turned to social media because it was advice from “real” people, not models and celebrities in a paid commercial.
However, the influencer industry has made this a thing of the past. Now the best way to appeal to the public is to be candid about promotions. Nobody likes to feel duped and no matter how sly your product placement is, consumers will notice.
In 2017 the FTC came up with Guidelines for social media promotions and sponsorships. They are enforcing full disclosure, so whether you like it or not you must be transparent with influencer marketing in 2018. A common trend right now is adding #ad or #sponsored to the end of a post, but we don’t think it needs to be that tasteless.
Try to own the sponsorship by calling it a partnership (ex: #Bus101Partnership) and building a genuine relationship with the influencer.
- Build a relationship
Build a genuine relationship with whichever influencer you choose to invest in. If he or she genuinely likes you, it will show in their content and fans/consumers will respond.
. Influencers’ have a following that trusts them and literally follows their lead. They have millions of fans because they are captivating and have built what feels like a “personal connection” with their online followers.
You want to use this emotional appeal to sell your product, so it pretty much boils down to high school antics. You’ll be in with the cool crowd if you get in with the queen bee.
One way to become besties with your influencer is to try a new approach to the partnership. Instead of working transaction to transaction—like how most partnerships are currently structured—try a contract. Test out a relationship with a few single-paid posts and if it’s a fit, invite them full time. The security you offer them will be a solid foundation for a strong relationship.
- Diversify your channels
Most influencer marketing focuses on Instagram because influencers tend to have a larger following on Instagram than other platforms. Another reason is 90% of Instagram users are under the age of 30 and more susceptible to influencer marketing. But influencers span all social media channels and the general neglect of certain platforms by other brands may work in your favor.
The price of posting content is based on an influencer’s following size, engagement, and demand. You may get a better ROI if you are paying less for a different channel and generating good conversation (because you made good content).
Do some research. Find out which platform attracts the majority of your target demographic. Don’t blindly follow the herd to Instagram.
- Be organic
When creating organic content for your influencers, try to imagine friends conversing—what would they be talking about when your product comes up? Fans/consumers see their relationship with the influencer as real, so you want to help the influencer keep up this illusion.
An easy way to develop organic content is by creating something useful instead of ads. “How-to” videos and “DIY”’s are on the rise for this reason. Influencers want to be seen as an authority as well. They want their followers to turn to them with questions in their field and be able to support them with answers.
If you have previously built a strong relationship with your influencer and you trust they will uphold your companies voice, you can offer them the opportunity to create their own content using your product.
