Are you paying attention?
Like some of you, I have been going about life noticing celebrities promoting products like the newest protein shake or best contouring foundation. Although there are messages everywhere, I didn’t take the time to understand the point or consider how this was changing the game for advertisers.
When it was announced earlier this summer that Kim Kardashian would be awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) first ever influencer award, that got my attention.
“With over 200 million followers across her social media channels, she (Kim Kardashian) was one of the first to monetize her digital platforms and create a two-way dialogue with her followers.”
Since when did people taking photos with expensive sunglasses and purses get awarded for doing so? Until this point, I had written off reality television stars as people who just wanted to be on TV to get famous.
These public figures are not just using television, but have taken over on social channels. Even mommy bloggers from the smallest towns in the middle of the country are making celebrity-sized paychecks from endorsing products and services. We know them now as influencers.
It didn’t take many searches on the web to find other influencers using the same techniques as Kim K to become household names. Influencers represent all verticals, not just entertainment and fashion. Their impact is easy to see and track when you dig deeper into social media followers and revenue impact.
YouTube stunt stars Dude Perfect, with 38.4 million subscribers, promote sports equipment, and Rachel Hollis, a #1 New York Times Best Selling author and lifestyle blogger, is creating an empire from writing about empowering women with 1.2 million Facebook followers.
Influencers are everywhere, and their impact is expanding to all ages and demographics, such as 15 year old dancer, singer, and actress JoJo Siwa with 7.6 million viewers and more than 1.7 billion video views on YouTube.
All these internet stars with their followers can provide a huge advantage to the companies they work with. Getting people to see and hear about products has never been easier.
Since first reading about influencers earlier this year, I’ve taken the time to learn more about influencer marketing and how to successfully work with influencers as a part of a successful Instagram marketing strategy.
How to Get Started on an Influencer Campaign
1. Set Campaign Goals
There are many reasons to consider an influencer for your campaign, but first you'll want to consider the goals for your specific campaign. Ask yourself what you are trying to achieve and promote.
What is the most important goal for your campaign and how can that be conveyed simply and clearly? Your campaign goals may be tied to engagement, reach, sentiment, affiliate, content repurpose, or direct sales.
2. Research Influencers
Next, you need to consider who is the best fit for your campaign. You’ll want to look at:
- Number of social media followers.
- Content and subject matter they have posted.
- Who have they been working with? What products are they currently promoting?
- Are they working with any competitors for your product or service?
- Are they relevant in the news?
- Is their current standing with the press positive?
- Are there other people who also meet these qualifications?
Identify the top things that are important for the campaign and then make a list of potential influencers you would consider working with based on who meets your criteria.
3. Select an Influencer
There are several paid services you can use to filter and select influencers such as neoreach.com. These services typically require the influencer to enter into a database and fill out their location, social media stats, audience interests, and brands they represent.
This can help speed up the process of selecting and contacting influencers who meet certain criteria or metrics standards you’ve established. You can also go directly to websites for the people you are interested in working with to read more about the products and services they are interested in collaborating with.
You will also want to determine if you or the influencer will be responsible for creating the content. Some influencers want full control over anything they put their name on and will send you content for approval with your messaging included.
4. Determine Compensation
Once you have done your homework and have a working list of influencers and their metrics, you will need to outline compensation terms for your campaigns, including how much you are wanting to spend over a period of time and what products or services you are willing to provide or trade.
Influencers get compensated in many different ways for their time, including products, discounts, or percentages of profit, so you'll want to outline this in your terms and consider requesting theirs before finalizing the contract.
5. Evaluate Results
Once the campaign has ended or a few days after the first piece of content is live, the influencer should send public and private metrics such as impressions, reach, and pageviews. You’ll want to look for trends in the data to help determine if the campaign met your original goals and if you should considering doing more campaigns with that person in the future.
Keep in mind the copyright of the content is owned by the influencer unless stated otherwise in the agreement, so no changes or edits should be made to influencer content and it should never be shared with another influencer.
Following these tips should help get you started as an influencer marketer and grow your brand. Be sure to keep up to date with trends and best practices, and don’t be afraid to try new ways of expanding your presence online.
Jennifer Franklin
I hold a BFA from the University of Tampa and have been working in advertising and media since the early 2000s. In my free time, I am the biggest cheerleader for my kids who play soccer and gymnastics. You can also find me riding roller coasters with my husband at any local theme park.