5 Tips for a Successful Influencer Program
A few things I’ve learned about setting an influencer marketing campaign up for success after over a decade in the industry…
In this blog post, I'll share 5 insights and tips to help you make the most of your influencer marketing efforts. This just scratches the surface but it’s a great place to start, especially in the beginning of your influencer marketing journey.
Data is Key: Use it in Every Step of the Campaign Process
One of the key factors in ensuring a successful influencer marketing campaign is data. Data can help you make informed decisions at every step of the campaign process. Here are 3 ways you can use data:
Finding Your Influencers: Before you start searching for influencers, you need to identify your end goal. This will help you determine the key performance indicator (KPI) that you want to achieve. For example, if your end goal is to increase sales, your KPI might be the number of clicks on your product links. Once you have identified your KPI, you can use data to find influencers who have a high number of followers and high engagement rates in your target market.
Monitoring and Optimizing Your Campaign: Once your campaign is up and running, you need to monitor it regularly. This will help you see which influencers and posts are performing best. Based on this data, you can optimize your campaign by putting money behind the top performers, asking them to create follow-up posts, or adjusting your strategy if necessary.
Analyzing Your Campaign: After your campaign has ended, you need to analyze the results. You can evaluate your results by platform, post type, and influencer size to see what worked and what didn’t. This information will be crucial in informing your next campaign’s strategy.
Take Risks and Diversify:
Trying out multiple strategies is crucial to finding what works best for your target market. This means partnering with influencers across different verticals (e.g., fashion, music, tech), different content types (e.g., videos, reels, carousels), and platforms. This approach allows you to gather evidence and make informed decisions about your future campaigns.
Remember, taking big risks can bring big rewards. The influencer or content that performs best may surprise you and change your entire strategy. Be open-minded and don't be afraid to try new things. The more diversity you bring to your program, the more you'll learn about what resonates with your target audience.
Be Nimble and Ready to Pivot:
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your campaign may not perform as well as you had hoped. During the campaign, it may become clear that what you're doing isn't working. Don't be afraid to abort the mission and reevaluate. The key here is to not get too locked into a single strategy, but to be flexible and ready to pivot if needed. Here are some ways you can set yourself up for success:
Have the option to adjust strategy in the influencer’s contract so that they can create alternative content for you if needed.
Slowly roll-out your posts so that you can see what’s working and what’s not. This will allow you to adjust your strategy and tell the influencer what to create based on current data points.
Boost: Paid Media Works
Paid media is crucial in influencer marketing, and my rule of thumb is to dedicate 20% of your budget to paid. With platforms constantly changing their algorithms, you never know which posts will be hidden, and boosting ensures your content is seen by your target audience. Be smart with your budget and targeting parameters to maximize your chances of hitting your KPIs.
Analyze, Analyze, Analyze!
Finally, the most important step in ensuring a successful influencer marketing program is to analyze the results. This means digging into the post-level results to see what worked and didn’t. Spend time digging into the post-level results and looking at the high-level trends and patterns. Use this information to inform your next campaign's strategy.
In conclusion, being smart and methodical about your campaign approach is key to success in influencer marketing. Utilize data, take risks and diversify, be nimble and ready to pivot, boost, and analyze your results to make informed decisions about your program. Don't be afraid to think outside the box, and you may be surprised at what you find works best for your brand.
*Reach out to me if you’re looking for a customized, step-by-step program recommendation and support.
