A decade ago, marketers didn’t understand the need for influencers. It was something straight out of Hollywood; small to medium-sized businesses had no desire for it. Ten years later, however, an influencer marketing strategy is just part of doing business. It’s what every growing company is exploring.
The global influencer marketing market was $9.7 billion in 2020. With high-speed growth behind it, that market size is expected to top out at $22.2 billion by 2025.
Influencer marketing is no longer an afterthought. If it isn’t a part of your marketing strategy yet, it’s time for a change.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing adds power to your social media marketing campaigns. Instead of paying for social media ads that go straight to the consumer, you work with brand/influencer partnerships that endorse what you do. These individuals have a successful following and are viewed as influential within their niche. And when they speak, their audience listens.
By developing an influencer marketing strategy, you’ll be able to find digital creators who speak to the same audience you want to reach. Find partners to promote your brand, products, and services through specifically designed messaging. This is win-win for both you and the influencer because it:
- Builds trust and credibility with the influencer’s followers
- Boosts your brand by sharing your story through content carefully crafted to fit in with the influencer’s messaging
- Gives your marketing strategy a boost
- Provides a unique opportunity to reach out to an audience ready for what you do
Understanding Different Types of Influencers
When someone says “influencers,” you might think of celebrities like the Kardashians, or you might think of social media personalities like Alix Earle, Addison Rae, Nara Smith, or Charli D’Amelio. They are just a few of the most popular, most successful influencers within the industry. But influencers are everywhere. You can categorize them by their follower count within a specific industry.
- Nano influencers: They are typically relatively new. They reach 1,000 to 10,000 followers, but they usually have a high engagement rate, and their audience listens to what they say.
- Micro influencer: These influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers and have the advantage of a broader reach. Engagement might be lower because more people follow them, but they still have deep connections within their niche.
- Macro influencers: With 100,000 to 1 million followers, these influencers are ready to help you increase brand awareness.
- Mega influencers: This is where the Kim Kardashian-level influencers fall. With over 1 million followers, they have high-profile personalities, and you will need a large budget to work with them.
A great place to start is with nano and micro influencers. It’s a way to build authenticity and trust with an engaging audience that is ready to find new brands to do business with.
How Do You Create an Influencer Marketing Strategy?
Marketing strategies provide direction. They give you goals to achieve and map out how you’ll get where you’re going. Influencer marketing is one piece of that puzzle.
Like other marketing strategies, influencer marketing campaigns should be long-term endeavors. You can’t create traction with a one-off campaign. Instead, it requires dedication to get to know the brands you’re partnering with and find the best way to consistently promote your products and services to their audiences.
Think authentic. If an influencer jumps brands to search for higher revenue, they will lose credibility. Instead, choose an influencer who showcases products and services they use and believe in. This lets their followers know more about you and gives you ways to go deeper with their audience.
Before you partner with an influencer and promote your brand, you’ll need to develop a strategy for maximum exposure. Use these essential steps to help get you started:
Define Your Marketing Goals
You can’t achieve success if you don’t set goals and track results to ensure your strategy remains consistent throughout the campaign. While every brand has its own goals and desires, you might consider goals such as:
- Grow brand awareness
- Increase social media following
- Increase engagement
- Enhance your marketing funnel
- Launch a new product or event
- Increase consumer purchases
- Improve search engine optimization
Your budget will help determine your approach. Expect to pay influencers based on their follower count, engagement rates, and the number of sponsored posts you place.
Find Your Audience
Finding your audience is the most challenging. If you’re new to this world, it helps to work with a marketing team that understands influencer marketing and has experience in the industry.
It’s not as easy as choosing influencers based on followers. Instead, you’ll want to consider your audience and campaign goals. Then, find partners with similar interests and goals and who are a good fit for what you do.
Create Your Marketing Structure
Before you work with an influencer, it’s crucial to have a marketing structure that spells out all the details of your collaboration. Consider these:
- Timing: How long will you run each campaign? Are you looking for a longer-term partnership?
- Deliverables: These are the content pieces the influencer will be running for you and may include Instagram Reels, TikTok videos, or Facebook Posts as examples.
- Content: Where will the content be posted? When? How often? Will they use specific hashtags? Will they repurpose content?
- Campaign goals: Clearly define the campaign’s ultimate goal. Communication is key to ensuring both sides of the partnership deliver.
Measure Campaign Performance
The only way to ensure each campaign you run works is to track the results. Did they meet campaign goals? Did you?
The good news is that influencer analytics tools provide you with all the data you need for advanced insights to help you better understand this campaign and use it to make decisions about future direction. This can help you decide if you choose to work with an influencer again or not.
Grow Your Business with an Influencer Marketing Strategy
With a strategy in place, you can start testing influencer campaigns and tracking your business results. Success begins by developing meaningful relationships with the audience you’re building and utilizing like-minded influencers to further that engagement.
This is a win-win strategy. It’s about building relationships. It’s about giving audiences what they truly want. And building your business in the process.
Do you have an influencer marketing strategy? Maybe it’s time you did.
