Influencer marketing has taken the world by storm and organizations that may have dismissed the idea of engaging with influencers are now likely contemplating which social media star can help elevate their brand.
According to Oracle, 37% of consumers trust social media influencers over traditional advertising, with Gen Z and Millennials being two times more likely to trust influencer recommendations. If done right, influencer marketing can lead to engaging content that authentically resonates with key audiences.
Is It Time?
While influencer marketing has proven to be successful, using influencers as brand ambassadors should be a decision made with careful consideration. Ask yourself: Who is my target audience? Are they looking to social media to learn more about what my organization has to offer? Are there influencers who are already connecting with my target audience that could be good for brand promotion?
A decision to add influencers to your marketing mix should be driven by your target audiences’ appetite for this type of content and their prevalence on social media platforms.
Picking the Right Influencer
When searching for influencers that may suit your brand, it’s important to take a step back and envision the influencer sharing information about your product or service. Does it seem like a natural fit? Does this content align with the influencer’s portfolio of work? Is there philosophical alignment between the concepts you would like them to promote and the ones they stand behind?
To achieve greater ROI with influencer marketing, it’s vital that your brand’s integration across social channels is seamless and authentic. The more natural the integration, the more likely your key audiences will believe it. Hopping on the phone with potential influencers you are interested in working with will help you learn more about them individually and their goals for the content they share. It’s a great way to develop interpersonal relationships with influencers and determine if a partnership would be a good fit.
Process Makes Perfect!
Once you find your influencer match made in heaven, a clear process is important to keep both parties happy and produce stellar content. Make sure your contract covers all the bases and clearly communicates your expectations. Equip the influencer with all the assets and background information they need to ensure they can confidently speak about your product or service in a way that is authentic to their audience. And lastly, keep a constant line of communication to maintain both parties’ accountability and ownership of the deliverables.
Amplify, Amplify, Amplify
Once content goes live, it doesn’t just stop on the influencers’ page. Use your organization’s channels to further amplify the content, with the influencers’ permission. Sharing the sponsored content shows collaboration and legitimizes third-party opinions of your organization. This can help diversify your content calendar and result in even more audience engagement and investment.
At NST, we help our clients find the right partnerships that will help bring their brand to the next level. If you are looking to ramp up your influencer marketing, need support in contracting or aren’t sure how to measure success, contact us today!