There’s more to working with social influencers than meets the eye. Sure, the best influencer campaigns make it look easy — just find an influencer, have him or her create a post, and you’re done. But there’s a lot more to it than that. In fact, you might compare putting together a social influencer campaign to juggling. There are several factors all working together at once, and it’s up to you to keep everything in the air and moving along smoothly. While there’s no software to help improve your juggling, you can invest in social influencer software.
The good news is that you don’t have to manage or keep everything in the air on your own. Social influencer software can help to take some of the stress and guesswork out of creating an influencer campaign.
What Is Social Influencer Software?
Social influencer software lets brands and marketers put together an influencer campaign from start to finish. Software packages can range from those that offer very limited services and features to full-service programs that guide you through the entire process.
Depending on your needs, a social influencer software program can do some or all of the following:
Show you influencers.
The least sophisticated software programs are essentially dressed-up databases. They include lists of potential influencers and their contact information. These programs may or may not be updated, and the influencers included in them may or may not be active.
More advanced programs offer you full profiles and complete details of influencers, who range from micro-influencers to big-name celebs. The influencers included in these software packages are usually active on the platform and looking for partnerships.
Let you contact influencers.
While some platforms give you the contact details of influencers and encourage you to “go off-platform” to contact them, more comprehensive programs give you the ability to get in touch right through the platform. That lets you keep everything in one place, and can help to streamline and organize your campaign.
Let you create, review, and distribute influencer content.
There’s a certain amount of trust needed when running an influencer campaign. Social influencer software helps to keep everyone on the same page, and helps to ensure that the content the influencer creates lines up with what you ordered. Some programs also verify that all disclosure requirements are met before a post goes live.
Allow for negotiation and payment.
Some influencer software platforms allow you and your influencers to bid and negotiate the terms of the agreement. Once the content is created and the campaign is completed, these programs make it easy for you to pay influencers.
Let you track and measure the results.
How are people responding to your influencer campaign? Is it working? The most comprehensive software programs give you the tools to track and measure results, no matter what your specific goal for the campaign is.
Who Should Use Social Influencer Software?
Social influencer software is ideal for any brand that wants to get started with influencer marketing. It’s also perfect for brands that have tried influencer marketing in the past, but that struggled with any aspect of it, from finding influencers to tracking results.
Since there are so many different programs and packages available, there’s going to be an option that works for your brand, no matter its budget or size.
Why Use Social Influencer Software?
For some brands, using social influencer software can mean the difference between a successful influencer campaign and a flop. That might sound like an extreme exaggeration, but it’s not.
Without software, you’re left to your own devices when it comes to finding influencers, supervising the content creation and distribution process, paying people, and tracking results. Depending on your budget and resources, you may end up needing to make your own program from scratch, or you may end up doing everything manually, which will take forever.
Another benefit of using software is that it makes things less likely to fall through the cracks or be forgotten. For example, some software programs include a payment option, which makes it super easy to make sure you pay influencers, and to verify that they receive their payments.
How to Find the Right Social Influencer Software Program
When you’re looking for a social influencer platform to use, it helps to ask the following questions:
- What’s our budget, and does this platform have options that work with what we can spend?
- Are we looking for software that’s very DIY focused, or do we want to work with a program and company that will be more hands-on?
- What does the software do?
- Who created the software, and how much experience does the company have with influencer marketing?
- Who are the social influencers who are connected with the platform? Are they are A-listers, D-listers, or a healthy mix?
- Will the software provide metrics that we can actually use?
- Can we talk to a person or have someone explain the software to us if there is any confusion?
How to Get Started With Social Influencer Software
Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to give social influencer software a try, the first step to take is to contact companies that offer programs, and ask for a demonstration.
Even social influencer software looks like a perfect fit for your brand, that might not be the case. You want to see how the program or platform works IRL before you to commit to it.
It’s often a good idea to contact a few companies that offer influencer software. That way you can get a sense of how each one differs, and so that you can feel confident that the platform you end up choosing is really the best one for your brand and needs.
