Influencer marketing campaigns are an effective marketing tool, especially if you’re paired with an experienced content creator and using best practices. But the most successful influencer marketing campaigns include plenty of research to ensure time and money are well spent.
To give your next campaign the best chance of success, take a look at these strategic tips:
1. Define — and measure — success
Does having Kim Kardashian mention a particular brand of rum on her Instagram account mean the company’s influencer marketing strategy was successful? Hard to say. Without knowing what the brand spent to partner with a celebrity, what kind of engagement they had, or even how many bottles of rum were sold, you don’t have enough information to determine if the influencer marketing campaign was successful.
That’s why savvy brands define their goals in advance, including what key performance indicators they’ll use to analyze the results.
Using an influencer marketing platform like IZEA Flex, you can access actionable KPIs, including ROI, without manually crunching any data.
2. Choose your social media channels
Before you start looking for influencers to partner with on social media, you’ll need to decide where your target audience spends time online. If your brand is trying to tap Gen Z to sell skateboard training gear, you’d be wasting your time looking for influencers who primarily post to Facebook or Pinterest.
Need an influencer campaign example? Skater Trainers turned to TikTok micro-influencer Kahil Knox to create a video using, reviewing, and promoting its product to his fans on his WhyNotSkate account. By meeting their target audience where they spend time online and using a niche influencer who “speaks their language,” the brand earned authentic interest from younger consumers who are either new to skateboarding or returning to the sport after a hiatus.
3. Coordinate with other marketing efforts
The best influencer campaigns aren’t stand-alone but coordinated components that align with your brand’s other marketing efforts. These could include press releases for new products, in-person or virtual events, new blog posts, or mailed collateral, among other pieces.
When makeup giant Glossier launched its cult-favorite natural mascara Lash Slick in brown in December 2022, the company had a full media blitz. Beyond the coverage in women’s magazines, Glossier had lined up social media campaigns with beauty influencers like Jael Dorotan on Instagram to create tutorials that showcased the new product.
4. Find the right influencer
Few components are as key to a successful influencer marketing campaign as the content creator you choose. Don’t fall prey to the temptation of big follower counts. If the influencer can’t reach your target audience—through the right platform, quality content, and engagement—exposure won’t be enough to carry your brand to your goals.
Consider using an influencer marketing platform, such as Flex, to find a content creator who fits your needs; not the other way around. You’ll get not only access to the Discover tool to help you find influencers but also tools like customizable campaign metrics, social listening, and other vital integrations to help your team make every campaign a success.
5. Optimize the campaign content
Your influencer marketing campaign doesn’t start until your brand’s messaging goes live on the content creators’ accounts. Your brand should make the most of the campaign before, during, and after the influencers’ followers have seen it.
You should promote the posts throughout social media before and after they’re launched to amplify the campaign. Be sure to include calls to action with links or clear directions as to what steps you want consumers to take.
During the campaign, your team should be using hashtags that align with those the influencer will be using to cast the net of interest on social media through text messages and email promotion.
If you’ve retained rights to reuse any influencer-generated or user-generated content from the campaign, your brand should capitalize on it. Add reviews to your website, reshare the content on your other social channels or brainstorm ways to turn parts of the campaign into ads, in-store displays, or email content.
6. Stay engaged with the campaign and influencer
It may take some practice, as well as time to build trust with a content creator, but finding a balance between checking in with your influencers and giving them creative freedom can contribute to a successful campaign.
While a good contract can spell out the details, such as who will respond to consumers’ questions, it’s beneficial to touch base with content creators throughout the process. This will allow you to stay on schedule and decrease the chances of hitting any problems with content before the campaign launches.
But the same is true after the campaign ends. Maintaining a connection with partnering influencers shows respect and preserves your reputation as a brand. Not to mention, it keeps the door open for future campaigns with a content creator that your brand — and audience — already know, like and trust.
Consider these key points before you begin planning your next partnership on social media. If you combine these tips with research of industry-related influencer campaign examples, your next campaign could spark the influencer success that you’re looking for.
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Marketers:
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