In recent years, influencer sponsorships have taken the marketing world by storm. Brands and businesses increasingly turn to influencers to promote their products and services in a mutually beneficial collaboration. This rise in influencer sponsorships has proved to be a win-win situation for both parties. Brand partnerships allow an abundance of opportunities for both influencers and brands, and we’re here to share them with you today.
What is an influencer sponsorship?
Influencer sponsorships can be defined as deals where brands team up with social media creators to have them promote their products. Influencer sponsorships often involve a brand sending the creators their products and having them create content about them.
Influencers typically aim to work with their favorite brands. Paid influencer sponsorships are a form of social media product placement in which a brand pays an influencer to showcase their products to a targeted audience.
How do companies evaluate sponsorships with influencers?
Brands often measure the performance of sponsored content with various metrics, depending on company goals. It’s essential to track performance to see how well consumers responded to the content and to adjust their tactics for the future. Marketers also must assess the return on investment for influencer sponsorships to ensure they are benefitting from the deals. So, how do brands research and evaluate these factors?
1. Metrics to measure
Depending on the campaign goals brands may choose to analyze various metrics, including:
- Impressions
- Engagements
- Comments
- Views
- Clicks
- Cost per engagement
- Click-through rates
- Completed views
Data is necessary to gauge whether the campaign met KPIs.
2. Evaluating influencers for sponsorships
Before beginning the process of influencer sponsorships, marketers often research influencers. This involves looking at audience demographic data and content relevance. Are the influencers already posting about topics related to the industry?
Another critical factor that brands research is how responsive the influencer’s followers are to their content. Using influencer platforms like the Creator Marketplace, marketers can get access to analytics and content samples.
Benefits of influence marketing for brands
While they often pay these creators to represent their businesses and products, companies benefit from sponsorships in many ways.
1. Wider reach at a lower cost
Sponsoring influencers helps brands get their name and message out there among new potential customers — often at a lower price than a typical commercial or ad. Plus, social media users respond more positively to influencers because of the authentic appeal of their content. According to our Trust in Influencer Marketing report, more social media users trust influencers than celebrities when it comes to product recommendations. Users relate to influencers more so than a typical advertising campaign because the content comes across as more authentic, which is why influencer sponsorships are so important for brands looking to succeed in social media marketing.
For the latest influencer rates, check out our annual The State of Influencer Earnings report.
2. Increased engagement
Another benefit for companies working with influencers is that they often see engagement, sales and traffic increase. By sponsoring influencers who already have established platforms and
larger followings, brands open the door to more online traffic for their businesses and an increase in sales of their products. Influencers are often tasked with sharing links to retailer websites along with their sponsored content, which can be paired with unique Tracking Links to see exactly how many sales the creators inspired, along with the value of the sales.
3. Improved brand awareness
Influencer sponsorships allow brands to boost their brand awareness and introduce their products to a potentially new audience of users. Working with niche Influencers can help brands reach motivated buyers who are interested in a particular product category or industry.
Benefits for influencers
Here are just some of the many benefits for influencers looking to work with brands:
1. Financial benefits
Influencer marketing allows creators of diverse backgrounds, interests and ages to make a living doing what they love. Who doesn’t enjoy being compensated for their creativity? Through influencer sponsorships, influencers have the opportunity to work with brands they are passionate about. IZEA’s Influencer Aspirations report found that 61% of respondents ages 18-29 would quit their jobs and become social media influencers full-time. Becoming a creator is an increasingly common goal for many social media users.
2. Gaining new audiences
Influencers can also gain more of an audience by working with brands. Influencer sponsorships often involve paid media to boost the content, helping to reach even more social media users beyond the creators’ followers.
3. Increased professional opportunities
After working with brands and sharing sponsored content, influencers are often quickly sought after by other brands looking to find influencers. Once brands see the quality of sponsored content from creators, they are more likely to work with them because they appear to be more professional. Having a portfolio of organic and sponsored content helps influencers work with more brands. Participating in influencer marketing campaigns also helps build influencers’ brands as professional content creators.
There are many benefits for both influencers and brands when it comes to influencer sponsorships. If you represent a brand looking to find your next ideal influencer to sponsor, check out the Creator Marketplace and IZEA Flex, which each have unique and powerful influencer marketing tools.
Influencers:
Looking to partner with industry-leading brands? Create your free profile today.
Marketers:
The world’s biggest brands trust IZEA’s influencer marketing software and managed solutions. Find out which solution is right for you.
