Influencer Marketing Strategy: Here’s Why You Need One

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $21.1 Billion in 2023. And it will keep growing in the following years.

It’s clear why: with 92% of consumers trusting word of mouth from other people (even if they don’t know them), influencers are becoming a more and more popular way of doing marketing and increasing brand awareness.

In this article, we’ll go through the main aspects of influencer marketing, to understand why you should include it in your marketing strategy.

At a glance

What is Influencer Marketing?
Why Should you Work with Influencers?
How to Choose the Right Influencer for Your Brand
5 Tips to Succeed with your Influencer Marketing Strategy

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a way of promoting a brand or product through influencers.

Influencer marketing has officially become a thing in the early 2010s, with the first social media influencers appearing on YouTube and Instagram. In the beginning, these were just people with a lot of followers, that companies paid to promote their products or services.

Brands quickly realized the potential of partnering with these individuals to reach and engage with their target audiences.

With this kind of partnership increasing and adding value, the industry has become more sophisticated, with influencer marketing agencies and marketing platforms emerging to help brands identify, engage and work with influencers more effectively.

📌 Why Should you Work with Influencers?

Let’s consider a few benefits of working with influencers:

Access to a wider audience: influencer marketing allows brands to reach new audiences that may not have been accessible through traditional advertising methods.
Increased brand awareness and credibility: if you choose the right influencers for your brand, you can also achieve higher credibility and loyalty. Consumers tend to trust this type of recommendation more than traditional advertising, if the person sponsoring you is reliable.
Higher engagement and conversions: influencer campaigns often result in higher engagement rates, as consumers engage more with content that they perceive as trustworthy and relatable. Moreover, the right influencer marketing strategy can drive higher conversions, as you are more likely to have qualified leads if the influencer is chosen carefully and in alignment with your own target user.
Cost-effective: compared to traditional advertising methods, influencer marketing can be less expensive, making it an attractive option for brands looking to maximize their marketing budgets.

📌 How to Choose the Right Influencer for Your Brand

To achieve all the above, you need the right influencer for your brand. It’s not only a matter of budget, but there are also other important factors to consider when preparing your outreach strategy:

First, the influencer’s followers should reflect your target audience. This will help ensure that your campaign reaches the right people and results in higher engagement and conversions.
Then, it’s important to look for alignment with your brand values and goals. The influencer you choose should align with your brand’s values and mission. In this way, your message is consistent, and you won’t lose credibility with your customers.
Not only should they be aligned with your brand’s values, but authenticity and credibility are also important when selecting an influencer. You want to choose an influencer who is genuine, trustworthy, and has a strong reputation in their industry.
Of course, consider also the influencer’s engagement and reach. Followers that are not engaging with native content will less likely to do it on a sponsored post.
Finally, transparency and disclosure of sponsored content are important when choosing an influencer. It’s important to look for influencers who are transparent about sponsored content and who clearly disclose any sponsored posts. This will help maintain the trust of the influencer’s followers and protect your brand’s reputation.

💡 Wondering how your influencers should disclose sponsored content?

The US Federal Trade Commission has issued guidelines on this matter. Check the FTC Influencers Guidelines here.

📌 5 Tips to Succeed with your Influencer Marketing Strategy

Now that you’ve seen that working with influencers can bring great benefits to your business, let’s go over 5 essential tips to succeed when relying on influencer marketing.

1. Set clear guidelines and expectations

Before starting your influencer marketing campaigns, it’s important to establish clear guidelines and expectations for both you and the influencer.
This includes:

guidelines for content creation;
disclosure of sponsored content;
intellectual property rights;

and any other expectations you have. The easiest way to do it is through a contract, upon which both parties agree.

👉 Check our influencer contract template for a better idea.

2. Build authentic relationships with your influencers

Building authentic relationships with influencers is key to the success of your campaigns. This involves not only communicating your expectations and guidelines, but also working with the influencer to create high-quality, engaging content that resonates with their followers and aligns with your brand values.

3. Creating high-quality, engaging content

The content created as part of your influencer marketing campaigns should be high-quality, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, images, and other forms of content that are likely to resonate with the influencer’s followers and align with your brand values. You could also utilize tools like a QR code generator to create unique QR codes that influencers can share, allowing their followers to easily access exclusive content, discount codes, or other experiences tied to your brand partnership.

4. Encourage transparency and disclosure of sponsored content

Transparency and disclosure of sponsored content are important for ensuring that your influencer marketing campaigns are ethical and comply with regulations and guidelines. Encourage the influencer to clearly and prominently disclose any sponsored content and make it clear that the content is a paid promotion. This helps to build trust with your target audience and ensures that your campaigns are transparent and credible.

Remember: disclosing sponsored content is a legal requirement! So if your influencers don’t disclose sponsored content, you’re both breaching the law.

5. Regularly monitor and adjust your campaigns

Regularly monitoring and adjusting your influencer marketing campaigns is important to ensure that they are achieving your desired results and delivering a positive ROI. This involves tracking the KPIs you’ve set and making adjustments to your campaigns as needed.

Implementing these tips will help you get the most out of your influencer marketing strategy. You can find more influencer marketing tips here.

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