{"id":23105,"date":"2023-01-27T13:05:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T13:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viralmango.com\/?p=23105"},"modified":"2023-12-19T10:05:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T10:05:05","slug":"influencer-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viralmango.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Building an Influencer Marketing Strategy from the Ground Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
Influencer marketing is a popular term in the marketing world today, and for a good reason: it\u2019s an extraordinarily effective and rapidly growing marketing strategy. A study showed that in 2022 influencer marketing is set to reach $16.4 billion and 75% of brand marketers plan to include influencer marketing in this year\u2019s strategy. However, the effectiveness of this method will largely depend on the strategy you build and adopt. In this article, we’ll discuss all the essential aspects of creating an effective influencer marketing strategy, from selecting the right influencers to measuring the success of your campaign. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In its simplest form, influencer marketing is a marketing technique when brands rely on influencers (people with a large social following) to promote their brand or product among their followers. Influencer marketing strategy, in its turn, is the strategy of leveraging that collaboration in a way that will yield the best result for all parties involved.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Developing an influencer marketing strategy is the cornerstone of every influencer marketing campaign. With the right strategy, you can choose and partner with the right individuals that will promote your brand, product, or your message among a targeted community through carefully curated messaging. Some of the benefits of taking the time to create a strategy are:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Above all, an influencer marketing strategy gives you an idea of where to start your work, as well as how to navigate the process without getting lost.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There is no right influencer marketing strategy since all brands have different needs and goals. However, there are several tried and tested steps you can take when working on your strategy to get started.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The first step is identifying your goals. You need to be clear on what is it that you are trying to achieve with your influencer marketing efforts because depending on the goals, your actions, later on, will vary significantly. Some of the goals you\u2019ll want to consider are<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Influencer marketing goals are always business-specific, but chances are, you will be targeting one or more of these goals. Once you set specific goals, you\u2019ll find it easier to remain consistent throughout your campaign.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve identified your goals, next is identifying your audience and your buyer persona. This is a step not to be missed because once you know a good understanding of your audience, you can make more informed decisions about your messaging and choice of creators.
If you\u2019ve previously built user personas, or have a general idea of who your target audience is, it can be a great help at this step. For example, if you are producing skincare products, your target audience is likely people who are into skincare. That\u2019s a start. From there, you can go on segmenting and breaking up your target audience. This segmentation can be done by:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Understanding your target market will help you build better relationships with them, even if it\u2019s through the voice of the creators you work with, as you can develop messages and creatives that speak to their needs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Next up is identifying the creators you want to cooperate with. The good news is, no matter the industry \u2014 gaming, technology, fashion, beauty, or fitness \u2014 there is someone out there passionate about it, who has been building an audience and establishing themselves as a credible voice in that niche. And these are the people you want to reach out to. From influencers on Instagram to YouTubers creating long-form videos to bloggers, there are many different options for you to choose from, depending on your needs. Typically, it\u2019s more beneficial to work with an influencer who has an active presence on more than one channel, to maximize your exposure.
When it comes to the process of finding the right influencer, the strategies you implement can vary. You can search through hashtags or keywords or look through your competitors to understand who they are working with. What\u2019s important to keep in mind is that when choosing a creator to cooperate with, it\u2019s important that they are an authentic addition to your brand. They should match your brand voice, share similar values, and have aesthetics that work with yours.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When it comes to budgeting, you should consider different ways of influencer remuneration. In most cases, you\u2019ll be expected to pay a fixed rate to influencers, which will depend on influencer reach, the platform, the posting frequency, as well as the industry. Some of the factors that have an impact on influencer marketing costs include:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u25cf Social media follower count, as well as the engagement rates
\u25cf The platforms used to promote the brand or product
\u25cf Frequency, as well as the type of content (static post, a story, a short video, a long-form video, etc)
\u25cf Products sent to the creators
\u25cf Other fees (e.g. working with an influencer marketing agency, costs for creating content, etc.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For the influencer rates, there are more or less fixed industry averages you can go by. On Instagram, one of the biggest platforms for influencer marketing, the average rates per post are as follows:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u25cf Nano influencers (1000 – 10,000 followers): $10 – $100 per post
\u25cf Micro-influencers (10,000 – 50,000 followers): $100 – $500 per post
\u25cf Mid-tier influencers (50,000 – 500,000 followers): $500 – $5,000 per post
\u25cf Macro influencers (500,000 – 1,000,000 followers): $5000 – $10,000 per post
\u25cf Mega influencers (1,000,000+ followers): $10,000+ per post<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The budget you decide to set for your influencer marketing campaign will mainly depend on what you can allocate. Having a detailed budget as part of your strategy will help you to use that budget in the most effective way<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
How you will contact the influencers is one of the most important aspects of your overall strategy, and it shouldn\u2019t be neglected. Most influencers have spent months or even years curating their audience, and they value the trust their followers put in them. So, they won\u2019t work with brands that don\u2019t align with their field of expertise or audience interests. What you need to do is have in mind what your cooperation will bring them, including and beyond the material reward, and how your cooperation can be beneficial for them and their audience.
As for the outreach itself, for nano and micro-influencers, you can usually contact them through direct messages. For larger creators, you may need to send an email, or contact them through their website, or through a designated PR person. More often than not the contact info will be available on their profile.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Work with influencers is work, and it should be documented. After the terms of your cooperation were defined and agreed on, it\u2019s important to create an agreement to make sure that all obligations are met and both parties are protected. Additionally, depending on the country the cooperation takes place, an agreement can help to ensure the campaign meets certain legal requirements. You can significantly simplify the process by creating several contract versions for campaigns targeting different goals, and then updating them based on project details.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Influencer marketing consists of many steps and processes, from finding influencers to managing the campaign. For small teams of companies just starting with their influencer marketing efforts, the process can be time- and resource-consuming. Luckily, there are different influencer marketing platforms that you can use to simplify the process.
The influencer contracts<\/a> you make will be tailored to each specific campaign, but some of the aspects most contracts will cover are:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
Use influencer marketing platforms<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Influencer marketing platforms are websites and tools developed to act as a bridge connecting the influencer with the brand in a quicker and more straightforward way. There, you can announce the campaigns you want to run, listing what your requirements are. Influencers on the platform who look for cooperation will start reaching out. Alternatively, you can go through the catalogs of influencers, and reach out to those you think may be the right fit. You can then maintain the communication, campaign management, and monitoring, as well as the results review and payments directly on the platform.<\/p>\n