HOW TO START AN INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGN FROM SCRATCH
Influencer marketing is one of the fastest, most modern and most effective ways to share your brand with your chosen audience, but it can be hard to know where to start. Here is all the information you need to know to put your brand on the map with a social influencer marketing campaign.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a way to leverage the ‘social influence’ or reach of a celebrity or social media personality by getting your product mentioned in one of their posts.
Why work with an influencer?
You may have 2000 Instagram followers and you’re growing, great job! But if you want your product placed in front of thousands, having someone else mention your product to their audience is a great way to do it.
How to start a social influencer campaign:
1. Ask yourself ‘why’
Consider why you’re keen to start an influencer marketing campaign: Is it to gain followers? Boost brand awareness? or to sell a new product?
Once you’ve on your ‘why,’ you can start to design your campaign, as you’ll know who you’re looking for and what you want to ask them to do for your brand.
PR tip: Always consider your customer and the platforms they use. If your ideal customer is mature-aged; a Facebook influencer may be more valuable. If your product is for a younger demographic, Instagram may be better. Choose wisely to get the biggest ROI.
2. Find relevant influencers to get your name in front of the right people
You may love to follow beautiful yoga accounts on social media, but if your product is a flashy costume jewellery line; yogis aren’t your ideal customer.
Look for influencers and celebrities who show interest in your brand’s niche, and discover as much as you can about their audience. If you ask an influencer to promote your product but they’re not relevant to your brand, your money will be wasted.
PR tip: Find influencers by searching with hashtags. You’ll be surprised what can come up when you put a vague hashtag like #costumejewellery into social media. You will discover new influencers you didn’t know existed!
3. Find influencers who engage with their community to get value for your money
Some social media personalities do not have control over their social accounts, and their engagement with followers is limited. These accounts are known as ‘fake.’ The accounts that truly engage with followers and interact with comments and replies are authentic, and are more valuable to your brand.
Smaller influencers who engage with followers are more valuable to you than famous influencers with no engagement
Ensure the person you contact actively engages with their community, as their endorsement of your product will mean so much more.
PR tip: Tara Jane, who founded TJ Swim thanks to a phenomenal social presence, says it’s all about interacting with quality influencers:
“Micro influencers (around 10K - 100K followers) are just as valuable as larger influencers, and will be more willing to collaborate on a ‘contra’ deal (product in exchange for post).”
4. Reach out to plenty of influencers
Be bold, get out there and get in touch with as many relevant influencers as you can! Many won’t reply, or by the time they do, your new campaign may have launched and your request is no longer relevant. If you ask more people, you’re more likely to get a positive response.
5. Offer ‘product for post’ if you have no budget for payment
As an entrepreneur it can be frustrating trying to divide your seed money between all the costs of running a business, so you may be unable to pay for influencers to showcase your product.
Many influencers, particularly those who aren’t as well-known, will be happy to post about your product or brand in exchange for product. Make sure you continue communication with the influencer as much as possible to build a relationship with them that will hopefully last.
PR tip: Start by offering them a product to test - it can lead to an influencer campaign
If the influencer gives you positive feedback, ask if they would be willing to share a photo of your product on their social media. If they really do love your product, they’ll likely be more than happy to do so!
5. Enlist a PR firm to negotiate prices and terms with your chosen influencers to save money
Too many entrepreneurs pay influencers huge fees in exchange for social posts, or for transitory mention on an Instagram story which isn’t enough to create change for your brand.
Work with a PR firm to ensure you get the greatest output for minimal input. You’ll be able to focus on running your business while a PR firm can design a campaign, contact and negotiate with a social influencer to get your brand on the map.
Do you have any questions about social influencer campaigns?
Get in touch with the PR team at Millennium Communications today!