PR AGENCY DIARIES: WHERE TO START WITH YOUR FIRST INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

There are InFlUeNcER fillers and there are legit changemakers. But there’s no debating it, key opinion leaders are the billboards of 2021 and if the right social media darlings aren’t already part of your marketing mix, you’re missing out. Unlike traditional ads, influencer marketing is cost effective, efficient and (if managed correctly) can be extremely lucrative.

Want to take the plunge but not sure if you’re ready? Read on for our 101 to nailing influencer marketing.

 BEFORE YOU GET GOING, KNOW WHERE YOU ARE

Step one is identifying where your brand or business is at in the market and what it needs most.

• Nobody knows who you are? You need basic brand awareness

  Time to introduce your brand or business via influencer ambassadors and share a simple rundown of what you offer

• Your brand has some awareness but what your offer may be unclear? You need consideration

  Provide more information on your product or service. Align with key faces on the ‘gram for positioning and endorsement so potential consumers can consider your offering - look to use people who already use your brand so that they can talk to some of the key benefits they personally found using it. If your product is new, give a profiled set of potential advocates your product or service FOC and ask for feedback pre engaging.

• Your name and offering are well established? Kudos, it is time to drive conversion

  Highlight where and how consumers can purchase your product or service, share pricing info and offer deals or value adds to entice them. This campaign should have a clear call to action  

• Nailed all the above already? Make sure you don’t fall off the radar (aka amplification)!

  Stay front of mind with your key customers and leverage influencer content to target customers who may have gone dormant (they’ll be more receptive to this than branded ads)

Top tip: don’t try to achieve more than one stage in a single short campaign. This will only dilute the message and reduce effectiveness – aka a big ol’ waste of time (and coin).

BE READY

As important as it is, influencer marketing is only one part of the pie that makes up a strong comms plan and overall brand strategy. You need ALL the ingredients for sustained success!

Think about the following questions to truly assess whether you’re ready to go live with influencer marketing.

• Is your website ready for the traffic?

  • An influencer campaign will create an influx of potential customers on phones or tablets – is your site looking its best and is your mobile UX up to scratch?

  • Do you have a checkout that is mobile friendly?

  • Is it easy for customers to enquire about your product or service on mobile?

• Are your social channels ready?

  • Do you have imagery and captions ready to roll out alongside your influencer campaign? Have you thought about all channels including LinkedIn?

  • Are your team ready and waiting to answer questions? Social media users want everything instantly so it’s key to be in the moment with them or you’ll miss the boat

• Is your wider marketing strategy ready?

  • Do you have retargeting campaigns set up to move customers through the funnel?

  • Media buy to support? EDMs and more?

  • Do you have a clever PR campaign rolling out at the same time making your message virtually unmissable on every platform?

  • Your influencer campaign won’t soar in a vacuum, your wider plan has to target potential consumers from all angles

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

You only get one chance. So make your shot count. If that made you feel a little queasy, we’d recommend getting the pros in on the action.

Onboarding an agency well versed in influencer campaigns will help you hit the mark the first time and avoid any faux pas’ in the process (we’ve all heard the nightmare stories).

Strong agencies in this space are worth their weight and come equipped with little black books of influencers that are thousands strong (many of whom may never have crossed your feed) and have expert tools to see back-end stats so you can ensure your chosen partners are on point for your objectives.

There’s a lot to consider in this space – from making sure their content style is a good fit, right down to the age, gender and location of their followers. All key metrics you don’t want to get wrong.

Plus, when it comes to D-day something always goes awry – be it a date change due to lockdown or an influencer that’s fallen from grace at the 99th hour – and agencies are pros at handling issues before they even become one so you can kick back and revel in the glory of a well-oiled campaign and ringing tills.