PR AGENCY DIARIES: WHAT TO ASK YOUR AGENCY ABOUT YOUR INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN
Love it or loathe it, influencer marketing is a vital part of a NZ brand’s marketing mix and one that should be taken seriously. influencer agencies will either make your campaign a smooth ride to success or take you for a ride and waster your budget – but how can you tell the difference?
The right influencers have both the hustle and the heart to sell your brand to the masses – and when paired with a clever campaign that sticks in people’s minds, can be a powerful way to spread the word about your brand.
But influencer marketing can also be a bit of a mystery if you’re not familiar with the lingo. To avoid having to Google ‘what is good engagement’ mid-meeting with your agency, it’s in your best interests to know a bit about what you’re signing up (and paying) for. Read on for our cheat sheet of questions to ask your agency before you hit go.
How big is your network of influencers?
A good agency will have an expansive network of influencers that they know inside and out – ranging from nano influencers with 1-2k followers right up to the big guns we see in the glossies, who span every niche known to mankind. Do you know who the teen girls are following these days? Your agency should.
If you’ve personally heard of all the people they rattle off, we would think their pool isn’t large enough to truly tailor to your specific brand needs.
What are the criteria you are using to choose influencers for my campaign?
Make sure your agency is selecting the right people for the right job: if you’re selling collagen powder a health-focused yogi might seem like a natural fit, but not if most of their followers are vegan.
Some important factors include:
The percentage of their followers in New Zealand
The age of their followers
Brand fit
Experience from previous campaigns
Any mishaps from the past (it pays to do due diligence here in the age of cancel culture)
Do you recommend paid or contra?
A campaign is like a thumbprint – no two are the same. Some desirable brands and products are perfect for a big send-out in a beautiful gift box, while other products may struggle to convert for contra.
Sorry, contra is not an option if you’re expecting to approve the content, want brand exclusivity, or you’re looking for a TV-quality TikTok and your agency should tell you up front if your budget doesn’t match your expectations.
A good agency will look at your budget and your objectives to create a strategy that gets you the most bang for your marketing buck.
How will the influencers be briefed?
If your product needs a bit of explanation, or your campaign has a specific angle you’re trying to achieve, the brief might need to be a bit more involved. Your agency may meet with the influencers for in-person briefings, create a full campaign deck as a brief or, on the other side of the coin simply pop an info card in with the creative mailer.
Do you review the content on my behalf or will you give me the final approval?
If you trust your agency to get the tone right and the message across, you might let them handle it – but it’s important to establish this from the get-go so there’s no confusion.
Will my brand be able to repurpose the content on my channels afterwards?
Sorry, but unless it’s in writing, you don’t own the content created by influencers. If usage is something you want, that needs to be discussed on day dot. Most influencers are happy for you to share to the same platform they posted on (with credit and permission) but if you’re wanting to run paid social ads, use the content in your EDM or share with partners and retailers this needs to be in the contract.
After the campaign, you should meet with your agency to go over the close report for the project – this is when they’ll share the nitty-gritty of your project with you. From total reach to the number of links clicked, a good agency will come prepared with an easy-to-read deck containing everything you need to know.
A wrap report can look a bit like a highlights reel that makes your agency look good, so don’t be blinded by shiny graphs and positive language. If they say it was a success, make sure that they break down why it was a success.
To get the full, honest picture, you have to delve a little deeper post-campaign. Consider asking:
What was the highest performing content and why?
Which influencers declined and what were their reasons?
What are the true number of impressions my campaign had – not the potential impressions from follower count?
Was the content seen by people who match my target demographic?
What feedback did the influencers have for my brand/product/campaign?
Were there any influencers who were difficult to work with on this campaign?
What didn’t work well? Do you have any feedback for us?
Language is powerful – knowing the right words to say and the right questions to ask at the outset can help you to determine if your agency will really add strategic value to the campaign or not, and also gain you a deeper understanding of the results than what the shiny close report will ever tell you.
Not sure if your brand is ready for influencer marketing? There are some questions you should ask yourself first – have a read of those here.
