Influencer marketing has become increasingly popular with businesses and brands over the past few years.
In fact, it hasn’t just become increasingly popular over the past few years, it’s actually the fastest-growing customer acquisition channel.
This, of course, speaks for itself as there also many other great marketing channels.
However, just like with any other marketing channel, there are some questions that you should ask before investing to maximize the potential ROI.
These questions should help you plan and execute a better influencer marketing campaign.
1. What are my Goals?
Goal setting plays an important role in many things, especially in marketing.
And, to run a successful influencer marketing campaign, you need to know what your goals are.
Is it to raise brand awareness in the long term? Or are you trying to generate leads in the short term?
It all depends on your business, but it is something that you should think about.
If you don’t know what it is, that you are trying to achieve, then you will have a hard time reaching that achievement.
This question also plays a role in our next couple of questions, so it’s definitely something you want to think about, before investing in influencer marketing.
2. Who are my customers?
Thinking about your target audience is hopefully something that you do on a regular basis.
However, when it comes to influencer marketing, you probably want to give it an additional thought.
By knowing who your customers are, what they do, how they feel, and what kind of person they identify with, you can get a much better idea of your overall influencer marketing strategy.
This will then help you craft a more well-planned influencer marketing strategy, as you know exactly why you are taking each action.
3. Which Influencers align with my target audience?
Once you have gathered the additional information about your customer, you will want to start looking for influencers who align with your target audience.
When looking for influencers who align with your target audience, you also want to make sure that they align with your brand message.
This will make your campaign more effective and improve the results significantly, as their following has already shown interest in a similar message.
Finding the exact influencers, you want to work with, should, of course, be a well-researched decision, as it’s something that can have a significant impact on your business.
Take your time and make sure to look into the reputation, as well as the engagement of the potential influencers that you want to work with.
The reason for this being is that these two factors can give you a much better idea of the impact that the influencer can have on your business.
If they have a low engagement rate or a bad reputation, then partnering with them, will probably not have a big impact on your business.
In some cases, if the reputation is bad, it can of course even have a negative effect.
So, take your time and research your potential influencers.
4. How many Influencers do I want to work with?
The next question is about the number of influencers that you want to work with.
Do you just want to work with one influencer? Or maybe you are looking to work with multiple influencers in your industry.
Either way, it’s something that you should put some thought into.
In some cases, it could work better just working with one influencer, but purchasing a larger quantity of posts, over a longer period.
There really isn’t a right or wrong answer here, some may suggest that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, but you may also find that there is an influencer who suits your brand better than the rest, in which case putting all your eggs into that basket, may seem a good idea to test.
It really depends on your specific campaign, but it is something that you should put some thought into, as it can also have a significant impact on your ROI.
Just like with other marketing channels, you should also consider testing different influencers to see which one provides the best ROI.
5. What is my Influencer Marketing Strategy?
A successful influencer marketing campaign will require a well-planned strategy.
What sort of actions do you want the potential customer to take?
Is it a soft conversion such as an email opt-in, or a follow on your social media account? Or are you trying to generate hard conversions through maybe something like a special offer, or a discount?
How many posts, or interactions, are you looking to purchase from each influencer?
Where could the campaign potentially go wrong?
All of these questions are questions that you should be asking, in order to put together the strategy of your influencer marketing campaign.
Also, by running the campaign in your mind, or in the minds of a friend, or even an employee, you may be able to identify areas where it could go wrong.
Seeing where things could potentially go wrong, can help you plan for if they do go wrong.
Or it can also help you identify areas that can be improved.
6. How Will I Measure The ROI?
Influencer marketing is quite a broad term and can just like most other marketing methods be done in many ways.
Some businesses are trying to create brand awareness, in which case the influencer is not necessarily linked to sales in the short term.
This means, it may sometimes be harder to track the ROI of the campaign, but that does not mean it shouldn’t be tracked.
ROI is something that should always be tracked in some sort of way, else you won’t know whether working with this influencer is having the impact that you want.
Each campaign is different and will require a different way of tracking ROI.
Here are some metrics that you could potentially use to track the ROI of your campaign:
- Sales
- Opt-Ins or Sign-ups
- Follower Count
- Engagement
- Messages Received
Of course, you can also use a mixture of these to track the ROI of each influencer, as well as the overall campaign.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing can be extremely profitable if you do it right, but it can also go wrong.
It’s important that you put a lot of thought into your campaign and plan it well, otherwise, you might not get the desired results.
Take your time, ask yourself the questions mentioned above, and plan well.
This will maximize the chances of a profitable influencer marketing campaign.
