Influencer Marketing in 2018

Influencer marketing is when a business collaborates with an influential person on social media to promote a product, service, or campaign. These people, know as “social media influencers,” have dedicated and engaged followings.

Celebrity endorsements were the original form of influencer marketing. But in today’s digital world, regular content creators with niche audiences can often offer more value to brands.

As reported by eMarketer, a survey from WhoSay found that 70 percent of U.S. agency and brand marketers agreed that influencer marketing budgets would increase in 2018. And 89 percent said influencer marketing can positively impact how people feel about a brand.

Not convinced influencer marketing can lead to real business results? A survey by Dana Rebecca Designs found that 72 percent of respondents had made a fashion, beauty, or style purchase after seeing something on Instagram.

Instagram is overwhelmingly the platform of choice for social influencers. 78 percent identify the photo-sharing site as their top platform for collaborating with brands. Sponsored Instagram posts generated a billion likes in 2017.

What is a social media influencer?

Quite simply, an influencer is someone who carries influence over others. A social media influencer is someone who wields that influence through social media. The form of influence can vary and no two influencers are the same.

The right influencer is someone who can reach your target audience, build trust, and drive engagement. They will create original, engaging content that is in line with their own brand (rather than following a template advertising style provided by a brand).

For this reason, it’s critical to work only with social media influencers whose creative vision aligns with your own.

How to find the right social media influencer for your brand

Before reaching out to a potential social media influencer, you’ll need to consider the three Rs of influence:

• Relevance: The influencer is sharing content and has an audience relevant to your business and industry.
• Reach: The number of people you could potentially reach through the influencer’s follower base will bring value to your business.
• Resonance: The potential level of engagement the influencer can create with an audience that’s relevant to your brand.Bigger isn’t always better. A huge follower count is meaningless if those followers aren’t interested in your business’ offerings. And a smaller follower count can be very powerful if it’s a niche area and the potential influencer has a dedicated and engaged following.Tapinfluence found that engagement rates are often higher for “micro-influencers”—those with 5,000 to 25,000 followers.

Know who you’re trying to influence

Your influencer campaign can’t be all things to all people. An effective strategy requires you to speak to the right people using the right tools (and, in this case, the right influencers).

The first step is to define who your audience will be for this specific campaign.

Developing audience personas is a great way to make sure you understand who you’re trying to reach. Once you’ve done that, create a matching set of influencer personas. This will help you understand the qualities you’re looking for in your influencer partners.

Look for engagement and trust with the right audience

For marketers, the key is trust. Your audience must trust and respect the opinion of the influencers you partner with. Without the trust component, any results will be superficial and you’ll struggle to see a tangible business impact from your efforts.

How do you tell if your potential influencer is trusted? Engagement. That means plenty of views, likes, comments, and shares—all from the precise follower segments you’re trying to reach.

A good engagement rate also means a loyal following, rather than an inflated follower count bolstered by bots and fraud accounts.

Go for a consistent look, feel, tone, and values

Besides finding a fit for your own niche, you need to find someone who’s producing content with a look and feel that complements your own. And the tone must also be appropriate for the way you want to present your brand to potential customers. This will ensure things don’t feel disjointed in either party’s social media posts.

It’s also important to check for shared values. The Body Shop’s Integrated International Brand Communications Director told traackr.com that they don’t work with influencers who wear fur because it’s inconsistent with their mission to end animal testing. Instead, they like to work with vegan influencers as they command the right audience.

Keep an eye out for sponsorship saturation

Take a look at what your potential influencers are posting. How often are they sharing sponsored content? If they’re already hitting their followers with a barrage of paid posts, their engagement rate may not hold up over time. Look for plenty of organic, non-paid content to keep followers interested, enthusiastic, and engaged. YouTube influencer Laura Reid recommends only having one in every five or 10 posts sponsored.

Keep this in mind when thinking about what you’ll ask the influencer to post, as well. Asking for too many posts in a short timeframe will make your offer hard for the influencer to accept, even if it comes with a large paycheck.

How to approach a potential influencer

Once you’ve identified the influencers you’d like to work with, it’s time to reach out. Here are some key ways to increase your chances of bringing your most coveted influencers on board.

Show you’ve done your research

In-demand influencers get lots of offers. When you first approach an influencer, show that you understand what their channels are about, who their audience is, and how the partnership could benefit both parties.

Reach out privately, and personally

A direct message is a great place to start. If you can find an email address, try that too. But don’t send a mass email or generic DM. It may take a little longer to write a personal message to each influencer, but it will show you’re serious about a potential partnership and increase your chances of striking a deal.

Have a compensation plan (and budget) in mind

Influencers with extensive reach rightly expect to be paid for their work. Free product might get you some reviews from those who are just starting out, but a serious influencer campaign requires a budget.

Think about what kind of payment structure makes the most sense for your goals, but be willing to consider the influencer’s needs, too. For example, an affiliate or commission structure might be an option instead of a flat fee, or to reduce the flat fee. Remember that micro-influencers will have more flexible payment terms.